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Selling the Family Home? Here’s How to Keep the Memories

Edie Israel

After years of executive sales and marketing experience as well as entrepreneurial success, Edie entered into the real estate market of Southern Calif...

After years of executive sales and marketing experience as well as entrepreneurial success, Edie entered into the real estate market of Southern Calif...

Oct 29 3 minutes read

If the time has come for selling the family home, you’re undoubtedly running the gamut of emotions, from elation to fear and back again.

You’re probably also feeling a bit daunted, as you try to figure out how to downsize decades of accumulated memories and possessions. The good news is that, once the transaction is done, you are likely to see a big improvement in your quality of life.

Deciding Whether It’s Time to Downsize

If your children are grown and out of the house, you probably have a lot of extra space.

That’s extra space you have to heat, cool and clean. And, of course, the yardwork and home maintenance require time, effort and money. As you get older, those tasks become more of a challenge.

If you’re ready to spend less time on chores and more time in pursuit of the activities you enjoy, it’s probably time to sell.

How to Prepare for Selling the Family Home

Not only will you have to prepare the house itself for the sale, but you’ll also have to prepare your family.

Before springing the news on them, consider how you’ll handle requests for various items. Do you plan to sell or donate your extra furnishings, or distribute them among family members?

However you prefer to approach it, you’ll need to get rid of the bulk of it before moving to a smaller home. The sooner you can accomplish that, the better your chances of selling the home quickly and for a good price.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

As you prepare for the sale, anticipate the objections you’re likely to encounter and be prepared to respond.

Discuss the impending sale with your family members and inform them of your plans for distributing, selling or donating furnishings and household items. Although you’ll be tempted to keep the mementos you’ve accumulated, organizational experts recommend passing them on to your children now rather than later.

For those sentimental items that no one really wants to store, you can document the memories with photos and videos and create an electronic scrapbook. That way, your family can hold on to precious memories while you clear room in the closets.

Keep your goals in mind as you simplify your life, and realize that selling the family home will allow you more free time to spend with kids and grandkids, not to mention golfing and catching up with friends.

The Edie Israel Team of experienced real estate experts understands how challenging it can be to make this life-altering transition, and we are here to assist you. As the local experts in buying and selling real estate, we will work closely with you to establish  and help you achieve  your goals.

Contact us today for assistance with the challenging prospect of selling the family home.

Need Help Downsizing? We Can Help!

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