I have seen many ways sellers can hurt their sale. As a real estate agent representing both buyers and sellers, you start to see a pattern of the same issues coming up. Sometimes certain issues are unavoidable, but it is undeniable: sellers can hurt their sale, even if they don’t realize what they are doing is having a negative impact on the sale of their home. It doesn’t matter whether the damage is done before the house is under contract or after, these situations can still affect the sale of the home in a negative way. Let’s discuss some of these issues.

1. Not Trusting Their Agent

This one creates an interesting dilemma, a homeowner who hires a real estate agent to assist with the sale of their home has already decided that the agent is an expert in their field. Sellers can hurt their sale by not considering the advice of their agent when it comes to pricing strategy, staging, and marketing.

2. Overpricing Their Home

Many home sellers can hurt their sale by insisting on overpricing their home because they have to sell it for a certain amount. The key thing to remember here is that the price a seller wants to sell their home will not determine its value for a buyer or for the ultimate judge on the value of a home, the appraiser. Many home sellers have asked me to list the home at the higher price just for a short time to test the market. This is not a good strategy because a listing typically gets more interest from the market in the first three to four weeks. If the home is overpriced, most buyers will skip over it in favor of more realistically priced options.

3. Not Thinking Like a Buyer

Sellers must think like buyers in order to be successful at selling their home. A buyer will compare all of the homes that are in their price range, location they want, in the condition they want, and have the features they want. A seller’s home has to become the most attractive option to the buyer; if it is, the seller will receive an offer.

4. Insisting on Being Present for All Showings

Sellers can hurt their sale by doing this and they don’t even realize it. Sometimes their agent may be too polite to tell them to leave their own home, or the seller may think no one could possibly know their home better than they do. This can cause so many problems that it should be an article by itself. A seller doing this can negatively affect their negotiating power, keeps their agent out of the communication loop, and could open them up for legal liability.

5. Not Maintaining Their Home

Any home will eventually sell, but if a seller wants to maximize their profits from the investment in their home, they must maintain it properly. Even small things can have a larger negative impact with the buyer. When a buyer notices a minor problem they immediately ask themselves, what else have they not taken care of. Usually buyers will want more of a discount on the price of the house than what it would cost to take care of the issue. Not every home has to be in perfect condition to sell for top dollar, but it certainly does help.

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