Selling A Parent’s Home

Dear Phyllis,
We sold our La Crescenta home five years ago and
had a fantastic experience with our real estate agent.
He was knowledgeable, professional, and truly went
above and beyond for us. Now, as we’re preparing to
sell my parents’ home, we’re facing a bit of a challenge.
My brother and sister, who both live nearby—are
leaning toward using a different agent, someone
they’ve heard about locally. However, based on our
experience, we feel strongly that our agent is far more
qualified and would achieve a better outcome for our
family. From what we’ve seen, the other agent falls
short in terms of experience, communication, and
strategy.
Because we respect your expertise in real estate
and especially in navigating family dynamics, we’re
hoping you can offer some insight or suggestions on
how to approach this conversation with my siblings.
We’d like to help them understand the value of
going with someone who has a proven track record,
especially when this sale is such an important one for
our family. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts
on selling our parent’s home? — In a Pickle

Dear Pickle,
I completely understand and appreciate your loyalty
to your Realtor. It’s clear you’ve had a great experience
and want the best for your family. That said, it sounds
like your siblings have already made a collective
decision, and in this case, you’ve been outvoted. With
over thirty years of experience selling real estate in
the Foothills, I’ve seen many family situations like
this, where differing opinions can lead to tension
during the process.
While your intentions are absolutely in the right
place, I want to point out something I’ve observed
over the years: when one family member pushes for a
particular direction and things don’t go perfectly—as
they sometimes don’t in real estate—that person can
become the focus of blame, even unfairly.
It might be worth considering whether preserving
harmony with your siblings outweighs the risks of
pushing back at this stage. I wish you the best of luck
in whatever direction you decide to go.
Warm regards.

Phyllis