Most Costly Location Mistake for Beginners?

Hey everyone,

I'm Megan, a Script Supervisor currently prepping for an indie short film. We're on a tight budget, as always, and I'm really trying to make sure we avoid any major hiccups, especially with locations. I've been doing a lot of reading about location scouting and management to better understand the whole process from that side, not just script supervision.

Most guides list a bunch of potential mistakes, like just relying on online photos or misrepresenting the actual size of the crew and equipment to a location owner. While those definitely sound bad, I'm wondering if there's one mistake that stands out as being the absolute worst in terms of cost and delays for a beginner. Something that can truly derail a production.

In your experience, what is the single most costly location mistake a beginner is likely to make?