Top 3 biggest mistakes when selling your home
Want to know what 1000 real estate agents from around the country identified as the biggest mistakes sellers make? And by "mistakes" they mean not selling your home for the highest price and in the least amount of time.
Costly mistakes!
Data provided by ActiveRain.com.
ActiveRain is an online community of real estate professionals who exchange best practices, write real estate blogs, and get free education from the industry and their peers.
While the infographic above lists 6 issues, let’s focus on the top 3. Are you guilty of one of these?:
Over pricing your home
One of the main reasons you hire a real estate agent is for their experience and knowledge of your neighborhood. Yes, prices can vary somewhat but an agent who actively represents buyers and sellers in our neighborhood is going to have a very good estimate of what your home will sell for.
Do you tell your dentist how to fill your cavity? Of course not, they are the expert! So hire the right agent and then follow their advice.
When I sold my first home (my residence – not as an agent) it was somewhat easy because I was in a relatively large sub-division of similar homes. In fact there were two other homes that were exact model matches of mine for sale within a 3 block radius. All were exactly the same, except I had a larger lot. So theoretically mine should sell for more.
But my wife and I had another home picked out to buy alreaday and couldn’t unless we had ours sold first. So we priced our home $5,000 under the two competitors and quickly attracted a full price offer. In the scheme of things we got exactly what we wanted.
As a lender I also know first-hand that over pricing, even if accepted by a buyer, doesn’t necessarily get the seller what they want. Most buyers are going to get a home loan to buy your home. The lender is going to send an appraiser to value your home and if the comparable sales indicate a lower value then the lender will not give the buyer the money they need for your home.
You may have unwittingly caused your own transaction to fall apart by over pricing. We had this happen in November with a client who decided to purchase the home they were renting (so no agents were involved). It turns out the price was out of line and the appraised value came back short of what the seller wanted and they had to re-negotiate and the seller accepted the lower price.
When you over price you are only hurting yourself. The further your price is out of line the longer you will sit with an unsold home. And homes that get “stale” on the multiple listing service tend to get viewed by other agents and buyers alike for what it is – an uncooperative and unrealistic seller. That isn't a winning strategy for selling your home.
Showing Availability
Following my theme of “how committed are you to selling your home for top dollar?” the limitations you place on prospective buyer’s ability to view your home are critical. This issue is quite simple – the more people that view your home the more likely you are to sell it for the price you want.
A typical home shopping trip involves identifying 15-20 homes via an internet search and leads from the buyer’s agent. Then they make appointments to view all those homes in one trip. If your home isn’t available during that buyer’s tour of homes you’ve just lost a potential sale. Unless there is some incredibly unique feature about your home, yard, or location it is unlikely a prospective buyer is going to circle back another time to see yours.
Sure, there may be times when it’s just not possible to make your home available for a showing. But keep in mind your goal of selling quickly and for top dollar and let that motivate you to be a little more flexible than you might normally be.
Cluttered Space
If you want an idea of what a home should look like when staged for sale go view a couple of new home models. If you look carefully you'll notice they typically use under sized furnishings to make the rooms look larger and appealing.
When a potential home buyer is touring homes they are trying to visualize their space, not yours. If too much of your "stuff" is in the way all buyers see is..."stuff."
So unclutter your book shelves, put some non-essential furniture in storage and make your home look inviting and spacious.
Is your home already listed for sale? If so, ask your agent for feedback on these issues. Show them the infographic and tell them you want to maximize your sales price and are ready to put your best foot forward.
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