For many people, the emotions involved in selling a home is akin to a roller coaster ride. It makes sense. There is a lot going on. First there is the process of selling your property and buying a new one. Then there is the actual act of moving. Add to all of this are the emotions that come from saying goodbye to your piece of the neighbourhood and home.
All of these things can make the emotions of selling quite difficult!
So how do you smooth out the ups and downs? Check out the tips below for some ideas that you can easily use to keep the rough parts more fun!
Tips for dealing with the emotions of selling:
- Make sure you know and understand the steps involved in the selling process. If you are unsure – ask!
- Put together a list of all the things that need to be done to your property prior to listing.
- Don’t overschedule. You don’t need to do everything all at once; that will just leave you exhausted. Also, it’s just not necessary to pack up everything on one day!
- Once your home is on the market, make sure you have a list of what needs to be done prior to showings. I recommend adding this list to your morning routine so the house is ready to go.
- Talk to family members about how they feel about selling and moving to a new home. If you have young children they can feel especially emotional about the sale of their home.
- When it comes to those young kids, you can try to come up with ways to make the transition easier. For example, have them draw pictures of how they’d like their new room to look. You could also have them put together a package of their memories (drawings of their favourite places in the house or a note about why they know the house is a great place to live) for the new people moving in..
- Selling and moving can, at times, be disruptive to your routine. As much as possible, try to keep everything consistent when it comes to mealtimes, family events and daily routine.
- Hire a cleaner, a dog walker or other professionals that you might need if you find yourself overwhelmed. It may cost a little but it isn’t forever and will definitely help if the emotions of selling are out of control.
- Tell your agent that you’re feeling stressed. It’s entirely possible that they will have a solution. I encourage my clients to be open about this – as an experienced agent, I’ve had a chance to see how the process works and often have alternative solutions to most things that might be stressing a client out.
Perhaps most importantly, understand that it is completely normal to feel stressed or anxious when you are selling. After all, you are selling what is quite possibly your largest asset!
If you have any questions about today’s post or would like some help selling your home, please feel free to contact me directly at chuck@charlesfrancis.ca or 416-558-7273. I’m always happy to help!