Selling Your Home? Avoid These Common Mistakes

Selling your home can be very stressful, and it can be easy to do it wrong. This is particularly the case when you are selling your first home, or if you are selling because of life changes that may have made your situation even worse. Many people end up driving themselves “round the bend” and accepting an offer of less than their home is worth just to get out of the situation. Here are a few key mistakes:

Getting Emotional

It’s easy to become attached to your four walls and a roof, and selling your home can be difficult emotionally. It’s also easy to get upset about what you are losing (even if you are buying a larger place or relocating to a dream job), and easy to get frustrated with the people who are criticizing your home, often in order to try and get a lower price.

That’s why you have to think of yourself as a business person and try to put yourself in the shoes of the buyers. They are going to be emotional as well. A lot of sellers also let their ego get in the way.

Not Staging the House Properly

If you are still living in the house, then you will have clutter and junk all over the place. Moving it out of the way will help. Clean as if your least favorite relative is coming to visit.

Fix any and all minor issues, such as broken doorknobs or worn paint on railings. Minor issues that aren’t fixed will make a buyer wonder if they are missing a major issue. Have your agent go through the house and help you find stuff you are so used to you don’t even see it anymore.

Make sure that you deal with any odors, but don’t mask them with strong scents. Best case scenario, they will notice the scent. Worst case scenario you will send a potential buyer fleeing to avoid a bad reaction or an allergy.

If you have already moved out, staging your home can make a huge difference. Empty rooms look a lot smaller than ones with furniture in them, and an empty house is unwelcoming. This can cost a bit of money but is often worth it. Your agent can probably recommend a good home stager.

Hiding Major Issues

You really do need to do a full disclosure to every buyer of issues with the home. If something comes up on a home inspection that you should have known, then you are likely to lose that buyer. Ideally, you should fix any and all problems before selling.

If in doubt, it might be a good idea to get your own inspection done before you list your home. Remember it may be against the law not to disclose a problem.

In some cases, you may be able to sell the property even with a problem, but the buyer will likely negotiate for a credit equal to the cost of repairing it.

Selling Your Home at the Wrong Time

Winter is a slow time of year for home sales, simply because everyone is so busy and the weather makes them stay home. You can also lose out on tax benefits if you fail to time your sale properly; sometimes this can mean pushing for a closing date a few days earlier or later.

There may be some local factors that determine the perfect time to sell (of course, if you are relocating and need to sell your existing property before you can buy a new one you may not have the luxury of waiting).

Selling Your Home for the Wrong Price

Overpricing your property will only delay your sale. A good real estate agent will help you set a realistic price, using comparison with other houses in the area. However, you should still set the price slightly high to leave room for negotiation.

Under-pricing your house will simply leave money on the table. Yes, people will snap up the deal, but you may realize afterward you could have got a lot more.

It’s easy to make all of these mistakes, and the biggest mistake of all is not hiring an agent to help you with the selling process. Trish has the experience you need to guide you through the process and ensure you get as much money as possible. To find out more, contact Signature Properties Group today.