Many believe that sellers hold all the cards and buyers are the ones who have the odds stacked against them. While this may be true during the good times, when buyers are vying with each other to own a property, it certainly changes during a property downturn when the tables are turned as sales slowdown.Regardless of market conditions, buyers and sellers have to face their own separate set of challenges. Sellers, on the one hand, are often forced to sell the home of their dreams due in part to what estate agents call the “three Ds” – death, divorce or debt – and the transaction is not an easy one. Buyers on the other hand have their own demons to contend with. Buying a home is a major decision and getting it wrong can be a costly mistake.Although choice can be a wonderful thing, it can also lead to a great deal of confusion for the average buyer. Viewing what seems like hundreds of properties while trying to make up their minds, buyers often seem to get lost in the process. The more urgent the purchase, the more frantic things become. Lurching from one property to another is never a good idea and it is imperative that buyers slow things down and start to look objectively at each and every property, immediately disregarding anything that is unsuitable.Price is the next hurdle as the biggest dreams cost the most money. Finding the property of your dreams and paying for it are two totally different things. Buyers have to keep a realistic head on their shoulders. Putting in a ridiculous offer on that home in a million, is more likely than not going to fail, frustrating both the buyer and the seller. Regardless of the market conditions , it is highly improbable that a seller is going to drop his price to unrealistic levels; he can’t because he has his own set of challenges to face.Putting you pride and joy on the market, regardless of the reason, is a trying time for sellers. They have to face the fact that strangers are going to be invading their space, prying into the most secret parts of their lives – their homes. Criticism hurts, hearing that your home is not up to their standards really hurts, and when a low offer is presented the pain becomes almost unbearable. Problems often occur when due to the urgency of a sale, particularly when the agreement is riding on the back of another sale, the seller is forced into a corner. Should he swallow his pride, take the lower offer and move on to better things, or should he hold out, waiting for the tantalising better offer that never comes?The cold hard awful truth of buying and selling property is that regardless of how many properties you have bought or sold before, each and every transaction is totally different. No matter how much research is conducted, no matter how many books are read on the subject, buying or selling property often comes down to going with your gut and just knowing when something is right.