By Michael Estrin of Bankrate.com

The greatest hindrance to a home sale can be a seller who is seized by emotion.

"It is very important for sellers to (keep) in mind that a real-estate transaction is most likely the single largest financial transaction they will ever undertake," says Fiona Dogan, a real-estate agent for Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty in Rye, N.Y. "It should be viewed and handled primarily as a business transaction, with cold, hard decisions being made on a financial and investment basis."

Home sellers who allow emotions and sentimental attachments to overtake them during the sale risk making hasty, poor decisions, Dogan says.

Here are tips to help any home seller avoid making emotional mistakes...