When selling your home you will need to be aware of at least three common mistakes that sellers make when listing their home for sale. If you are selling, or know someone who is selling, it is important to keep these costly mistakes in mind.
Selling Your Home Mistake #1
The majority of sellers overvalue their own property.
What to Do Instead
Listen to the professionals, have an open, honest conversation, and look at the statistics. A competent realtor should be able to provide a detailed market evaluation and provide backup to support the valuation. Find out how many homes of similar size, age, and situation have sold within the last 1-3 months. This will give you a more realistic idea of where your home stands in the market.
Having the discussion is crucial because it gives you a perspective of where your house sits in the current market. You may feel as though your home is worth more than market value, but try to look at it with fresh, unbiased eyes.
Selling Your Home Mistake #2
Failing to prepare the home for selling.
What to Do Instead
How many times have you walked around your home and thought, I need to fix that? Before you list your house for sale, everything needs to be fixed. Nothing frustrates a buyer more than the perception of neglect when they view your home for the first time.
If the buyer notices a whole bunch of small stuff, they can’t help but think, what else has been missed? And the selling price of your home could be much lower because of it when these issues are highlighted in the home inspection report.
Be aware that selling a home is an emotionally draining process – both for you and potential buyers – so eliminate as much of the work as possible beforehand.
Selling Your Home Mistake #3
Sellers often get emotionally attached to their homes.
What to Do Instead
All too often a buyer will pose a question or make a request and the seller will take it personally, get their back up, adding unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation.
Remember the buyer is making a very large financial decision and many times it comes with conditions. Those conditions are not supposed to be taken personally.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Help the buyer get excited about buying your home, not apprehensive.
Remember that selling your home is not only about the money, it’s also about getting what you want. This is the time to cash in on your biggest investment and use it towards your new start, whether that’s a larger home, more acreage or an apartment.
Bottom Line?
Assuming you hire an experienced realtor who has done a lot of deals, take a step back and let them advise you. Use the tips outlined here to help you make the selling process as smooth as possible.
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