Seller's Remorse

At some point during or shortly after the sale of your home you may become paralyzed by a gripping fear that you’ve sold or are about to sell your house for less than it’s worth. This is a case of seller’s remorse and its symptoms can show up in a variety of ways. Perhaps you’re upset about leaving the neighborhood or selling the home in which you raised your family.

Experiencing seller’s remorse is not uncommon; after all, the home sale transaction is one of the largest financial transactions you’ll ever make and it’s one that’s wrought with emotion. Your best defense against a paralyzing case of seller’s remorse is to have a thorough understanding of why you decided to sell in the first place and to know that you initially arrived at an equitable and profitable sale price. Here are some additional tips that can help you battle seller’s remorse:

• An established set of motives listing why you decided to sell can come in handy should you find yourself in a panic over a fast or imminent sale. The list can be a simple garden-variety list of selling pros and cons. If your decision to sell was initially well thought out and well planned, your list of pros will outweigh the cons. Review the list (often if need be) and you’ll likely lose the feeling of doom.
  
• Diligently select your Realtor and be sure to fully participate in negotiations. Trusting your representative and knowing that you negotiated to the best of your ability may help stave off a bad case of seller’s remorse, particularly if you’re prone to obsessing on the final sale price. Just because your home sold within a few days of listing doesn’t mean the home was under priced—it may simply mean that the home was properly priced and your Realtor did an excellent job marketing the home to prospective homebuyers.
  
• Reviewing for-sale home ads and visiting open houses may also help you come to terms with your final sale price. You’ll likely learn that there really aren’t home sellers out there who are getting more money for a lesser house. If you go down this road, keep in mind that asking prices are just that and it’s the final sale price that matters.
  
• Talk to friends and neighbors who’ve sold homes and learn about how they dealt with seller’s remorse. It may help just knowing that the remorse is a common byproduct of this emotional transaction and that your feelings of dread or regret will fade with time.