Sam Schneiderman, Broker-owner of Greater Boston Home Team continues his Monday series:

Last Monday, I asked what a “good value” meant. Your responses varied from those focused on the bottom line to those that were concerned about quality of life issues, regardless of the bottom line.

Whether you are like Harry (whose “good value” is a great deal financially) or like Holly (whose good value is based on “non-financial factors” like access to a good school system, child care and a yard for her kids), you probably have some expectations of how the seller and the property will meet your expectations.

Ask any experienced real estate agent or attorney what can kill a deal and you will most likely hear that it could be anything at all that fires up emotions on either side. Nothing can do that quicker than expectations that differ radically between the buyer and the seller.

Sometimes personal standards differ between the parties. If they buyer disrespects a home’s cleanliness or upkeep, it shows. The seller who disrespects the buyer in return may not put in the effort to prepare the house for closing. Closing day the lawn is overgrown or the seller left furniture for them to put out on trash day. The buyers can’t understand how the seller could behave like that toward them.

Move-out expectations differ, too. I’ve encountered sellers that expected to remain n the house until they were ready to move out, even after the buyers closed and paid for the house! They just thought that the buyers should understand how tough it was to pack and move out with a young infant.

Some buyers or sellers immediately stop negotiations when the other side reneges on a promise that was previously hinted at during earlier negotiations, despite how good the deal still is.