Downsizing a Parent's Home in Windsor-Essex: Where to Start

If you are downsizing a parent, clearing out an estate, or moving out of a home someone has lived in for forty years, there is a whole industry built for exactly this, and most people have never heard of it. It is called move management. Jen Michaud is the Sales and Operations Manager for ONESource Moving Solutions across their Windsor and Chatham locations. I have worked with her team on a number of properties, so I wanted to get her on and walk through what they actually do. We cover what happens on that first phone call, and why Jen comes out and sits down with you in your own home before anything gets quoted. We cover what estate services look like when the family lives in another province or another country. How contents get sorted into online auction, marketplace, donation, or disposal, and why the donation route comes with a tax receipt. What furniture is genuinely worth versus what people think it is worth. And the unpack-and-setup service, where they photograph each shelf of the curio cabinet at the old house so it goes back exactly the same way at the new one. That detail matters more than people expect. Jen also explains why every person on their team, office and field, carries a police clearance with a vulnerable sector check. And yes, we get into the freezer. If you have ever had one appliance stop an entire closing, you will understand. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Jen and what ONESource does 01:08 Windsor, Chatham and the franchise network 02:31 Why downsizing is about to get busy 04:00 The first call and the in-home consultation 06:55 Estate services when the family lives away 08:41 What wills actually say about contents 11:01 Why compassion is the whole job 12:27 The days before and after move day 14:28 Unpacking so it feels like home again 17:27 The freezer that would not leave 19:15 Auction, marketplace, donate or discard 20:58 What that furniture is really worth 22:30 Who shows up to the auctions 24:19 Why every lot gets catalogued properly 26:18 The crew behind the work 29:23 Where ONESource is headed next 30:33 Selling a Canadian property from the States 31:39 Police clearance and vulnerable sector checks 33:23 Prep for market, staging and deep cleans 36:55 Working alongside the agent 38:06 Wrap up ONESOURCE MOVING SOLUTIONS Website: https://onesourcemoving.ca/ Jen Michaud, Sales and Operations Manager: [email protected] Phone: 519-984-2111 6 County Road 42, Maidstone, ON WINDSOR-ESSEX REAL ESTATE PULSE Hosted by RuthAnn Osborne, Sales Representative, RE/MAX Preferred Realty Ltd., Brokerage. Produced by All In Content. If you are working through a move like this and have questions, reach out. No pressure, no pitch. 226-782-4493 Thinking about a move, or helping a parent with one? Give me a call at 226-782-4493. RuthAnn