Why Emotional Attachment Will Kill You in Real Estate

I know that emotions are useful and they can help you feel things, but in the world of real estate, emotional attachment can kill you. This is why, and also how, to restructure the way you think as a buyer, seller, or investor to take the emotion out of it. At least until the sale is done.

It’s true, I am a bit of an emotional robot, but when it comes to real estate investing and on-market transactions as an agent, this helps me. When you are emotionally attached to a property, you may bid too much or make decisions that you normally would not have made because of that attachment.

Many sellers have a hard time unattaching themselves from their home because they’ve lived there so long, but that attachment can also result in overpricing or thinking that their customizations are what new buyers want. The more personalized, the less likely a new buyer wants exactly what the original owner wanted when they made it that way.

Even as an investor, when you flip houses you can start to believe that you are doing everything right, but that’s part of your emotional attachment to the property. And when you have that as a flipper, you can affect your profit with your emotions. You have to be thinking clear and rationally to end up with the easiest transaction that nets you the most money and the least stress.

This doesn’t mean you need to be a robot like me, but it does mean you need to understand that part of selling a home is getting it ready for the new owner. The best way to do that is to declutter and start packing which will inherently make the place a little less “you” and more “them”.

Emotions are great and can help you feel a lot in your life, but the sale or purchase of a home is really a financial transaction where you need to be as clear-headed as possible. The less emotion, the better in real estate. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way.