You folks who’ve held onto your five-bedroom houses even though all the kids have left home? You folks who’ve got a craft room? A spacious study?

A year ago, I despised you all. Hoarding empty bedrooms which could be populated by a whole new generation? I wondered what the hell was wrong with you. Selfish gits, I thought.

Now? Now? As the young people would say, I feel ya. The prospect of selling our family home is so awful I can’t cope. It’s not even that I’m sentimental. I’m not even that sentimental. At this stage I still have a good memory – and I’ll be taking memories and photos with me. Some of the 40-year-old kindy drawings are headed for the recycling bin, though. Don’t tell my kids.

Downsizing comes with the dread of dealing with a property agent.Credit: Peter Rae

Why am I in this slough of despond?

We’ve looked at lots of places and nothing is like the downsizer desto of my dreams (and twice the cost. I’m an older woman with all the super problems that brings).

Worse than that – far worse than that – we have to sell through a real estate agent. Lying liars who lie. Clearly #notallrealestateagents but too many. Industrial scale underquoting to prospective buyers. Overquoting to prospective sellers (aww, the market was just not there on the day).

So........

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