Houses get sold. Obviously, those built by contractors go up for sale even before the final coat of paint has been applied.
For all the other homes that go on the market, there are a wide number of “Once upon a time…” reasons. You know how the story goes. Let’s suppose it continues with, X (X being an individual or a couple, occupying what they call ‘home’, whether it be a free-standing house or a condominium, and it’s owned outright or mortgaged). A FOR SALE sign is plunked on the front lawn, or posted on the Internet, or an ad is placed in the paper, or its sale is placed in the hands of a realtor.
Why would someone decide to pull up stakes and move on? Let’s explore just a few of the possible reasons.
Marriage: all the children get married and move out from their parents. They leave the nest empty. The five-bedroom parents’ home is no longer an asset, but something too expensive to heat and maintain.
Divorce puts many a home on the market. It’s the rare divorced person who can buy out their estranged spouse.
Children: whether it be the first, or the latest of several, the cute little bungalow can no longer do the job.
Once more, children, the newly unemployed adult children who have to move back in. Mom and Dad who downsized back to a snug bungalow need more space for the failed fledglings.
Job relocation can put a home up for sale, especially with the skyrocketing price of fuel and increasing gridlock during the commute to and from work, the idyllic rural home becomes a liability, the downtown apartment becomes more attractive.
Working from home requires a home office space, a place with privacy, free of distractions. The hunt for a house that offers those features puts home sweet home on the market.
Big-time winning the lottery sure ups one’s perceived housing needs. A garage is not just for a 2008 Honda Civic. The new garage must accommodate an SUV, a motor home, a boat on a trailer. The 1,000 square foot bungalow gets put up for sale.
I can think of a dozen other reasons why houses are put on the market. That’ll be in a future column.
