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Buying or selling a home can bring up a lot of personal emotions, but ultimately it’s a business, and it’s best to keep your cards close to your chest. Expressing every idea you have or sharing every detail about your situation can backfire, make you less competitive, hurt your potential, or even lose you the sale altogether.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when buying or selling a home.

You are in a hurry

A sense of urgency tells prospective buyers that they may be willing to take any offer that comes their way to close the deal — or lets sellers know that they can negotiate more in their favor. Don’t tell the other party that things need to happen quickly unless you’re prepared to close on very favorable terms.

You may also want to avoid revealing personal details that show urgency, including whether you’ve moved because of a divorce, serious illness, or financial difficulties.

You are never in a hurry.

This is especially true for sellers: if your listing agent doesn’t make your sale a priority, your home could be on the market for a while and lose the season. In most cases, you’ll want to ask for the highest and fastest—even if you’re willing to wait for the right offer.

This is your dream home.

As a prospective buyer, you may believe that scouting someone’s home will improve your chances of getting the offer accepted. In some cases, it can be. However, it may interact with the seller as you do. anything To win, that includes paying more than list price or ignoring defects, and you lose leverage in negotiations. It’s cool, play it.

You hate the decoration

On the flip side, insulting the seller’s taste probably won’t win you the house. Remember that furniture, artwork, paint colors, cabinets, light fixtures—everything, really—are temporary and can be adjusted to your preferences when you own them. You don’t want to come across as rude or difficult to work with.

You think the list price is too high

Basically, keep any decisions about the property you’re viewing to yourself. You may think so, but telling the seller or their agent can put them on the defensive.

You have a certain dollar amount to spend

If you tell the seller or their listing agent that you have a limited budget, they’re probably going to expect you to spend every last cent. Similarly, if you communicate that you have X number of dollars and it’s less than what other buyers are bidding, you can immediately lower your offer.

Do not transfer anything about your money to anyone who is not contracted to act on your behalf.

They want a certain type of buyer

As a seller, you may want to offer your home to a buyer who you know will take care of the property. However, having one type of person or family in mind is a slippery slope to bias. Many real estate investors are now. Hoping for more personal connections, Like “love letters” from buyersIt may violate fair housing laws.

Any direct personal questions

While it may seem harmless to ask the seller why he’s moving, or to ask the neighbors very obvious questions about the neighborhood and their living experience, it can lead to defensiveness or gossip or violation of personal boundaries.

Any hard and fast rules

Finally, you may want to keep any absolutes to yourself. For example, if you tell your listing agent that you won’t accept offers below a certain dollar amount, or that you’re only looking for “hard” offers, you could be missing out on great negotiating opportunities for you. It’s good to set your own expectations, but being flexible can leave you with more and better options.