If it looks like you’ll have to look for a new home in 2018, or you’re already in the process, it can feel like an almost impossible task. There’s a reason why selling your home is considered one of the most stressful situations in your life.
One of the main reasons it’s so difficult is that, not only do you have to sell your home, pack up all your things and move them, but you’ll need to find a new place to live too. And buying a home, including choosing neighbourhoods, finding schools, getting a mortgage, etc., is just as stressful.
Yet, no matter how many moving check lists you download from the web, and how much time you manage to give yourself to get everything done, and even how meticulous a person you are, there’s one thing that the vast majority of sellers are never ready for.
Leaving Your Old Home
It might not sound like a very difficult thing to get over. After all, you can look forward to the excitement of moving into your new home. But especially when you lived in one place for a long time, leaving a place where you have so many memories, even those that may not be so pleasant, like the loss of a loved one, can make leaving as much of an emotional move as a physical one.
Making the problem worse is that, when the realization about the full gravity of leaving hits you, it’s usually at the worst time, like when you’re in the midst of packing or actually on moving day, when you really don’t have the time to give yourself to deal with it.
And even if you’re relatively okay with the move because you’re finally moving to the house of your dreams, not everyone in your family might feel the same.
Here are just a few things you can do to help minimize the emotional stress of leaving your old house.
1. Talk to Your Family
From the moment you know you have to move, it will help everyone make the transition if they are able to voice their concerns, ask questions and get answers about the move.
While your new home might be the fulfillment of a dream for you, it might be a ‘disaster’ for teenage children who will not only be leaving the house, but leaving friends and changing schools too.
2. Take Something with You From the Home
Of course, you’ll have all your furniture and belongings to take with you from the old home to the new one. But having a unique piece of the old home can help you remember it fondly.
A light fixture, garden clipping, or maybe the window shade you looked out of each morning, can keep the memory of the old house alive in the new one. But remember, if you’re taking a fixture from your old home, you must make that fact clear to your buyers.
3. Have a Party
Or Three – If you’re lucky enough to have great neighbours, leaving them will not be easy. You can host a goodbye party or invite smaller groups at different times. You might want to have family and friends over too if your home was a place of frequent get togethers for them. And, if your children or other family members are having a hard time with the move, let them have their moments with their friends too.
One more way to make selling your home in Markham much easier? Find the right realtor for the job, like The Stephen Tar Team!