Seller’s remorse. It can be much tougher to reverse than if you are on the other side of the transaction. If a buyer gets cold feet, there are often stipulations in a contract to allow for the sale to be voided. But what if you’re the seller and you’re feeling like you’ve made a big mistake?

Unfortunately, the sales contract doesn’t look as kindly on your situation and it’s pretty difficult, if not near impossible, to reverse the sale. You could still be on the hook for commission costs, at the very least.

So then, what recourse does one have to avoid feeling remorseful over putting your house up on the market? The solution is simple. Before you list your home, you need to think about all of the reasons why you’re doing it and devise a solid game plan, including hiring real estate agents which will not only make the selling process easier on you, but also it will ensure you’re completely satisfied with the result once the contract is signed and the keys exchange hands.

Consider the Price

Not so much the price you’ll pay for selling the house but the price you’ll ask from a potential buyer. Hiring real estate agents and setting a strong pricing strategy will be your best and most important way to avoid feeling the sting of remorse once you sell. The biggest reason we look back on a financial transaction with ruefulness is because we don’t feel like we made enough money on the deal. It’s one thing to sell your computer or a car for less than you expected, but when it comes to your home, that pit in your stomach can start to feel pretty intense.

So before you list your home, talk to your real estate agent and really think about the price you want and what’s realistic in the current market. Right now, sellers are dictating the trend and that’s a good thing, but you also need to be practical about what you can really receive from a sale. Therefore, setting some parameters with respect to list price is the first step to take. Most of the time sellers will go out to market with a higher price tag that they can then lower if they are unable to get much interest. Some realtors don’t promote this strategy because it can create unrealistic expectations and waste time, but it can often be the winning strategy in the long run.

Doing it the opposite way gives buyers the impression that a seller and his or her real estate broker doesn’t really know what they want and isn’t fully sure of what it is they are doing. But reducing the price also has the potential to make a seller feel as if they are giving the house away. Drop it too much just to sell it can lead to seller’s remorse and maybe it’s just not the right time to sell in the first place. Sometimes it’s just as much about when to list the house as it is about what it says on the price tag.

Why are You Selling?

It’s one of the most common questions that the best realtors will ask sellers before putting their house on the market. So before you list the house you’re going to want to ask yourself the same exact question…and guess what? If you can’t answer or don’t really like the answer, then it’s not the right time to sell.

Selling your house is like anything else: it’s all in the timing. So come up with a list of pros and cons that address the reasons for selling your house at this moment. If you have more pros than cons, then you’re likely going to be satisfied once you’ve closed the deal. But if it’s the other way around, then you could be in for a serious bout of seller’s remorse. You need to have the right motivation in place to list your home.

Plan Your Next Move First

We’ve addressed not getting the response you may have expected in terms of lack of interest, but what about those sellers who are inundated with interested buyers? It sometimes goes that way and a house attracts multiple parties who come back with offers that are well beyond the initial asking price. Sometimes these highly motivated buyers are so motivated that they want to close the deal in as little as 30 days.

It all sounds great until you realize you don’t have a roof over your own head once you sell your home. The best real estate agent will try to help you find a new place before you list your home, no matter how attractive it might be to jump into the market without doing so. Otherwise, if you’re left without a place to hang your hat, then you could be experiencing some serious seller’s remorse.

If you are buying or selling a house and are looking to hire a successful real estate agent to help you through the process, take a look at AgentHarvest's list of top-ranking local Realtors in your area. We found these agents by examining their sales track records, awards, rankings, client testimonials and by conducting personal interviews.