Sometimes it’s not the market or their agent (we know, we know) that stops buyers from snagging their dream home. And despite their good intentions, sometimes buyers unknowingly self-sabotage their home search. Which got us thinking: As agents, what can we tell buyers from the get-go that can help them avoid some of the worst house hunting pitfalls?

We reached out to Arron Sweeney, founder of Your Berkeley and realtor at King Realty Group in San Francisco, as well as Lance King, broker and owner of King Realty Group. They shared six home buying hang-ups and what agents can say to clients to help them avoid these common missteps.

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1. Missing out on the perfect place.

Hundreds of new homes hit the market every day, and buyers who are not using all of the house hunting tools available, could let their dream home could slip by unnoticed —or worse, someone else might snatch it up before they even know that it’s for sale. One of the toughest lessons for a first-time (and, yes, even a second-time) buyer is that in this market, passive house hunting simply will not cut it. No matter what we agents do—and no matter how many e-mails we send showcasing a just listed property that agents would love to show our clients—if the buyer doesn’t make house hunting a top priority, it’s going to be a painful process.