What Are Your Needs?

Many of the homeowners we meet with for the first time (understandably) have the same mindset: "We have to keep our house!" But do most of them want to keep their home for the right reasons?

Do most homeowners want to keep their homes out of physiological necessity (the need for shelter), or because of esteem issues (status and respect of others)?

In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow presented a paper (A Theory of Human Motivation) as an explanation to human curiosity and motivation. In this paper, he explained that certain basic needs (food, water, shelter) must be met before a human can worry about other needs (Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization). This theory was titled The Heirarchy of Needs.

We understand homeowners need a place to live - it is one of the most important basic human needs (as defined by Maslow). It is our job to help homeowners keep their current homes.

However, there ARE times when temporarily downsizing from your current home makes the most sense. A smaller home or rental would undoubtedly fulfill that basic requirement and would allow people to carry on with their lives. We have been a part of many success stories where homeowners temporarily downsized to get their lives back on track.

From an Esteem level, however, the choice is not so simple. Our culture has placed such an enormous emphasis on status and personal belongings that the "embarrassment" of losing a "big home" must be avoided at all costs. It is our experience that this is not the case at all.

So if selling your home makes the most sense but you are still a little reluctant, ask yourself this question: "Am I trying to stay in this house because it is the ONLY place I could live, or am I just afraid of what my friends/family will say?"