When did your parents sell your childhood home?

[Anonymous]

They are still living in it and just completed some renovations that they've wanted to do for a long time. In fact, they only recently redid my childhood bedroom and I'm 30. The house is paid off and they've carefully saved and planned for retirement, including long-term care insurance, so hopefully they will be able to remain in that house for a long time to come. At the moment, it's hard for me to see a circumstance where the house would need to be sold for funds prior to their deaths, even if they need to move into some kind of nursing care, but I guess anything is technically possible.

[Anonymous]

They still live in the house they bought when I was 13. I am now in my late 30s.

I do wish they would downsize. While it's a sizeable house, it's not so much the issue as that they are now hitting 70 I have noticed they don't quite see the maintenance and upkeep needs they once did, so little things are starting to slide, both in the yard and inside. It all does eventually get taken care of, but usually after some reminders. They also have a cleaner who's come for the last 30 years and she has certainly declined in the quality of her work but they refuse to let her go (understandably). I know things would be much easier if they moved to this particular townhouse community nearby (quite large and very well built townhouses, they have good friends who live there, and it's as maintenance free as you can get while still owning a property).

They will move, eventually, but probably not for another five or so years. Will I be sad when the house is sold? Not really. It was a great family home but life goes on.

[Anonymous]

My brother and I sold it after my mom died (dad died first). I was 33. It was super sad at the time but I rarely think about it now (and used the proceeds to buy a new home that I now live in with my husband and kids, so we are grateful for that).

[Anonymous]

I was 20, a junior in college. Had my own car, so when I drove away the last time I had to pull over 2 minutes down the road because I was crying so hard. They were leaving our small town, too. It was hard. For years (i'm 52 now), I had many dreams set in that house.

They recently sold the house they've owned for ~30 years - I really only "visited" that house, never had my own bedroom there (there was one less bedroom than in our previous house, so when i was home on holidays and vacations I "shared" with a younger sibling. This sale was harder on my youngest siblings, as it was the house they grew up in. I had some feelings about them downsizing and getting rid of lots of "stuff," but I had no really feelings about the house itself.

[Anonymous]

My parents have only lived in two places their entire lives-- the homes they were raised in (their parents' houses) and the house they live in now. They are pushing 70 and talk about moving but keep insisting "there's nowhere else to go." I haven't lived there in many years-- I'm over 40-- and at this point, I'd like my kids to visit and be able to remember the place when they're older (they are too small to remember much under age 3), but at the same time, my parents are probably being a little stubborn as it's simply too big for them and they have too much pride to pay for a housekeeper or lawn service. A day will come when they will have to make a change-- either my father will severely hurt himself pulling weeds or pushing the lawn mower because he refuses to hire help, or they will finally realize, peacefully, on their own, before someone has a health crisis, that a small garden apartment, one bedroom in their neighborhood is perfectly fine.

I'd be sad to see the place go, but like many Gen Xers and millennials, I have moved so many times for work that to me, a house is just a house. You own the house, it doesn't own you. I realize it's very tough for my parents to consider having to rent a place or live in, oh my lord!, an apartment building with strangers.

[Anonymous]

They bought the house a year after college graduation in 1984. I was brought home from the hospital to it in 1986. Theyll be there forever thanks to property tax limitations in California.

[Anonymous]

Well, it's not the house I was a baby/toddler/preschooler in, but the house I grew up in - I think I was 27 or 28? I didn't care.

[Anonymous]

My stepfather died when he was 43, my mother at the time was 40. My stepsister demanded her share and forced my mother to sell.

Packing up was hard but life goes on.

[Anonymous]

When my dad died. I was 40. I still drive by it sometimes. It makes me sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My stepfather died when he was 43, my mother at the time was 40. My stepsister demanded her share and forced my mother to sell.

Packing up was hard but life goes on.

What did you want her to do? Let your mom keep the house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents have not, but I'd be thrilled if they did. That would mean they'd have to go through the 30+ years of stuff in the basement.

LOL, came here to post exactly this. They'll never move because they have too much crap.

[Anonymous]

I lived in one house until I was ten, moved across town and lived in that house until i was 20 and my parents divorced. The thing that killed me was my first cat was buried in the backyard and I felt like I was abandoning her. My dad's parents have lived in the same house for 60 years, and if my uncle doesn't move it after they pass and that house gets sold it's going to kill me---it's the only place left that I remember being a kid in. Every Christmas for the last 30 years I've spent there.

[Anonymous]

My mother still lives in the house they bought in 1972 for 60k (parents divorced, my mom bought out my dad so we could stay in the home). She pays something like 900/month in mortgage and property taxes. The house, located in West Los Angeles, is now worth about 2 million dollars. It's a total tear down, too. My mom would stay forever, but I worry about upkeep and having to drive up into the hills at night. I've suggested a condo or rental, but she doesnt like the idea.

[Anonymous]

I didn't have a childhood home -- we moved frequently due to my father's job. I find it strange to imagine living in one house your whole life!

Remember, you don't lose your good memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents have not, but I'd be thrilled if they did. That would mean they'd have to go through the 30+ years of stuff in the basement.

+1, we pushed them to sell it ten years ago and they dragged their feet. And the market in their area continues to soften. Its a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath with a pool. The only good thing is that my sister, brother and I have gone through our rooms and stored crap in the attic. The shelves and closets in our rooms are empty. Our memories boxes have been sorted, donated and removed to our own houses. My parents just need to deal with their own 35+ of stuff in the house.