The 7 Biggest Mistakes Homebuyers Make

Buying a home in the Greenville area is a big deal—financially, emotionally, and sometimes even physically (ever moved a sofa up a narrow staircase?). For most people, it’s something they do maybe once a decade. The problem is, the market doesn’t stand still that long.

On the very first episode of the Selling Greenville podcast, a local agent broke down the seven biggest mistakes homebuyers make in this market right now. What counted as a smart move in 2010 doesn’t automatically work in 2020—and buyers who assume it does are the ones getting burned, outbid, or stuck with problems they could have avoided.

This episode pulled from real experience: flipping houses, buying rentals, dealing with HUD properties, and walking buyers through a market that’s firmly tilted toward sellers. The patterns are clear—and very fixable—if you know where to look.

Biggest Mistakes Homebuyers Make in Today’s Market

The biggest mistakes homebuyers make in Greenville aren’t usually about “picking the wrong house.” They’re about strategy: how they write offers, how they think about money, who they choose to represent them, and what they ignore during the process.

Here’s how those seven mistakes actually show up in real-life transactions.

1. Ignoring How the Seller Will Read Your Offer

The top mistake is simple: not thinking about how the seller is going to interpret the offer.

In this area, real estate isn’t just business—it’s personal. Many families have owned property for decades, and selling a home can be emotionally loaded. An offer isn’t just a number on paper; it feels like a statement about what someone thinks their home—and sometimes their story—is worth.

That’s why certain moves backfire, even if they look “savvy” on paper:

• Coming in with a deep lowball on a fresh listing

  • Example: a $200,000 home that just hit the market and the buyer starts at $150,000. That’s not seen as “negotiating”—it’s seen as disrespectful.

• Piling on aggressive terms:

  • Asking the seller to drop far below list

  • Pay all closing costs

  • And give the buyer broad rights to walk away for almost any reason

South Carolina’s contracts make this even more obvious. Buyers can choose:

• A repair procedure period – where the buyer can only back out over certain condition issues if the seller refuses specific major repairs (structural, big systems, etc.)

• A due diligence period – where the buyer can pretty much walk away for any reason during that window

On an owner-occupied home that’s in good condition, sellers tend to bristle at a long due diligence period. In multiple-offer situations, an offer that gives the buyer too much latitude to bail will often look weaker than a cleaner one—even if the price is similar.

The podcast host makes a point of calling the listing agent before submitting an offer to give context and show the buyer is serious. But even with that, there’s only so much smoothing over that can be done if the written terms scream, “We don’t really respect this property or your time.”

The risk? A seller who feels insulted may:

• Refuse to counter at all, or

• Refuse to take you seriously later—even if you come back at a more reasonable number

In a competitive, emotional market, framing matters.

2. Being Willing to Lose a House Over $25 a Month

The second mistake sounds dramatic but plays out quietly all the time: buyers walk away from houses they truly like over what amounts to about $25 a month.

The math from the episode is straightforward:

• Purchase price: $200,000

• Interest rate: about 3.5%

• Base principal-and-interest payment: around $900/month

If that same loan amount drops to $195,000, the payment falls to roughly $875/month. That $5,000 difference in price? It’s about $25 per month.

Now layer in a real-world scenario:

• A buyer doesn’t want to “go above $200,000”

• The home is listed at $220,000

• They offer $200,000, the seller counters at $205,000

That extra $5,000 feels huge in the moment—but again, on a 30-year mortgage, it’s roughly the cost of a couple of takeout lunches each month.

That doesn’t mean price doesn’t matter. There are important exceptions:

• If the home is already at the very top of the market and the buyer may need to sell again in a year, that extra $5,000 can matter on resale.

• If the property is an investment instead of a primary home, $25/month can be a real hit to cash flow.

But for many buyers shopping for their primary residence—especially in a competitive market—digging in over that last $5,000 can mean losing the house they like best for less than the cost of their phone bill.

3. Passing on a “Good” Deal While Waiting for a “Great” One

Another huge trap: turning down a clearly good deal in the hope that a “great” deal is right around the corner.

On the episode, the host mentions hearing almost this exact line from a buyer:

“I think this is a good deal, but I don’t think it’s a great deal.”

In a market like Greenville—where inventory has hovered around three months for a while—that mindset is risky. Three months of inventory is firmly a seller’s market. Six months is closer to a flat, balanced market. Greenville hasn’t been there in some time.

In this kind of environment:

• “Good deals” are already rare

• “Great deals” bring out every investor and bargain-hunter in the county

There are two main ways “great deals” show up:

1. Underpriced listings

   • In one example, a long-time listing agent badly mispriced a home.

   • Result: around 30 offers.

   • That’s what happens when something is obviously below market—everyone piles on.

2. Hidden-in-plain-sight opportunities

   • The host once spotted a duplex that had been listed like a single-family home for about $70,000 in an up-and-coming area.

   • Multifamily in that price-per-door range is almost unheard of locally.

   • It slipped through the cracks because it wasn’t listed clearly and didn’t look like a standout at first glance.

Those situations are the exception, not the rule. Most of the time, if you’re in a strong seller’s market and you can quantitatively show that a property is a solid value, passing only because it isn’t “perfect” can leave you stuck on the sidelines for a long time.

4. Choosing a Buyer’s Agent Just Because They’re a Friend

The fourth mistake is more relational than financial: picking a buyer’s agent primarily because they’re a friend, even if they’re not especially qualified.

The podcast doesn’t deny that chemistry matters. Buying a home is emotional, and working with someone you like and trust can make the process less stressful.

But there’s a difference between:

• A friend who also happens to be a skilled, experienced agent

• And a friend who “just got their license” and has never bought or sold a home—let alone navigated tough negotiations, inspections, or low inventory

A few realities from the episode:

• It’s very easy to get a real estate license: a couple of weeks of school, a modest fee, and no requirement that the agent has ever bought or sold a home personally.

• Most agents in this market don’t last more than two years in the business.

• When the host went to real estate school, some classmates were still renting or living with parents and had never been through a transaction themselves.

He compares it to getting a haircut:

• Would you pay top salon prices to someone who has never cut hair before?

• Maybe—if they’re practicing on you for free.

• But not when the stakes are high and you’ll walk around wearing the result.

Buying a house is one of the biggest financial decisions most people make. It deserves more due diligence than, “She’s nice and goes to my church,” or “He really needs the business.”

The ideal agent is someone you like and respect, and who can also point to real experience—whether that’s years in the business, investing background, or a proven track record in the local market.

5. Skipping the Radon Test in a Red-Zone County

The fifth mistake is very specific to this area: not testing for radon.

A lot of buyers have never even heard of it. On the podcast, the host explains:

• Radon is a naturally occurring gas in the ground.

• Levels vary from place to place.

• After smoking, radon exposure is the number one cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a map of radon levels by county. According to that map, Greenville County is in the red zone, meaning higher levels on average than surrounding counties, which mostly show up in yellow.

That doesn’t mean every house has a problem. Radon varies home by home. But it does mean skipping the test is a gamble—especially when:

• Testing is straightforward with modern equipment

• There are well-established systems to vent and mitigate high levels

• Mitigation can be negotiated as part of the repair process with the seller

Roofs, carpets, and even major structural repairs can often be fixed with money and time. Lung cancer is a different category entirely. In this market, radon testing isn’t an “extra”—it’s one of the most important inspections a buyer can order.

6. Not Shopping the Mortgage

Another preventable mistake: going with the first lender who answers the phone.

The advice from the episode is clear: when you get under contract, don’t just take one quote and call it a day. Instead:

• Get an estimate from a mortgage broker

• Get an estimate from at least one local bank

• Don’t forget about credit unions, which sometimes offer very competitive rates

And then—this part matters—tell them you’re shopping. Let each lender know that you’re getting multiple quotes and will choose the most competitive option. That simple bit of transparency encourages them to sharpen their pencils and find better terms if they can.

Loyalty is admirable, but your mortgage is likely the largest loan you’ll ever take out. A small difference in interest rate can cost—or save—thousands over the life of the loan. There’s no prize for being the easiest customer a lender had that week.

7. Ignoring Homes That Need Work

The seventh mistake hits buyers who only want “turnkey”: automatically rejecting homes that need repairs or updates.

The host has a soft spot for fixer-uppers—his first home was one, and he’s flipped and renovated multiple properties. From that perspective, he’s blunt:

The best deals out there are on homes that need work.

A few examples from the episode:

• Termites

  • They sound terrifying—and yes, they can damage a home’s structure.

  • But they can also be treated, and damaged joists and subfloor can be replaced.

  • Buyers often assume this kind of repair costs $50,000+. In reality, many substantial structural repair jobs come in around $10,000 or less, depending on the house.

• Cosmetic issues

  • Old carpet, dated paint, tired fixtures—these scare buyers off fast.

  • In reality, carpet is relatively cheap to replace, and cosmetic updates can often be done over time.

There are tradeoffs, of course:

• A move-in-ready $200,000 home with only 3.5% down may require less upfront cash than a $175,000 home that needs $10,000–$15,000 in immediate renovations.

• But there are tools to bridge that gap, like renovation loans (which roll repair costs into the mortgage) or home equity lines for buyers with strong credit and debt-to-income ratios.

The mindset shift is this:

• Every home has a price at which it makes sense—even if it’s rough.

• Buyers willing to take on some work often end up with better long-term value than those who only consider perfectly polished listings.

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Bottom Line

The biggest mistakes homebuyers make in Greenville aren’t about missing secret tricks—they’re about overlooking simple realities: sellers are human, small monthly differences add up slowly, great deals attract crowds, friends aren’t always experts, local risks like radon are real, lenders compete, and “needs work” can translate into “best value.”

Buyers who internalize those seven lessons don’t magically get every house they want. But they do tend to write better offers, pick better partners, see more opportunity, and step into homeownership with fewer regrets—and a lot more confidence.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville