There are a few "oops!" moments your buyers should stay away from in today's market.

As we’ve chronicled on several occasions, housing is coming back, and now that the market is improving, many features of the post-boom market no longer apply.

Here are five of the most common remnants of the past housing market that you and your homebuyers should deftly avoid.

1. Low-ball offers – we love real estate deals as much as the next buyer, but the days of hugely discounted sales are dwindling; sellers know the market is more competitive, and they’re likely to scoff at an offensively-low offer and see the next available buyer instead.
2. Sleeping on it – this used to be a great strategy, holding out and seeing where a home’s value fell. Problem is, not only is demand rising for homes, but so are multiple offer situations, so dilly-dallying is no longer feasible.
3. Unnecessary contingencies – make sure the buyer is fair with his or her contingencies; no extended inspection periods, no specific walk-throughs. These are demands they can no longer make.
4. No pre-approval – this one may seem really simple, but don’t forget that just five years ago, pre-approval seemed to have gone the way of the dinosaurs; make sure buyers are aware that it’s returned with a vengeance.
5. Not making a personal impression – again, commonsense stuff, but very valuable to keep in mind. When a sellers are fielding multiple offers, they’ll often go with the buyer they connected with the best, so make a good impression!