Life~Death & Real Estate

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There are so may different stages of life; Youth = Teens and Twenties, Mid-Span = Thirties and Forties, Fall = Fifties thru Seventies, and Sunset = Eighties thru Hundreds.  The one common thread that runs the gamut is Real Estate.  Whether you live in an apartment, a tent, a modest or luxury home, it will be on some plot of land = Real Estate.

At this Fall stage of my life, and in this industry, it seems I have had lots of exposure of late to families, caretakers and loved ones who are tending to those in their Sunset of life.  For many, it is a painful time to watch those that have been immovable pillars, fixtures, since they were wee-ones, cycle backwards to babysoft skinned distant warriors riding off into their Sunset of life.

With this transition often comes; the tug-of-war of letting go of independence, at times, a move into assisted living, or, the inevitable–death.  Homes must be sifted of contents which can be a joyous review of days-gone-by coupled with the struggle of what to keep as priceless mementos, what to donate and what to sell to new treasure caretakers.

The sale of any home involves a plethora of paperwork and complexity bringing the house into, 'ready to sell,' condition, 'simplifying,' or 'decluttering,' just to get the house listed.  And, when you add the dynamic of needing to liquidate this asset to support an elder in assisted living or to divvying up net proceeds amongst heirs, the stress level is even greater.

Real Estate Brokers should have the capacity to be sensitive to the current state and stressors of their clients.  They should be a grounded resource for those balancing heavy emotional burdens while working to bring complex real estate processes and transactions to fruition.  The saying, 'it's all business, not personal,' does not mean you can remove the face, the heart, the soul, and the tears from what is often a change of season for a generation within a family.  Taking the time to truly work to understand the needs of your clients at a very specific snapshot in time within their life cycle, equates to being a Real Estate Professional.  Clients are people too–much, much more than just a business transaction.