Selling

6 Things That Could Go Horribly Wrong When Selling a Property

It is not an easy job to sell a property as there are so many things that can go wrong!

Even though real estate websites might display seemingly perfect home listings, it’s rather unrealistic to expect all those properties to be completely flawless, or to expect the deals to be incident-free during the selling process.

Sure, it is not something that sellers nor buyers would want to face, so it’ll be up to the real estate agent to manage expectations and potentially have a contingency plan in place in case something does go wrong.

Given that the buyer, seller and agent are only human with each their own personal lives & issues, it is only advisable that one needs to be aware that the following problems cannot be 100% excluded from the process:

No.1 – Seller with a change of heart

Sometimes, the seller’s personal life (issues) influences the decision to sell a house and he might remove it from the market. Examples are divorce, death, sickness, job loss or minor health concerns.

In certain markets, it might even happen that the owner cannot find a replacement home in time for the big sale and contemplate to stay at the house a while longer.

However, most of the time, a change of heart is only temporary, if managed properly by the agent.

No.2 – Seller with uncontrolled emotions

Sellers might also experience uncontrolled emotions that will have a negative effect on the sale of their home, whereby emotions surrounding the selling of the house might be running high and the pressure of perfecting the house before selling might take its toll.

Sometimes, the urgency to sell a home forces the seller to take a lower price just to get rid of it.

If there is more than one comparable house for sale in the neighborhood and there’s a price war taking place, the sellers might have to rethink their price strategy & improve the curb appeal of their home.

It would be wise to control your emotions before it controls you.

No.3 – Buyer with issues

Buyers often take advantage of the fact that they have more freedom to get out of a sale than sellers do.

It might be that the buyers pull out due to personal or family issues, a disappointing home inspection, unreasonable seller demands, rejected mortgage applications, or even home destruction, to name but a few.

No.4 – Seller with financial concerns

It does happen that unexpected financial issues arise which forces sellers to sit tight, which obviously doesn’t work out quite as conveniently for the buyers:

  • Lack of funds might prevent a seller to fix up a house, or a financial emergency might demand that the seller’s funds go towards the issue at hand.
  • Perhaps there’s a cash flow issue whereby the sellers need to borrow funds from financial institutions in order to keep the house in good condition or to clear any outstanding debt.

Whichever might be the case, buyers will unlikely be waiting around for such issues to be cleared up and before you know it, they have moved on to the next house.

No.5 – Home inspection surprise

A very common reason why buyers might walk away from deals is due to the home inspection report: this will the buyers a truthful overview of the house and is highly recommended by the real estate agents.

This way, serious issues and repairs can be tended to before the house is purchased!

The more in-depth home inspections tend to be the more expensive ones, however, at least this way the buyers will have peace of mind knowing all has been checked out.

No.6 – Home destruction

Even though it is a rather rare occurrence, it does happen: natural disasters. 

It might just destroy a home before the sale is closed, whereby the buyer will look for a new home and the seller has to restore the home.

It wouldn’t be the first time an out-of-control wildfire flattens 1,000’s of hectares, including a number of houses which were ‘sold’, yet hadn’t been closed on.

Mistakes can happen anywhere and at any given time. A good real estate agent should anticipate these potential issues, or make a plan to restore harmony!


If you’ve enjoyed this article, why not share it across your social media platforms, so others can benefit from it as well? Feel free to REPIN the image below:

Things That Could Go Horribly Wrong When Selling a Property
Things That Could Go Horribly Wrong When Selling a Property

ImmoAfrica.net

South Africa's fastest-growing, independent property portal, offering affordable solutions for real estate professionals. A hub of info covering topics for #homebuyers, #homesellers, #renters and #lifestyle enthusiasts!

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button