05/26/2026
Things I’d Never Do Selling My House 🙅🏼♀️🙅🏼♂️
After years in real estate, here are a few things we personally would NEVER do as sellers:
• Overprice “to leave room”
(You usually just make the competition look like a better value.)
• Ignore pet odor
(You become nose blind. Buyers absolutely do not. 😷)
• Use dark, blurry phone photos - or photos not taken by a professional photographer.
(Your first showing happens online.)
• Decline showing requests unless absolutely necessary
(We completely understand that work schedules, kids, pets, and life can make showings inconvenient. But in this market especially, buyers rarely circle back if they can’t get in when interest is fresh. They’ve often already fallen in love with another home by then.)
• Refuse reasonable repairs
(Small issues tend to make buyers wonder about bigger ones.)
• Leave extremely personalized decor everywhere
(Buyers need to picture THEIR life there, not feel like they’re touring someone else’s. You may love your taxidermy collection, but mounted Bambi on the wall may not be helping your resale value. 😅)
• Fight every inspection item on principle
(Real estate is negotiation, not combat.)
• Remove every little thing before closing
(Buyers generally expect items like security cameras, curtain rods, water filtration systems, and appliances to stay unless clearly excluded upfront.)
• Assume buyers can “look past it”
(Most buyers struggle with imagination more than sellers realize.)
The homes that sell best usually aren’t perfect.
They’re clean, well-prepared, fairly priced, and easy for buyers to emotionally connect with.
What would YOU add to this list? 👀
— David & Carolyn Burgess
The Burgess Team | KW Coastal Living II
