WHY WON'T MY CLIENT SELL HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE A client whom I have spoken with about selling his mother's house for over a year told me recently he might be ready to start clearing the house soon. The house had been in a trust and all the documents and and deed's needed to transfer the house from him as trustee to him as an individual had been signed and recorded last year.
I have been giving him updates during the time telling him about the current value of the house periodically. During the time of her death to the present time the house has lost more than $100,000.00 in value.
I had suggested that the house should go on the market in early March this year, because there would be less competition at that time. My customer wasn't ready but thought that he might be ready to sell the house in June.
I just couldn't understand why he was taking so long. He has been paying taxes, insurance and upkeep on the empty house. He has been losing money but he doesn't care. I wondered why he wouldn't sell?
Then I thought about my own situation. My Mom passed away almost 2 years ago. Her house had been empty for 4 or 5 years prior to her death. The house is in a good neighborhood so my sister and I weren't worried about it. At first, we thought that we would let one of our kids stay at the house, but they all had their own living arrangements. We briefly thought about selling the house. Finally, we decided to fix it up and rent it.
I think my sister and I are just reluctant to sell our family home because of what it represents. We had lived in it since it was built and it represents our life with our Mom and Dad. If we sold it, we would have to admit that they were truly gone. A hard nut to swallow.
After I realized why I was reluctant to sell our family home, I understood better why my client was moving so slowly. I must tread carefully with him and let him know that I share his feelings.
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