So…Why Sell a Home Anyway?
It seems like everywhere you turn, everyone is telling you to buy a house. On Instagram, Tiktok, or any given website or social media platform, someone is talking about why you need to purchase a home. Of course there are obvious benefits to purchasing a home, including equity, ownership, no rental increases, freedom to do what you wish to your home, the list goes on. But where do these homes come from? Well, if it’s not a new construction property, likely the home will be from someone who is selling their current home. So if everyone wants to buy…why would a person sell?
There are plenty of reasons a person decides to sell their home. The top 6 reasons that I have found to be the most common are:
1) Relocation: It’s been fun, but it’s time to go! That’s just what a seller may be thinking when they have to move to another area. They may not want to leave their home, but may need to relocate for one reason or another. Common reasons may be, a better cost of living, to be closer to family, a career or military relocation assignment.
2) Downsizing: This one’s for my empty nesters. All of the kids are grown, or we are down to fewer kiddos in the nest, or maybe a family member moved somewhere else. The point is, you no longer need all of that space. The downsizer may be going from a 4 bedroom to a 1 bedroom, or a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom. Or even, a single family home, to a townhome or condo. Having a basement, to going for a rancher. You get the idea.
3) Foreclosure: Now this is one no one likes to talk about. And it is a painful reason to have to sell your home. However, sometimes unfortunate events happen that may prevent someone from being able to pay their mortgage, such as: the loss of a job, medical bills or a family member who is ill and needs care, or just plain falling behind. It happens. But unfortunate none the less. Selling the property actually allows the owner of the home to pay what they owe on the home, and usually more, to get a fresh start and move somewhere new.
4) Divorce: Another painful (usually), reason to sell a home. So, maybe things didn’t work out in a marriage. The next big question is, “What happens to the house?” Well, sometimes no one wants to stay, or maybe they have to split the sale of the home. In this case the uncoupled would put their home up for sale and split the proceeds.
5) Inheritance: Remarkably, not everyone who inherits a property actually wants to keep it. There are a few reasons such as they don’t want to take on the mortgage payments, if applicable. Or the property is in another location, and the heir does not want to relocate, or be bothered with trying to manage the property. Maybe the property wasn’t kept in decent condition and would cost more than the heir wants to pay to repair it. In these cases, they would put the home up for sale.
6) Something New: If you knew me yesterday, you don’t know me at all, or whatever the new kids are saying. Sometimes we just outgrow people, places, and things. This person may be so sick of Karen and Wallace, the nosy neighbors and all their drama, or the train they’ve been hearing for years. Maybe they just want a change in the scenery, weather, the whole dang state, or all of the above. This person, looking for a new experience, will put that memory shack up for sale.
Photo by Dhruv Mehra on Unsplash
As you can see, there are several reasons, and even reasons for those reasons, that a person may put their home up for sale. It is usually bittersweet, but in some cases, it must be done. And always puts a home back on the market for the eager buyer, ready to call a new place home. A sellers old memories, can be a new start for someone else, as they too embark on a new journey.
If you or anyone you know finds yourself in one of those scenarios, as always, I am here to help :)
