REAL ESTATE TIPS: Think over criteria before making ‘sell house’ a 2021 goal

It is that time of year again. The time when everyone sets goals. They want to lose weight, save more money, create healthy habits, or find a different house.

Most goals are easy to see if you accomplished them or if you didn’t. We want to lose weight so we swear we will never eat chocolate again and go to the gym 4 days a week. Yet on Jan. 10 someone at the office has a pizza party and cake for the January birthdays and there is a crazy ice storm and you don’t want to go out to the gym. So you trash the entire goal and move on. But finding a different house may not have the same easy-to-follow criteria.

So rather than feel potentially unnecessary pressure to buy a different house this year, let’s talk through this. Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge shortage of inventory right now. If you want to sell your house, I am all for it. Let’s just look at what you will gain or lose with your house selling goal.

I was with a client the other day and he asked me a very legitimate question. When was I going to move. It makes sense. After all, as often as I see homes, I should find at least one that is occasionally tempting. And I have, but not enough to move.

If I were to set a goal to find a different house, the home would need to meet specific criteria. It would need to be in Dalton schools, have a three- car garage, a four season room, three full bathrooms, four bedrooms, a big dining room, be full of natural sunlight and be within walking distance to the school. In other words, I’m not moving.

Sometimes a goal sounds good. I mean who doesn’t want to be healthier and shed some pounds. But after we process it, the goal might not be as good as we think. I don’t want to see you set yourself up for failure by looking for the perfect house. Rethink things. Are there enough great things about your current home to keep you there or is it really in your best interest to move? Because while you might gain some things that you are currently missing, you might lose some things that you really like.

I will always hate how dark my house is. It can be the most bright, beautiful, sunny day and I will still have to turn lights on in my kitchen. My dining room will always be too small. Currently, like the rest of the drivers in our home, I park outside – and I don’t love it. So having a house with a three-car garage, lots of natural light and a big dining room would be great – and non negotiable. But I can never replace the physical location of my home. And at the end of the day, even if I got the things in another house that my house doesn’t offer, it wouldn’t be worth the tradeoff of losing my physical location. So I stay. In the dark. And I am content. The grass isn’t greener on the other side.

With that in mind, what is the best decision for you? Is the better goal to move knowing that there is not a single perfect house out there but the upgrades are enough so that you want to move? Or is the better goal to make things different where you are? I could add skylights to my roof to bring in more sunlight (I asked Andy if we could do an entire glass roof but he was not on board). For someone who needs more living space but likes everything else about their house they could get some carpet remnants and throw them down in the basement. If you need extra storage or have a boat or camper, rather than sell your house to gain just that, you could look into renting a storage unit.
There are a lot of good reasons to sell but before you list “selling your house in 2021” as a goal, ask yourself this question. Is what you are gaining AND losing worth making the move? If it is, or if it is at least worth considering, contact one of our agents at Ryder Realty. We can walk you through the process and answer your questions.

Never in a million years could any of us predict what 2020 would be like 12 months ago. But here is my hope for your 2021. May you be healthy and happy regardless of what life brings your way. Have a blessed year!

Esta Ryder, Broker/Owner
President’s Club
Ryder Realty, LLC
estaryder@gmail.com
330-317-6912