Home selling is often emotional. We wrap up our comforts, memories, and familiar routines in our homes. For many of us, our homes do more than keep us warm in the winter and dry in the rain, they provide the backdrop for significant events.

We celebrate our holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries in our homes. We paint nurseries and bring home newborns from the hospital. You may have started your business in the garage or learned to ride your bike in the driveway of your parents’ house. And when we think about selling that house, it becomes emotional.

You don’t want to ignore the things you feel around your home, but it might be helpful to get a little distance and think through other aspects.

3 Questions to Help You Step Back from the Emotion

1. Do you have the financial ability to keep the home?

Sometimes, you don’t have the luxury of deciding. You have to sell because you can no longer afford to keep the home, and this can be painful. Instead of feeling forced to do something that you don’t want to do, remember that you are still in control. Even when it feels like you do have to sell, you are choosing a way forward to protect and control other priorities, like your financial health or your family’s well-being.

2. If you had the home’s value in cash, would you buy it (again) today?

Even when you have the finances to keep a home, that doesn’t always mean that’s the right or best option. But when emotion is involved, you might also feel guilty selling a home with emotional or sentimental significance, if you don’t actually NEED to sell. So, stepping back to ask this question might help give you enough space to decide without the guilt. If you had enough cash in the bank today, would you buy this house for its personal significance, or are there other better or more important uses for that money?

3. If you sold, would there be other ways to connect to those emotions?

Our memories and experiences are part of what makes us who we are. Places and objects are some – but not the only – ways we keep those with us. Are there other ways you can carry the memories and positive emotional attachments from the home without retaining ownership? Regardless of your answer to the first two questions, it might be helpful to step back and recognize other ways to stay in touch with the feelings and significance you attach to this place and structure. 

Final Thoughts

Home selling is often emotional. Remember to let yourself feel, but be careful not to get stuck. Feeling deeply and thinking clearly are both important.

We understand that selling a house is a big commitment and this can feel like a lot. We’re here to help. If you’d like more information or a chance to ask questions, we have people (real people) ready to answer a call.