If I could describe my parents in two words, it would be ‘risk averse’. I know it’s kind of an economic term, but bare with me for a moment. The truth of the matter is I have never met two people who are so opposed to take any kind of risk. Even something that you’d think of as completely acceptable, like driving at night, is something my parents avoid wherever possible. They’d much rather spend the fare on a taxi or hop on public transport than they would get in their own car. It’s insanity. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised that not everyone is like that, but it took me quite a while.

So when they told me they’ve decided to move house, I was shocked. My whole life, they’ve lived in exactly the same place, performing minor renovations when required but otherwise leaving the place almost entirely as it was the day they moved in. Obviously, with grown up kids that have been living out of home for years, a big family home is impractical, so I think it’s a really good idea, but to be honest I was stunned. It was only when we started getting into the conversation that I realised just how intricately thought out their plan was.

To kick things off, almost as soon as they told me the news they invited me over to meet their buyers advocates. The Melbourne property market is highly competitive and my parents want to make this process as ‘hands off’ as possible, so they’ve hired someone who understands their needs and wants to help them through it. In all honestly, I don’t really know that much about what property advocates in Melbourne do, exactly, but I think it’s a really good idea to have some kind of guiding or steadying hand there, just in case my parents get a little out of their depth.