I feel guilty selling the house our children grew up in. Is that normal?
Answered by Chris Deutsch, Founder & Editor
Licensed Minnesota Realtor #20382264 ·
The short answer
Guilt like that is common, and it's misplaced — the kind worth talking yourself out of. You didn't promise your children a building. You gave them what happened inside it, and that part is already theirs.
On stage The 60-second answer
Captions on · Transcript below
The stage is set.
Chris's video answer is on its way. Until then, the short answer above says the same thing.
The transcript posts with the video.
The longer answer
Here's what the guilt usually turns out to be: the fear that selling declares the family's best chapter over. It doesn't. It declares the house's job done. The Thanksgivings happened. The height marks on the doorframe happened. A sale can't repossess any of it. What I tell people, because it keeps proving true: your children are attached to the gatherings, not the square footage — and gatherings move.
Plan for one thing directly: the last walkthrough will hurt. Handle it instead of dreading it. Let the children come say goodbye if they want to. Then let the house do for another family what it did for yours. That's not betrayal. That's the point of a house.
The next department over
What people in this spot usually ask next.
- Senior transitionsI know it's time to leave my house, but I don't feel ready. Is that normal?Read the answer
- Senior transitionsOur children are upset we're selling their childhood home. What do we tell them?Read the answer
- Senior transitionsI lost my husband last year. Is it too soon to sell the house?Read the answer
- Senior transitionsHow do I talk to my parents about moving without making them feel pushed out?Read the answer
- Inheritance & probateI feel like I'm betraying my parents by selling their house.Read the answer
- Divorce & separationShould I keep the house for the children's sake?Read the answer
From the editor's desk
“As Founder and Editor, I review, correct, and stand behind every answer.”
Is your situation more specific than the market? That's the one worth talking through.