BREAKING THOUGH THE ILLUSION OF PERCEIVED VALUE

While sitting at open houses in southern Arizona this past winter I visited with many people who were ready to sell their home and relocate to beautiful southern Arizona. What I heard over and over was “Before we can make a move, we have to sell our home first, which is worth a fraction of what it was several years ago!”

I get a bit frustrated with this kind of limited thinking. I don’t believe that we lost anything! You can’t loose something that you didn’t have. We only lost the perception of what others told us we could sell our homes for. But if we didn’t sell them, well, then as I see it, we haven’t lost anything!

The word value according to the dictionary is simply relative worth. Relative is the key word here. Value is just what another is willing to pay for a property, or anything for that matter.
I too am a homeowner and in 2006 it was appraised at $305,000. If I were to put it on the market today in 2011, it would list for $160,000. That’s a difference of $145,000. (Remember, this is all on paper.)

My beautiful little cottage was never worth that inflated price. However, I’m not saying that someone wouldn’t have paid that for it, but since I didn’t sell it, I don’t think I lost anything.

Today, as I’m re-thinking to sell my home, as long as I buy another, I don’t think that I would still be loosing any money, because what I sell it for will be reflected in the savings that I purchase another home for.
I guess the point of all of this is that, it’s important that we live our lives and not base the decisions we make out of fear. “I can’t sell now because….”

In trying to live my life, truly live, I always begin by asking myself a couple of questions to discover the deep desires of my heart.

1. What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
2. What would you do if it weren’t about money?
3. Would you have regrets later if you did…or didn’t, do…..whatever?

And in this particular case of buying and selling a home, I’d ask a couple of more.

1. Where do I want to live? (Not based on what you think you should do.)
2. Do I want to spend part of my time in Arizona?
3. Do I want to live full time in Arizona?

With that, I’ll leave you with the words from Auntie Mamme,
Live, Live, Live…Life is a banquet and most poor souls are starving!
(Don’t you be one!)