My siblings disagree about whether to sell our parents' house. What do we do?

The first thing to do is not list. The disagreement is almost never really about the house — it's usually about something underneath: which sibling carried the caregiving load, who got financial help from parents during their lifetime, what fairness looks like, or whether one sibling wants to keep the property in the family.

Roger has been part of dozens of these conversations and has learned to step back, listen, and help families surface the questions they need to answer with each other before any real estate decision gets made. Sometimes that means a family meeting at the home. Sometimes it means each sibling getting an independent valuation so the numbers are common ground. Sometimes it means a sibling buying out the others rather than selling — Roger can structure that with a refinance instead of a sale.

The wrong move is to push for a listing decision before the family is aligned. Forced sales create family fractures that outlive the closing by decades. Roger only lists when the family is ready, and that's sometimes 3-6 months after the first call.

I want to give you a complete answer, but I need to know your specifics. Reach me at (510) 504-0402, text or call 24/7 at (406) 205-9003, or email roger@grubb.net. I answer my own phone.