It’s been said that Americans know the price of everything and the value of nothing. This belief could easily apply to most people’s  sale of real estate. When you’re selling a home, it involves a huge financial investment. So, it stands to reason, you should be keenly aware of what your property  is worth. Strangely enough, if you look back on your fondest life memories, those memories are rarely special because of the money you’ve spent. In most cases, fond memories are enjoyed because of the special people in your life and the experiences you’ve shared with them.

Yet, because of values that have declined over the past several years, most people selling homes have tended to give over-weighted value to the financial considerations. That makes no sense. The purpose of money is to provide the best quality of life for you and your family. It makes far more sense to determine the true value of your decision by first asking:

“If I were to sell my home today for the price being offered,  what would it mean to me and how would it change the quality of my life?”

The best way to answer this question is to consider the four possible outcomes of your decision:

1. If you were to sell the home today at the price the buyer is offering , which may be less than what you want, what would it mean to you and your family right now?
2. If you didn’t  sell your home now, and waited until later and sold for more money, how would waiting for the extra money impact the things you want to do now with your life?
3. If you didn’t accept the offer (or reduce your price to get an offer), and waited until later to  get more money, and you ended up selling for less, would the lost memories and quality of life be worth it?
4. If you didn’t lower your price, and ended up keeping your home for years to come, what would you be giving up by not selling?

 

Only after you’ve been able to thoughtfully answer the above questions, will you be able to determine the emotional cost of waiting for more money. Then, and only then, should you take into consideration what price is acceptable to you. Armed with this information, you are likely to make the most informed decision that is best for you. Another rather aggressive observation has been made about buyers and sellers that become too enamored with money: “Pigs get fat, while hogs get slaughtered.”

This probably means, it’s okay to be a little greedy, but if you become too greedy, you end up paying dearly.