Last week I lost a buyer for one of the properties I was selling.  The buyer cancelled the contract at the 11^th hour and that was it: time to start over for me.  The reality is that if you’ve been around real estate long enough, it’s inevitable that you’ve either personally lost a sale of your home or heard a story about someone who did.  Real estate is very emotional for buyers and sellers. Buyer’s remorse can easily creep in and they get scared and walk away.  How do you combat it and deal with it?

1. Never count your cash until it’s actually in your pocket.  In real estate, until the deal is completely closed and the money is in your bank account, never get too excited.  I’ve seen deals fall apart for all types of crazy things, so be hopeful and positive, but save the champagne for when it’s official!
2. Don’t become emotional.  If your deal does fall apart, realize that it wasn’t meant to be.  It never seems like it at the time, but there are greater forces at work here that are guiding us.  In every case I’ve dealt with where deals fell apart, we’ve ended up getting a better buyer and it turned into a very smooth process and a great transaction.
3. Don’t fall into the trap where other buyers will try to beat you up on price because your house just came back on the market.  Know what you have and be firm with it.  This just happened to me. I had an offer from someone that I didn’t accept – I took another buyer’s offer, who ended up backing out of the deal. Bummer for me.  I put it back on the market after about 10 days and the other buyers, thinking I was desperate, came back and offered me $20,000 less than they did originally.  I said maybe in 6 months, but not 10 days.
4. Try to remove contingencies in the contract as quickly as possible.  The quicker you can get the buyer to remove financing contingencies, inspection contingencies and homeowner document review contingencies, the more likely you’ll be to lock in a deal that will get to the closing table.

Although selling your house can be a stressful process, know that it could fall apart.  Set low expectations for yourself.  I like to say “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!”  It’s always better to be pleasantly surprised then let down!  Happy Selling!

Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012.  He is the broker of Gulf Pointe Properties, Inc and has over 8 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market.  He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate.  Need real estate help?  Please contact Gabe at:  239.825.2234, Gabe@GulfPointeProperties.com  or www.GulfPointeProperties.com