Bill Kuhlman
Broker
Boston, MA

I have a client whose father is retired and in middling health, and her mother is nearing retirement. After a recent visit, she realized her parents are at the point where the country house they own is too large a burden to keep up.

Mom and Dad have said for years that they would like to buy a modest, low-maintenance home somewhere near my client’s home and keep the country home. My client believes her parents would be better off selling it, but she knows if she suggests this, her father will dig in his heels and cling to all the reasons he shouldn’t.

The best advice I had for her was something I learned in the CRS Negotiations course: People will support any decision they, themselves, author. I believe this would be a good tactic for my client to convince her father.

So do you have any suggestions on how to get someone to do something in their best interests, whether by sewing the seeds to get them to come up with the idea on their own, or by any other means?