Selling a home can feel very overwhelming and even stressful at times. It’s certainly less fun than purchasing a home. When selling a house, it is important to understand the various things that may come up along the way, which can create anxiety for a seller. Here are a few things I’ve witnessed that have caused sellers discontent over my years as a real estate agent.
1. Scheduling
When a home is listed for sale, the goal is to get buyers to come and see it. Realtors will request to schedule appointments to see the house at whatever time suits their client. Getting a home ready for a showing and working around these appointments can be stressful. This stress is compounded if the seller has kids, a dog, or works from home.
Sometimes, they book an appointment, don’t show up, or call to let the sellers know they aren’t coming.
Of course, this is only the case if you still live in the home. While most Realtors will call or text to let you know that the buyer decided not to see the home for whatever reason, some just honestly forget in the midst of other showings.
2. Inconsiderate Buyers and Agents
When home buyers come to look at a house, they can forget that it belongs to someone else. Sometimes realtors show the home leave without turning off lights on or locking doors. They also may touch or move things without thinking, or leave shoes one when it’s raining outside.
While most agents remind buyers to show consideration and also take the time to go back and double-check to make sure they turn lights off and lock doors after showing. However, sometimes even experienced agents get caught up talking with their buyers and forget. This can be frustrating, especially if the home is vacant.
If no one is living in the home, it’s a good idea to ask a neighbor to help and give them a key so they can make sure everything stays locked and lights off.
3. False hope or window shoppers
Realtors see sellers at the showing and act as if their buyers are interested in the home because they don’t know what else to say. Then, after the showing, the buyer’s agent can’t even be reached with feedback for the seller. This miscommunication can be disheartening because sellers, understandably, get excited thinking they may be getting an offer.
Lots of showings with no interest can be tiresome, as you continually make the home show ready and then come up short with interest and offers. This is generally an indication that the price is too high since buyers are finding better value in other properties and not choosing yours.
4. Show open houses or showings
No inquiries or showings can be a big letdown. Sellers spend time preparing their house for the market, and then nothing. Again, this is generally an indication of the price, as buyers are not even choosing to look at it.
Realtors that show the home and don’t provide feedback can be hard for sellers to understand. Getting honest feedback from buyers can be really helpful when trying to sell a home. While many Realtors do provide feedback there are plenty that do not take the time to return the listing agent’s call for feedback.
5. Home taking longer to sell than expected
The home taking longer to sell than expected can be a hard pill for sellers to swallow. Depending on the market conditions, it can sometimes be a long and arduous process.
Adjusting the price down to get it sold might not be easy for sellers, but it is likely necessary to get the home sold.
6. Buyer Negotiations
Once a buyer has decided to make an offer on a home there are many things that can happen that may cause the seller stress. A home can have many offers before the right one is settled and the home officially closes. Here are a few things that often happen that a seller should be ready for.
Unreasonable Buyer Demands
After the home goes through inspections, buyers sometimes come back with a long repair list. If the seller already made repairs and updates, this can feel very frustrating for a seller.
We always tell our sellers to plan for a minimum of a few thousand toward repairs and be pleasantly surprised if it is less. This is better than being overly disappointed when faced with a large inspection repair list.
Whenever possible, it’s always a good idea to fix broken or damaged items before putting your home on the market.
Cold Feet
It doesn’t happen often but there are cases where a buyer backs out after their offer is accepted. There are a number of reasons a buyer may change their mind about buying a home, but no matter what it is, it is often frustrating and can lead to home selling stress.
Loan Problems
Home buyers are usually pre-approved for a loan before making an offer but problems with the loan can still arise.
While lenders do everything possible to check all things up front, sometimes buyer’s financial situations and job circumstances either change or aren’t exactly what they portrayed and once verified it can cause a buyer’s loan to be denied.
If the buyer can’t secure a home loan, this likely means the deal will fall through.
Change in closing date
The closing date changing at the last minute can create quite a bit of stress for both buyers and sellers. One of the reasons is, in most cases, moving plans are made weeks ahead of time.
Unfortunately it happens sometimes due to various reasons. We make sure our sellers understand ahead of time that the closing date is not set in stone and subject to change.
7. Bad communication
Poor communication from the selling agent, the buyer’s agent and lender involved can be very frustrating for sellers. This can make the seller feel as they’re left somewhat in the dark in many instances.
It’s important to find an agent who knows how to communicate the way you prefer and is good at working with the other parties involved.
Conclusion
While home selling can be stressful for all of the reasons listed above, if you are working with an experienced agent they can help reduce some of the home selling stress.
Finding a top agent that focuses on listing and servicing sellers is key. You want an agent that fully understands the listing and selling side of the business as it’s quite different working on the buyer side and showing houses.