Home check · Free · 6 questions
Your home has been with you for decades. What now – keep, adapt or something new?
Six questions, two minutes – and you receive a calm, honest orientation about your options. No sales pressure. Even if the answer is «stay» – and it often is.
The question that decides is not how big the house is.
Weighing it up calmly
House too big in retirement: keep it or sell?
A house too big in retirement leaves three paths, not two: stay deliberately, adapt selectively or review alternatives. Alternatives might mean a smaller home in your neighbourhood. If you are happy in your house and your pension covers maintenance and mortgage, that argues for staying, even with empty rooms. Then your home check says so in writing.
Sell at a profit and you pay property gains tax (Grundstückgewinnsteuer) on the gain, not the sale price. In the Canton of Zurich it falls 5 % after five full years of ownership, then 3 % a year. After twenty years it is halved (§ 225 Zurich Tax Act, as of October 2026). The Zurich tax calculator for sellers estimates what you keep.
What this means for you: stairs, garden and how you want to live decide, not size. «But where would we go?» You can start looking before the sale, and the handover gets a buffer. That is the safe move, if needed with a fixed-term tenancy in the house you sold.
If you are reading this for your parents, go through the home check together, so they can decide for themselves, in their own time.
Six questions in about two minutes show which of the three paths suits you.
Already want a figure? The written valuation with a net calculation states what is left after tax and costs.
The sums for staying
Staying in your home after retirement: what costs should you expect?
Keeping your home in retirement means ongoing costs: maintenance, energy, insurance and, while a mortgage remains, interest. So doing the sums is not just for sellers. Today you are also taxed as if you let your house to yourself: the imputed rental value (Eigenmietwert). In return, you may deduct maintenance from your income.
From 1 January 2029, the imputed rental value on owner-occupied homes is no longer taxed. The maintenance deduction ends with it, for federal, cantonal and municipal tax. The Federal Council (Bundesrat) set this date on 1 April 2026. Until the end of 2028, current law applies (Federal Department of Finance, as of October 2026).
What this means for you: still keep invoices for work that adds value, such as an extension. Sell later, and they lower the gain subject to property gains tax; under current law, maintenance like repainting does not. Check affordability (Tragbarkeit): will the bank carry your mortgage on your pension too? Clarify your case with your bank and a tax adviser.
General information without guarantee, not individual advice. Terms of use
To be clear
Six things you do not have to do.
Frequent questions
What owners ask us before the home check.
Should I sell or keep my house: is there a quiz?
Yes, the home check by Immosmile in Zurich: six questions, about two minutes, free. Straight afterwards you see which of three paths matches your answers: «Continue as before – deliberately», «Optimise» or «Review alternatives». Within two working days your written assessment follows by email, personally from Dominik Devaja. The home check does not give a figure for your house; the valuation does.
I do not know whether I even want to sell. Is the home check for me?
Yes, because looking into it is not yet a decision. The home check asks not whether you want to sell, but how you live and what is on your mind. You can read your written assessment alone or discuss it with your children, whenever you like. Your phone number is optional, and no one calls without your consent.
Do I have to sell my house if I do the home check?
No. The home check shows you paths – keep, optimise, change. What you do with it is entirely your decision. Many owners stay in their house afterwards, with a clearer picture.
What does the assessment cost?
Nothing. Neither the written orientation nor a follow-up conversation. We work this way because owners who get to know us early remember us years later when a real decision comes up.
What happens to my details?
They are stored at Immosmile and used only for your assessment. No passing on to third parties, no selling of contacts, no calls without your consent. We delete your data at any time on request.
Is the home check useful if I want to stay for many years?
Especially then. If you stay, you should know which investments pay off, how the mortgage stays affordable after retirement, and which questions arise for the family. Staying is a decision – not an omission.
What if major renovations are coming up?
Then the timing for an assessment is particularly good. We show you which measures pay off for your coming years – and where a renovation costs more than its benefit.
Can my family join the conversation?
Yes, expressly. Children, partner, fiduciary – decisions around the family home get better when everyone shares the same basis. We also come to your home if you prefer.
We are not planning any concrete change. Is it still worth it?
Yes. The home check is made for owners who are not planning anything – and can therefore look calmly. Those who only look under pressure have fewer paths to choose from.
What happens after the orientation?
If you wish, nothing. If you have questions, we talk – by phone, at our office or at your home. If you would like a closer look at your house, that too is free and without obligation.
Maybe you do not have to decide anything today.
But it can be reassuring to know your options – before someone else defines them for you.