Starting over.
Part of my job as a Realtor involves helping people start over. In many cases, when someone is buying and/or selling a home, they are doing so because of a major life change such as a job transfer, a new job, getting married, and/or starting a family, and sometimes it’s because of a divorce or death in the family.
These are major life events and I do not take lightly the fact that these people have chosen to work with me as they walk down this path. I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to do so and I strive to make the process easier and less stressful for them.
I recently had a client who just closed on her new home. We had been working together for several months through the sale of her home, the finalization of her divorce which was the precipice for all this, and finally, the closing of her new home. None of this was easy on her, and as some hiccups came along through the process, at times it wasn’t easy on me either. But that’s my job….to help my clients navigate those unexpected problems and let them know we will get through it together.
During a process like this, usually, the relationship evolves into a friendship and is no longer just a business relationship. This is what happens when you genuinely care about the people you are representing and you put yourself in their shoes. This is easy for me to do since I was divorced several years ago and I too found myself having to sell the house I loved. The house where I planned to finish raising my children. The house that we had so many good memories in. I still avoid driving by it, to be honest.
Nobody can prepare you for what those emotions feel like but part of the process is going through them, one by one, and allowing yourself the time it takes to unpack all those feelings and all those memories. It’s scary. You have a lot of concerns over what your future holds. Where will I go from here? Will I find a place to live in that I love just as much? Will my life ever feel normal again? Those are big questions everyone has in this situation and I just try to share my story with them and let them know that yes, it will all be okay one day and yes, we will find the right house to call “home.”
I think it’s important for people in this situation to realize that while selling the house and moving on feels like an ending, and indeed, it is an ending, it’s also a new beginning. A time to confront the past head-on and decide for yourself what your future is going to look like. For this client in-particular, it wasn’t easy. She wasn’t used to making these big decisions on her own and found herself at times second-guessing her decisions. That’s normal. That’s part of the growth process. All along, she seemed to have this sense that somehow it would all work out because she had a deep faith that it would. And it did! Can I tell you just how proud of her I am that she took a leap of faith, bought herself what I know will be the perfect condo to start over in, and she started a new job all within a month’s time? If that isn’t living Fearlessly and Faithfully then I don’t know what is!
You too might be finding yourself at a crossroads for whatever reason. Just know that right about the time we are ready to throw our hands up in the air is about the time things get better. Have faith over fear and know that new beginnings can be a very good thing!
