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Leaving a home can be a very emotional event. Think of a college Freshman who says goodbye and leaves her family home, a family breaks apart through divorce and one party moves out, a home is lost to foreclosure, a family member gets sick and needs to move to an assisted living facility, empty nesters want to downsize, growing families need more room, or a job requires a move to a new state. All these events evoke some emotion, some are reasons to celebrate and have great joy in them, and others feel very sad, like closing the chapter of a life. Sometimes there is both happiness and sadness in a move.
As it was time to leave for college, my parents also sold the home I had grown up in. There were so many fixed feelings in that, as I was finally going to be on my own, but no longer had that sanctuary that had always been there to return to. It was a very hard good-bye to leave the place I went from childhood to young adulthood.
I remember my excitement at getting my first apartment after college. It was in an undesirable neighborhood, had not had an update in the 25 years it had been built (so it appeared), but it was mine, and I could afford it without a roommate. It was an easy good-bye as I was able to afford something nicer when the lease was up.
I have moved alot in the past ten years, but felt incredible sadness to be leaving my neighbor, Hope. I was living in my dream house, the one I had built, and was looking forward to starting a new life elsewhere after a divorce, but I didn't want to give her up. We kept each other company during the day as stay-at-home moms, watched each other's kids, and were just such good friends who offered the other moral support, comic relief, and friendship you don't find with just anyone. I hated saying good-bye
I lived in another little house with trees in the back yard and a huge stream I could see from the house. When it was time to go, I hated saying good-bye to that view.
Today I got the news that my uncle had a stroke, and is going to be moved into an assisted living home where he can begin the arduous task of walking and speaking again. My aunt will still be in their home, which they have shared together for almost 60 years. They have not lived in the same house, but all their memories, their moments together, and their stuff have followed them to the home they live in now. Saying good-bye to her husband will likely be a very difficult one for her.
As I meet with people who talk about having to move, I do my very best to be sensitive to the WHY before jumping into the HOW I can help them. It is so important to hear the needs of clients, but understanding what is bringing about the change and how they feel about it makes a huge difference in how to approach the relationship and the transaction. To a Real Estate Professional, it may be just a house. To an owner it is a home.
Sometimes a little sensitivity is needed, and the end result isn't a reason for a celebration. Other times, champagne should be popped at the table. Like every client is different, so should be the approach to helping say them good-bye.
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Chrissi Chapman Topoleski
Re/Max Real Estate Connections
Haymarket, VA
571-330-1750
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