We all know buying a home is stressful. It is a huge purchase and incredibly time-consuming. And to top it all off you have sellers unwilling to compromise or asking a price that seems incredibly out of range for the market. However, instead of automatically making the seller into the bad guy, why not try and look at things from their perspective? This article is meant for buyers to help them see things from the seller’s point of view.

Local Market Conditions

Can you imagine holding onto your house waiting for the right time to sell? Maybe putting off buying your dream home or retirement possibly for years until the market is right? The local market plays a huge role in whether or not the home will sell and for some sellers, the timing does not work in their favor. Along with the market not being the best time, there is also how long the home sits on the market to consider. As a seller, if you aren’t in the home you are still paying a mortgage, utilities, insurance, etc. and if you are in the home you are tasked with keeping all areas ready to view at all times.

Time of Year

Some sellers have a small window in which they’re able to put their home on the market. Whether it is for deployment and the family has to move immediately or the family has to wait until the end of the school year sometimes the seller is in a hurry and needs a quick sale. Waiting on buyers who are ill-prepared or people asking to see your house now but want to buy in 6 months to a year would be incredibly frustrating and would honestly feel like a waste of time.

It’s Emotional

As a buyer, you look at a house and think of what it could be. All the BBQ’s your family COULD have in the backyard. All the hours you COULD spend in the pool. When a seller is putting their house on the market, they have to think about all the hours they DID spend in the pool. Or all the family BBQ’s they DID have. It’s sometimes hard to let go of the tangible even when you still do have the memories. And while it is frustrating as a buyer to have a house be priced on sentimental value there is a reason for that. It’s because the seller is attached to their home.

Getting the Home Ready to Sell

Putting your home on the market isn’t an easy process. Repairs may need to be done; new coats of paint may have to be put on. The clutter has to go before the Realtor will want to take pictures. There is a lot going on behind the scenes and it’s a hard process. If you had spent every weekend trying to prepare your home for the market only to hear people complain about the finishings or paint color it would be annoying and feel like a waste of both time and money.

Unrealistic Home Buyers

As a buyer, you always feel as though you are being realistic, however, that may not actually be the case. Many home buyers will offer well below market value, even to a point where it is insulting to the seller. As a seller when an offer was made way below what would be fair how would you respond? While the point of putting in an offer is opening up a negotiation, if a person’s offer is comically low it feels like there is no place really to start. From you, the buyer’s perspective, a low-ball offer is a way to get a great deal the seller sees it quite differently.

Unrealistic Home Buyers (Again)

Buyers aren’t only unrealistic when it comes to putting in offers, they are also unrealistic regarding the condition of the home. As a seller you probably have put a lot of work into your home getting it ready for market, however, there may be things you don’t feel need to be done, or you don’t have the budget to do and that is perfectly okay. The problem is when the buyer wants things done exactly suited to their tastes and is not willing to compromise. As a seller, you will be aware your home may need some upgrades and the price will reflect that however, a buyer will still put in an incredibly low offer with the excuse there are repairs to be done. As a seller, you’re now being penalized twice for needing repairs, you decrease asking price because of it and the buyer takes off even less because of repairs needed.

Closing the Deal

Just when you get to the finish line of selling your home is where it can easily all go wrong. There are many things a buyer can do to derail their loan and it is entirely out of the seller’s hands. Not only is this frustrating it is also damaging regarding how other buyers look at the home. As a seller, the loan falling through had nothing to do with you but now potential buyers see your home as having something wrong with it that caused the original buyers to back out.

While buying a home comes with its own distinct set of challenges it is helpful to realize that selling a home isn’t always easy either. Instead of feeling as though one side doesn’t understand the other, progress is made when each side agrees to look at it from a different perspective.

I am passionate about Real Estate and eager to answer all of your real estate questions! Text or Call me at 360-880-2356 or email me directly to ask about Buying, Selling or Investing in today's Real Estate Market - serving Lewis County & Thurston County, WA.

Janet Simons | Certified Residential Specialist | Real Estate Broker
Mountain Valley Real Estate