The 4 Most Common Home Selling Mistakes
- By:
- JR Hevron - MortgageLoan.com
Are a few easy mistakes standing between you and a quick, easy, and financially rewarding home selling experience?
Unless you have a particularly outstanding property, your house is not going to sell itself.
Let’s face it: in this economy and in this market, buyers pretty much have their pick of homes. As a seller, it’s your
job to give them a reason to pick your house.
Learn from the mistakes of others and avoid being another statistic!
- Home values have fallen 27% since the 2006 peak
- Many homes have been sitting on the market for months
- 36% of homes sold for a loss in January of this past year
Mistake #1: Pricing your home too high right out of the gate
One of the most common problems is that sellers price their home too high from the start. It’s human nature: you can’t get over not getting what you paid for something. That’s why there are so many overpriced items on Craigslist and eBay.
The fact is that if you overprice your house, it’s just going to sit around on the market, looking like a dud to potential buyers.
Pricing to sell is a true art and something that you may need help with. Make sure that you have the help of an experienced realtor or appraiser. Also, make sure that you are looking at the other houses on the market so that you have an idea of comparable properties. Also note how long they sit on the market in your area so that you can know what to realistically expect.
Mistake #2: Sticking around your house while it is being shown.
As a seller, you’re interested in finding out what aspects of your home buyers are interested in so that you can push those features in the listing. Also, you want to sell buyers on features that they might not have noticed. This is a common mistake! Leave the selling to the professionals.
We all know what it’s like when a sales person follows you around the store watching your every move. They may be truly trying to help, but ultimately it probably makes you want to get out of the store faster.
Mistake #3: Bad online photos and not enough listings.
We live in a new media world where much of the shopping is done online. According to the National Association of Realtors, 70% to 80% of all home buyers start their home search on the internet. Online photos may be the only way that many people see your house. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with bad photos!
Check with your real estate agent to see what kind of camera they’ll be using and check out their online listings to see what their other photos look like. Make sure that your realtor takes plenty of photos from rooms at all angles. A photo of a room taken from just one angle makes it look like you are hiding the “bad” side of the room.
And it almost goes without saying that you should clean up any clutter and mess before taking photos— it’s surprising how many people don’t do this.
Also, make sure that your listing agent has a good online marketing plan for you home. Ask them where they plan to advertise the home online? Is it going to show up on more than one site?
Mistake #4: Leaving your house in bad shape.
Some sellers strategize that they will just let the buyer fix problems like old carpets and overgrown landscaping. Some even think that they can use this as a negotiating point or provide the new owner with a stipend. They figure that they might as well let the new owners decorate things in their own unique style. This is usually a mistake. A potential buyer can’t “see” themselves in a home that is falling apart. They want to imagine moving in and having a comfortable living situation immediately.
Overall, the biggest mistake that a person can make is not putting themselves in the shoes of the buyer. The best way to do this is to go to open houses in your area and check out the competition to get a good idea of how your house compares to the other ones that are on the market “right now.”
In this economy, selling your house quickly is never a sure thing. Avoid these four common mistakes, though, and you’ll be starting off on a solid ground.
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