The Emotional Side of Selling a Home

[WE/I] get it. The decision to sell your home, especially during this time of year, isn’t an easy one. In fact, research has ranked selling a home as second to relationship breakups for the most stressful experience in a person’s life. The same survey said people are more stressed out about selling their home than planning a wedding, getting fired or even becoming a parent. 

Through all of the memories and milestones shared at home, it's perfectly normal to be emotional during the home selling process.

The good news? Though the experience can feel overwhelming and inspire doubts, it doesn’t have to get in the way of a successful home sale, and there's always a bright side. Here are three stories from homeowners that prove it.

Nostalgia seems to unexpectedly hit many sellers like a ton of bricks once they see their home empty and ready for its next owner. Getting caught up in the chaos of moving can only keep your mind busy for so long before you realize what you are about to leave behind. Oftentimes sellers feel the rush towards the end of the process. That’s exactly what happened to Erin, author of The Sunny Side Up Blog. She says, “I walked around room to room. I could see my baby girls running around in dress-ups. I could see our evening routine – giving them a bath and putting them in matching PJs. I could see so many sweet moments between my kids and how fast they grew right in front of my eyes in that house."

"It’s not hard to say good-bye to a house. It’s hard to say good-bye to special memories and to the end of an era. A really happy era that I will tuck away and treasure in my heart forever."

“We feel so blessed to be in our new home, we are definitely going through a bit of a transition.  I know it will just take time. I also know that someday, much sooner than I can imagine, I will be walking through the rooms of our new house feeling the exact same way.”

In a story from The Atlantic on navigating how empty-nesters navigated the sale of a family home, the story of Alene Bouranova stands out. Bouranova grew up in Kirkland, Washington. She was at school in Boston, Massachusetts when she got the news that her parents had sold her childhood home. 

“I started crying in the dining hall, just crying all over my plate of pasta,” Bouranova says. “I was not pleased at all. That was my home.”

Although Bouranova was initially emotional about the sale of her childhood home, she came to terms with the decision and understood the reason behind her parent’s decision. 

 “It’s my parents, and as sad as I was originally, it’s their lives and they can do what they want,” Bouranova says. “I just want them to be happy.”

Despite being a Realtor who has guided many clients through the home-selling process, Nancy Perkins was surprised by how emotional she felt when selling her family’s home of 19 years. In an essay for The Alexandria Times, she writes how she and her husband began to doubt themselves throughout the process after realizing the attachment they had not just to the home itself but to the neighbors and neighborhood. 

“We started to doubt ourselves. Why did we need to make any changes when this house worked well for us? While we were ready for a new house, we were attached to our home, to our garden and to our neighbors.”

“Like many of my clients, these thoughts kept me up at night. My fears were alleviated, however, with multiple offers, happy buyers and a quick sale, thanks to smart renovations, good staging and fair pricing.”

There’s no doubt that you won’t ever forget the memories you made in your home, but looking forward to the new memories you’ll create in the future and getting excited for what’s to come can put your mind at ease. 

No matter if you’ve lived there a couple years or many decades, selling your home can inspire a deep emotional response.

Even if you’re not planning on selling soon,preparing you (and your home) to sell will help with thestress and anxiety that are sure to come.

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