After Loss: Navigating the Emotional and Practical Challenges of Selling a Parent’s Home
Losing a parent is tough. It’s one of life’s most difficult milestones and it can take a heavy emotional toll. And along with the grief that families face, they are simultaneously tasked with the daunting task of selling the family home.
Childhood memories, family gatherings and traditions, guilt…they all inhabit those four walls and it can be paralyzing to deal with all of the steps that must be done in order to prepare the home for sale. Sorting through decades of belongings. Deciding what to keep and what to get rid of or donate. Coordinating with siblings and other relatives. Finding and vetting contractors, estate sales companies, and realtors. It can be overwhelming and can lead to decision fatigue and analysis paralysis. Where do you even start? Here are 8 steps you can take:
Give yourself time to grieve - Before jumping into project mode, take a moment to breathe. Selling a loved one’s home is both an emotional and logistical nightmare. It’s okay to pause a moment.
Locate documents - Before making any decisions, it’s important to gather all of the essential paperwork - property deeds, mortgage info, insurance, utility accounts, and any estate planning documents.
Evaluate the property’s condition - Property evaluation is hard. It’s especially hard when the property is your family’s home. However, it’s important to walk through the home (ideally with a neutral party) to assess what needs attention: cosmetic touch-ups, safety concerns, or larger repairs. A project manager or real estate professional can help with this step.
Sort and organize belongings - Sorting through years worth of stuff can be emotionally taxing. When deciding what to keep, donate, sell, or discard, it’s important to keep other family members involved to avoid confusion and hurt feelings later.
Estate sales companies can help in sorting and pricing your belongings then will manage the marketing and sales of the items. Hauling companies can haul away things that will be discarded.
Make repairs and upgrades - If making repairs or doing upgrades, now is the time to get that work done. Keep in mind that not all repairs are worth doing and will not yield higher profits when you sell. Sometimes, small updates like a fresh coat of paint, minor landscaping and updated fixtures can yield tremendous results. Other times, it may make sense to do a major remodel prior to sale in order to see far greater returns. Real estate professionals can help you decide which projects to do and which projects to skip.
Deep Clean - Once the home has been cleared of belongings and any repairs/upgrades have been completed, it’s time to do a deep clean. A team of cleaners will go through the home and make it look its best.
Consider professional staging - Professional staging can, often, lead to shorter days on the market and quick sales. A real estate professional can help you decide whether you need to stage or not.
Assemble the right team - As you work through these steps, it’s important to have a professional and reliable team to help you navigate the process. Assembling this team is, honestly, not so difficult. You make some phone calls, compare quotes, and keep track of the work to make sure it’s completed fully and on time. The real issue is time. Do you have enough of it during this difficult time to accomplish it on your own? This is where a free consultation with ProjectManageMyMove.com can be invaluable.
That’s where ProjectManageMyMove.com can help. Call us and let us help you manage the entire process so you can focus on the important things while also maximizing your profit.
We are not realtors. We’re not lawyers or an estate sales company. Instead, we’re a project manager who has the experience and compassion to help you navigate these difficult times. With years of experience managing complex projects, we can be your single point of contact to coordinate all the vendors that will be required to prepare your home for sale.