14 Frustrating Things You Can Expect To Deal With When Selling Your Home!

Vaughn Ray Shelton - AKA - The Real Estate Negotiator

Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Expert, Real Estate Consultant, Real Estate Investor and Real Estate Arthor.

There are few times more exciting than when you finally sell your home. If you are lucky, you wind up making quite a bit of money – money you can use to buy a new home, invest or just have fun. Who doesn’t enjoy that? But the path leading to your sale might not be quite as much fun.

In fact, it may be really annoying and tedious at times. You will probably have to deal with multiple potential buyers and all the hassles that go with them. There, in fact, can be some annoying things a seller has to deal with during the home sale process.

Stay strong, listen to your Realtor and keep your eye on the finish line. Don’t let these home selling annoyances get to you. You can get through this!

Below are 14 things about selling a home that can be a real pain!

1. You may have to show the home at the last minute.

Without a doubt, there are people in this world who don’t follow a set schedule. These same people expect the rest of the world to do likewise. When selling a home, there are times where you will get a phone call saying that a buyer would like to look at your home in under an hour.

Immediately your blood starts to boil, and your stress level rises. People being inconsiderate not what you signed up for!

Ideally, you will be notified a day or two at least before someone comes to see the home. But there will be times when you get a call, and the buyer wants to come by – now. Last minute showings can be annoying, but remind yourself that the buyer annoying you may wind up buying your house. Try not to glare at the buyer as you hastily exit your home.

Sometimes the buyer just can’t help it. Maybe they are relocating to the area, have looked at other homes, and nothing seems to fit the bill. They find your home and are thinking this could be the one. This is how you need to think as well. Any great real estate agent will tell you a missed showing is a missed opportunity.

2. Buyers will not arrive for showings.

You work your ass off getting the house cleaned, the kid’s stuff put away, and the dog removed for your scheduled showing. Wham! You then find out that the buyer didn’t show up and their agent didn’t have the decency to call your agent to let them know. Folks this happens a lot in real estate. It’s a buyer’s agent being lazy and inconsiderate. It’s as simple as that.

There may be a showing or two that you find yourself stood up. People do not always do what they say they will do. Things come up, too, like emergencies or other unexpected events. Whatever the reason, there is the possibility that you will be waiting around for a buyer to come over and that buyer will never arrive.

While it can be irritating and inconvenient, it is best to try not to let it get to you. You can ask your agent to reach out and verify that the buyer still plans to come, which is a nice way of pointing out that you were stood up. Don’t be angry at your listing agent – it is not their fault.

3. Finding your lights left on and your doors unlocked.

You do your part and make sure you are gone when the home is shown. Hopeful that maybe the potential buyer liked what he or she saw, you come home to discover that every light in the house is on and the doors are unlocked. Not cool, but unfortunately, not that uncommon.You do not have to accept such behavior. You can leave instructions for any buyer’s agent that comes through to make sure all the lights are off, and the doors are locked. It may be helpful to put up signs as well, just as an extra reminder.

Keep in mind the barriers to entry in the real estate industry are very low. Some real estate agents lack common sense or even worse consideration for doing what’s right.

Someone leaving your door unlocked is never acceptable. While this is not your listing agents fault, it is not something that should be let go either. Make sure your agent speaks to the buyer’s agent, so it never happens again.

4. Discover damage to your home or even worse something missing.

With strangers wandering all over your home, there is the possibility that something could get broken or otherwise damaged. From time to time home sellers will discover that something no longer functions as it should, or that something is broken or dirty. For instance, when people go through your attic, they may knock insulation loose. Or they could bump into something fragile and knock it over.

If you are concerned that something was damaged, you can ask the buyer’s agent about what happened. You can probably get your homeowners insurance to cover the cost, too.

What is far worse, however, is theft from an open house. Not discussing the risks associated with having an open house is something a lot of agents do. Not explaining the drawbacks is something that should never happen but does all the time.

Scheduled showings are far less risky for a seller as there is only one party an agent has to monitor. With an open house, it’s possible multiple parties can be viewing the home at once. This increases the risk dramatically that something will be removed from the home. It’s impossible for a real estate agent to watch everyone during an open house.

5. Buyers may touch, move and otherwise disturb your things.

Even if nothing gets broken, there will be some slight rearranging going on if you have enough buyers look at your home. People will move things around to see the home more clearly, to get to certain areas of the home and maybe even accidentally. They aren’t you, so they don’t remember how it was before they disturbed it. Expect to find some changes and do your best to stay calm about it. As long as nothing is stolen or damaged, the disruption is worth it to reach your goal.

Occasionally, a buyer may bring one of their kids as well. Doing so, of course, increases the odds that something in the home will be disturbed, especially if you have kids as well and they see something interesting.

6. You can’t leave your pets in the house for showings.

With the exception of a fish tank or a cat that hides the whole time under the bed, you are going to need to take your pets out of the home when buyers view it. Pets are just too disruptive, particularly dogs. Buyers may not like animals, may be scared of dogs or may be annoyed by your dog’s constant barking. You want to put your best foot forward, which is why you take your pets with you when you leave for a showing.Selling and moving with pets can be a real hassle. If you have a plan in place, however, things will go far more smoothly.

7. The feedback on your home is insulting.

Your home is your pride and joy. Yet, someone just told you that your kitchen is horrible, the home stinks of dog and the carpets need updating. Yes, feedback can be helpful, but at times it can make you want to scream. How can be a real estate agent be so insensitive by writing this stuff you are thinking to yourself.

Keep in mind most feedback is slanted to the negative. Those who are interested and love your home will be making an offer. Those who don’t are usually telling you the reason why. Don’t sweat the feedback. Don’t ignore it either! There are going to be times where an agent or buyer is brutally honest. You might not like what you hear, but it can also help you sell your house.

8. Your agent insists on open houses.

Your agent keeps insisting on holding open houses almost every weekend. Every Sunday you are packing up your stuff and exiting the place all afternoon. The agent has held numerous open houses, but your home just isn’t selling. You ask the agent if the open house was busy and they tell you it was. What’s the problem you wonder?

The problem is open houses don’t sell homes. Serious buyers schedule showings with their agent. Tire kickers, your neighbors, and unqualified buyers are the ones who are visiting your home every weekend.

The dirty little secret in real estate is that open houses benefit real estate agents far more than they do homeowners. You are wasting your time! Instead get an agent who knows how to price correctly and market well. This is the key to selling real estate.

9. You finally got an offer, but it’s a low ball.

There are times when you are selling your home that you just want to cry. You have just dealt with the annoyances of selling your place including an endless amount of showings and then finally get an offer. The only problem is the buyer is insane. They have submitted a bid that makes absolutely no sense what so ever. Maybe they were looking at an unreliable Zillow estimate that said your home was worth peanuts. Whatever the reason you feel like selling your home has been a big waste of time.

Keep your head up. A low ball offer happens from time to time.

10. You got stuck in dual agency, and it doesn’t feel so good.

You finally got an offer on your home, and it’s a half decent one. Your agent, however, wants to be dual agent. You hired your real estate agent to represent your best interests exclusively. You hired them to be your confidant and advisor. This is your first time selling a home after all. You have no experience in negotiations. With dual agency, the agent no longer works exclusively for you. In fact, they become a neutral party not able to give you any pricing guidance.Dual agency has become one of the hottest topics in real estate. The problem with dual agency is that many real estate agents have no idea what they are allowed to do or not do mandated by state law. This leads to consumers being fooled by dual agency. They are left in an awkward position where there is either no guidance or their agent gives it to them illegally.

The only person who wins in dual agency is the real estate agent. If consumers understood the dynamics behind dual agency, they would never agree to allow it. Unfortunately, they don’t get it, and the one who’s explaining it to them is the agent who will benefit from them saying yes to it. The reference above describes why you want to say NO to dual agency.

When selling your home make sure the agent you hire ALWAYS remains a seller’s agent.

11. The home inspection was done, and the buyer expects perfection.

There are very few homes that don’t have at least some minor issues. Keep your fingers crossed you don’t run into the buyer who has completely unrealistic expectations about the purpose of a home inspection. The home inspection has always been for the buyer to discover if there are any serious structural or mechanical defects.

The home inspection was never intended for the buyer to hand a punch list to the seller expecting perfection. This, of course, happens when a buyer doesn’t have a strong agent explaining to them what are realistic home inspection requests are what aren’t.

You will know what kind of buyer you have when they ask you to repair things that are under $100 to fix, or they could plainly see before they made their offer. This by definition is an unrealistic buyer and certainly one of the most annoying things a seller will deal with.

12. Packing your stuff up to move.

It’s great to find out that someone is going to buy your house, but you will have to do a lot of work after you get the good news. Packing all your things, in particular, is usually way more work than most people expect. You discover that you have accumulated a lot more than you used to have, and all of it must be boxed up, protected if fragile and be made ready to move.

You can hire people to do it, or do it yourself. Remember to go through everything and donate, throw away or sell what you don’t need. The less stuff you have to take with you, the cheaper and less time-consuming moving will be. Here is an excellent guide for packing your home for a move. Use the information provided to make you move go a lot more smoothly.

13. Having to move.

After packing comes moving, which is often even less fun than packing. Transporting all your things to the new home, lugging around heavy boxes, walking back and forth to the moving truck a thousand times, pulling muscles, your stuff getting rained on – the list of why moving is a drag goes on and on.

Even if you hire movers, you will still have a lot of work to do. And you will have to do everything except drive twice, because you have to move everything out, and then everything back in again to the new home. Luckily you are buying a new place, which means you can stay there the rest of your life if you want to. Use some of the best tips for moving to ensure you are well organized.

14. Picking the wrong Real Estate

Many people wonder how to pick a Realtor. Without a doubt picking the right real estate agent when selling a home is one of the most critical aspects to having success. Unfortunately for whatever reason, lots of people don’t take the selection a real estate agent seriously enough.

It is not hard to understand why there are so many complaints from consumers about bad experiences with the real estate agent they have chosen. Getting into the real estate industry is far easier than it should be. You would think that when people are dealing with what is usually someone’s largest asset, the bar would be set high for who can do that. Clearly far too often this is not the case! Knowing how to select a real estate agent remains a low priority for numerous consumers.

You have to ask yourself why someone will put finding a good hair stylist over choosing an exceptional real estate agent. Many people are throwing their hard earned money down the drain because they don’t think who represents them matters. Oh Boy is that wrong!

For this reason, I have put together a field guide for why selecting the right real estate agent is critical.

After reading, you may even decide that knowing how to fire your Realtor is important!

Is Your Real Estate Agent A Post And Pray Realtor?

A great Realtor can be a treasured asset to your home sale, but only if that Realtor is doing his or her job right. Some Realtors, unfortunately, are more of the “post and pray” type, choosing to put up a sign, posting in the multiple listing service (MLS), and then forgetting about you. But for your Realtor to get the job done, he or she needs to be out networking, getting the word out about your home and drawing in prospective buyers.

You can easily spot the difference between a quality real estate agent and one who is more the post and pray type. A quality agent will have a strong online presence, including a website and blog, and will have plenty of current references that speak positively, will create detailed descriptions of your home for listings, will use video tours and slide shows, and will communicate regularly with you throughout the entire sales process. Any agent that fails to meet these criteria is probably not someone you want helping you sell your valuable real estate.

I have coined the term post and pray Realtor. This is an article worth reading. Selecting a Real Estate agent is not something that should be taken for granted!

Choose A Realtor By Asking Great Real Estate Interview Questions

There is probably no shortage of real estate agents in your town. While it is nice to have so many different choices, the fact is that many of these agents are not necessarily the best choice to help you sell your home. You want someone who is excellent at their job, not someone who only works in half measures. This is why it is important that you ask the right questions when you are choosing your real estate agent.

You want to interview some agents using questions that show what they are made of.

• You can ask how long they have been in real estate?
• How many homes have they sold in the last year?
• How many of those sales were near the original listing price?
• How long did each of those listings take to sell?
• If they have an assistant, and if they are confident using the internet to sell a home?

The answers they give will tell you what you need to know.

See what are the best interview questions to ask a real estate agent to increase your chances of a prudent choice. You can also see more ways to pick a listing agent at Realtor.com.

Top Home Seller Mistakes When Selecting A Real Estate Agent

Your agent will be on the front lines in the battle to sell your home, working as your advocate and ensuring that you get the best price for your real estate. This is why it is so unfortunate that many owners fail to select a quality Realtor, leaving them with an agent that may or may not get them the best price.Some of the most common mistakes when selecting a Realtor center around only using one criterion for selection, like choosing a friend or neighbor, choosing someone that sold a ton of homes – even though those sales were all for far below the original asking price.

Sellers may choose a Realtor because they like his or her personality, which is not bad, but you should be focused on tangible evidence of ability. You want to select a Realtor that has sold homes recently, quickly, and for close to the price he or she listed them at. If he or she is also your friend, great, but the focus should be selling ability.

Final Words of Advice

At times selling a home can be a real pain in the neck! If you keep a stiff upper lip, you’ll get through it. Remember the agent you hired in on the same team you are. There are times where other bozos will make him or her not look so good. Your agent, however, should be part of your support system and not work against you. The bottom line is don’t let these home selling annoyances make you a mental case!

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Vaughn Ray Shelton - AKA - The Real Estate Negotiator

Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Expert, Real Estate Consultant, Real Estate Investor and Real Estate Published Arthor.