What Did I Just Do!? 5 Quick Tips on Beating the Stress of Selling and Moving

Whether it’s a first time move from your parent’s home or you are uprooting your family to a new location, moving is stressful.  Unfortunately, it comes with the territory, but there are ways to help with the transition.  Read on to learn how to put your mind at ease and to lower the risk of seller’s stress.

Use Your Realtor

A good real estate professional does more than just intercede as the middle-money-(wo)man, they should be there to help you with any questions, concerns or problems that arise with the sale and purchase of your home.  Use the knowledge and information they have available to help alleviate your jitters.  For example, your real estate agent should know about the new neighborhood you are moving into, any school district concerns and even just be able to offer a reassuring word about how this process is all normal.  Realtors do this task for a living and all should be well-versed and anxious to help out.  If not, you may want to find one that takes your concerns seriously and is more than willing to do more than just collect their commission.

Take Time to Enjoy the Journey

Most people don’t look forward to moving, but if we take time to enjoy the process we can quelch a lot of those sneaky stresses.  Often times by changing our attitudes about the move and what it entails, we can put ourselves (and our family) in a better frame-of-mind.  This is especially important if you have children that may be less than thrilled with the whole idea.  Take time out of each day, no matter how busy it is, to have fun and to answer any questions your family may have about the new home and neighborhood.  Kids need to feel safe and reassured that things will work out or even be better, so don’t set aside their stresses for the sake of time.

Keep an Emergency Stash of Money

Moving can cut into our pocketbooks, so be sure to keep aside some funds for the unexpected – there is nothing worse than scrambling for money to pay bills like moving fees, extra trips to the fast food restaurants or even if the buyer of your old home suddenly wants something repaired on your dime.  It’s recommended to have around $2,500 for these incidentals, so plan ahead to keep this stress down to the minimum.

Know You Did the Right Thing

Seller’s stress has a way of playing on our minds, so take comfort in the fact that the move is for the best reasons.  If you are relocating because of a new job or a job promotion, then take this and be proud of the fact that you are moving up to bigger and better things.  If you have a family, reassure them that the new job will be a step in the right direction and will benefit everyone.

Envision Your New Home

If you and your family begin to get the new home jitters, take some time to envision what it will look like and how things will be placed.  By allowing children to paint, decorate and plan out their new room, they will begin to share in the excitement, which can go a long way in making the move a pleasant one, rather than a battle-of-wills.

Lastly, have fun with your move.  It is inevitable, so why not enjoy the process?  Having a great mind-set, gathering all the information you need to feel reassured and keeping some extra cash handy, all go a long way in helping to chase away those nagging thoughts of “what did I just do?”