You are not alone! So many folks are watching the news about the real estate market and retreating from putting their home on the market now. The general consensus from the seniors I work with is that the market is flat and therefore they are putting off the sale of their home until next year, hoping the market will recover. Typically, we experience a slowdown in activity as we approach Thanksgiving. The buyer traffic usually picks up in February with a gradual buildup of purchasers entering the market, peaking when the children are finished with the school year in mid June. As you can see, there is a direct correlation between the time of year and the volume of potential home shoppers.

With today’s uncertainty, many buyers and sellers are in a quandary as to when to purchase and when to sell. None of us wants to leave money on the table by selling in a down year, nor do any of us cherish the thought of moving in the winter. How can we best utilize this time gap between now and spring? What can we do to position ourselves to attract an acceptable offer in a relatively short time span?

My best advice for those thinking of selling in spring would be to begin to prepare your home for sale now! I would not wait until spring to (more…)

Our parents have decided to sell the family home. It’s just not fair. We as children (and we are always someone’s child no matter what our age), never want to see our childhood home sold to someone or some family who have no idea of the history of this bastion of emotion.

This is the case for so many of us. We just assumed mom and dad would never sell the home that provided our safety and happiness for so many years. Well, like the inevitable change of seasons, the time has come for a major change in our parent’s lives as well as the children of seniors. Like any change, how we get through it will depend on the way in which we choose to view this event.

This is the time to put mom and dad’s self interests first. In many cases, it is only mom or only dad now, and just think of how difficult this decision is for a single spouse or couple. This decision had been a labored one, involving many days of anguish and uncertainty. This is the time to put your feelings aside, and think of the (more…)