7 Off the Wall Mistakes Home Sellers Make
Most articles about seller mistakes cover the same things: overpricing, poor photos, refusing showings, ignoring your Realtor’s advice. Those mistakes matter, but after more than two decades in real estate, I’ve seen sellers make some much stranger decisions, mistakes that can create unnecessary problems, weaken their negotiating position, or even put a closing at risk. Here are seven of the most off-the-wall mistakes home sellers make.
1. Contacting the Buyer’s Agent Directly
Some sellers don’t see the harm in contacting the buyer’s agent directly. Regardless of the reason, this type of contact should be avoided at all costs. Sellers need to let their listing agent do their job. If they want feedback from a showing, their agent needs to call. If they’re upset about something happening in the transaction, that conversation needs to happen with their own agent. And if a call to the buyer’s agent is actually necessary, it should be the listing agent making it, not the seller.
Why? For starters, agents generally don’t want to hear from people who aren’t their clients. Second, a seller reaching out directly can create a situation or make a bad one worse.
There are sellers who’ve called the buyer’s agent just to vent that a closing was delayed, which accomplishes nothing. Others have called mid-transaction to explain how desperate they are to close quickly. In one case, a listing agent tried to negotiate a credit from the buyer in exchange for extending the closing date, but the buyer’s agent already knew from the seller’s own call that they didn’t have to offer a thing. Once information is shared with the other side, you can’t take it back. Your listing agent is there to negotiate on your behalf, so let them be the one talking to the buyer’s agent.
2. Oversharing on Social Media
It’s not uncommon for sellers and buyers to share their real estate journey online. Don’t. Buyers, and even real estate agents, will look into a seller to figure out their position.
Why are they moving? How quickly do they need to sell? Have they already bought their next place? Are they thrilled or frustrated with an offer that just came in? Even venting about a slow buyer or a disagreement with your own agent can end up telling the other side exactly what they need to know.
Posting these kinds of things online can hurt a home sale, even on private accounts. The real estate world is smaller than people think, especially when buying or selling in the area you currently live in. This has become one of the more common mistakes home sellers make without realizing it.
3. Switching Out Appliances Before Closing
Real estate contracts spell out what’s included in a home sale, like appliances, though exactly what that covers can depend on the specific contract and any addenda attached to it. Generally, though, a contract listing “refrigerator, range, and dishwasher” means the ones currently in the home, not just any refrigerator, range, or dishwasher of that type.
Sellers can’t simply remove their $40,000 appliances and replace them with $2,000 ones before closing unless the contract allows it or both parties agree. It happens more often than you’d think, which is why some agents or buyers photograph appliances and record serial numbers when they’re not explicitly excluded in the contract.
The same goes for fixtures like curtain rods or light fixtures. If there’s something a seller wants to keep, it needs to be written into the contract as excluded, so there are no surprises at the final walkthrough. Better yet, remove the item before showings start so it’s never even up for negotiation.
Buyers sometimes latch onto something they can’t have, and a light fixture can easily become a sticking point that delays closing or leads to a dispute. Our guide on what to know before signing a listing agreement is a good place to start if you want to understand how these terms typically get documented.
4. Covering the House in Post-It Notes
There’s no reason for a seller to plaster Post-it notes around their home pointing out “features” or leaving instructions. Buyers can see the cabinets are 42 inches high and that the primary closet has built-ins. Post-it notes are handy for the seller, but they’re visually distracting and can take away from how a home shows.
Buyers are supposed to be evaluating the house, not trying to decipher the seller’s commentary about it. If there’s a feature buyers genuinely can’t see for themselves, put it in the MLS description or mention it to the buyer’s agent. Also worth remembering: what a seller considers an upgrade isn’t always one. Sometimes it’s just standard, or outdated, and shouldn’t be highlighted at all.
5. Refusing to Leave After Signing a Contract
It happens more than people expect: a seller changes their mind about selling but has already signed a legally binding contract. Sometimes reality sets in and they pack up and close as agreed. Other times they don’t.
Wanting out of a deal isn’t the same as being able to walk away from one. Depending on the circumstances and the specific contract, refusing to perform can expose a seller to significant legal and financial consequences. Before listing, sellers need to be certain this is what they actually want to do, and know where they’re going next, so they’re not scrambling, or reconsidering, after a contract is already signed.
6. Covering Up Mold Instead of Fixing It
Mold is a serious issue and should never be taken lightly. Some sellers think a little bleach and a coat of paint will take care of it, but that doesn’t actually solve the problem. Sellers need to find the source first, whether it’s a plumbing leak or a roof leak, and get it fixed. Depending on the cause, it may even be covered by homeowners insurance.
Once the moisture source has been corrected, appropriate remediation and, when warranted, post-remediation verification can help document that the problem was properly addressed. That documentation, along with the issue itself, should be disclosed to potential buyers as part of your seller’s disclosure.
Will disclosing it scare some buyers away? Sometimes, but a properly addressed issue with documentation tends to put most buyers at ease. Sellers who cover it up, handle it themselves, and skip the disclosure are the ones who put themselves at the greatest risk.
7. Forgetting About Liens and Other Debts
It’s rare, but some sellers don’t realize that a home equity line of credit, a second mortgage, a judgment, or another recorded lien against the property has to be paid off at closing, right along with the primary mortgage itself.
Liens on a home get paid at closing, which can net a seller less than they expected. In some cases, the seller may even need to bring money to the closing table or explore a short sale instead.
A top listing agent will walk a seller through this part of the process, but it’s still worth knowing on your own everything that’s attached to the property and how much is owed on each. That total gets added to closing costs and subtracted from the projected sale price to get your actual net, and that net needs to work for you before you sign a listing agreement, not after.
One More Thing to Watch For: The Wrong Agent
A lot of the mistakes above are easier to avoid with the right agent in your corner, and harder to avoid with the wrong one. The agent who tells sellers what they want to hear instead of what’s true, promising a home will sell well above market value when it won’t, or claiming it’s show ready when it’s a mess with years of deferred maintenance, sets sellers up for exactly the kind of problems this article covers.
Lies real estate agents tell sellers(opens in new tab) is a good rundown of this pattern from a fellow Realtor if you want to read more on it. Our own guide to finding the best agent to sell your home covers what to look for so you can spot the difference before you sign anything.
Final Thoughts
None of these mistakes are complicated. The problem is that sellers often don’t realize they’re creating one until they’re already in the middle of a transaction. That’s what makes them so frustrating: they’re avoidable. A seller doesn’t need to know everything about real estate, but they do need to understand where their decisions can affect the sale, their negotiating position, or the closing.
After more than two decades in real estate, these are the kinds of situations that stand out, not because they’re the most common seller mistakes, but because they’re the ones sellers often never think about until it’s too late.
Please consider spreading the word and sharing; 7 Off the Wall Mistakes Home Sellers Make.
Beyond the common advice: 7 off the wall mistakes home sellers make, based on real transactions, from a Wellington Realtor. #homeselling #realestate
About the Author
Top Wellington Realtor, Michelle Gibson, wrote: “7 Off the Wall Mistakes Home Sellers Make.”
Michelle has been specializing in residential real estate since 2001 throughout Wellington Florida and the surrounding area. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or rent she will guide you through the entire real estate transaction. If you’re ready to put Michelle’s knowledge and expertise to work for you call or e-mail her today.
Areas of service include Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres, and more.
