After a lively discussion around this topic, the agents here at guerilla/realty have come up with the 5 most common mistakes that sellers make when selling their homes. These details often get in the way of home owners selling their home for top dollar, and moving on with their plans for the next chapter of their lives. Not surprisingly, it is the very easy, but not always obvious things that are the usual suspects. It’s not that the floor needs to be done, or that the curb appeal need to be on point, but rather simple items that are easily remedied. Here are the 5 made our list:
1. CLEANING AND DE-CLUTTERING.
Photo credit: shubhankar-Sharma
Please, please, please do not skip or overlook this step. I can't tell you how many times I have brought buyers in to look at a property and if it's dirty, cluttered, or have clothes strewn all over (yes this actually happened). When a house is presented in this manner, the buyers are looking at the mess and clutter and not at the house. Most buyers will be distracted and will not focus on the house. Then there are the buyers that will feel like they are intruding on someone’s personal space and will just want to leave without giving the house a chance. In most cases, if the buyer does not fall in love with the house or have a strong emotional connection to it, they won’t buy it. Of course all of this is unspoken and happens very quickly, typically within the first 3 minutes of them entering through the front door. Watch this video for tips on cleaning and de-cluttering your home.
Watch this video for tips on cleaning and de-cluttering your home.
2. STAGING A VACANT HOUSE
Photo credit: Breather
If you are planning to move before your home is put on the market for sale, consider leaving behind a few key pieces for staging purposes. This will give the buyer some perspective of how large the rooms are and will make it easier for them to imagine themselves living in the space. According to the Real Estate Staging Association, professionally listed staged properties simply look better, spend 73 percent less time on the market, sell for more money, end up on buyers’ “must see” lists, and have fewer concessions requested of the seller. Stagers set their own fees, but an average staging cost for our area is s about $2,000. A seller can look at this as a cost of doing business or an investment that they may recoup when the house sells. A good real estate agent should be able to recommend an experienced stager that can take care of this vital step if needed.
3. REPAIRS
Photo credit: Todd Quackenbush
Another crucial mistake is not wanting to make the needed repairs that were stated on the inspection report. This is a major reason why may transactions do not proceed to closing. Granted, it is optional for a seller to do the requested work, but understand that the consequence of this choice is that the home may not sell. Now the buyer cannot and should not ask you to improve the property, but if something is broken or not working, most buyers would ask the seller to fix it. So keep in mind that the purpose of the inspection is to identify to the buyer, items that are not in working order and/or need repair. Yes you can negotiate with the buyer about those repairs, however be prepared for the possibility of having to take care of some of these items in order to get to the closing table and sell your house.
4. OVERPRICING
Photo credit: Heather Phillips
This is the number 1 reason why most homes do not sell! Many sellers take the approach of lets 'list it above market, and see what happens''. This is a bad strategy. What usually happens is that all the buyers in the market will look at the overpriced house and compare it to all the others and try to figure out why it is listed for more. When they can't, they will pick another house because that seller is asking for more than the house is worth. If your goal is to get the absolute most that you can get for your home, then one of the best way to do that is to actually price it below market, and create a bidding war which will drive the price to the limit of what the market will bear. Its sounds counter intuitive but it works. I just had it happen with my last transaction. This strategy may not always work in every market, but right now its happening in certain areas. Call me to discuss if your area is one that this strategy is currently working in.
5. TRYING TO SELL THEIR HOMES THEMSELVES
Photo credit: Nathan Anderson Photo credit: Tiago Aguiar
SELLING WITHOUT AN AGENT SELLING WITH AN AGENT!
Many sellers try to go this route to save the commission that they will pay to the real estate broker. Yet most will agree to pay commission to an agent that brings them a buyer, so they are really only trying to save half the commission. What they fail to realize is than a person who is serious, pre-approved with a lender, and is ready to buy a house, 9 times out of 10, has an agent helping them with the process. Consider this as well, when an agent is looking for a home for their buyer, they are not hunting around trying to find a FSBO (For Sale By owner) home to show to their buyer. Most agents won't even know that the home is for sale unless they happen to be driving down the seller’s street and see a sign. This is because when an agent needs to find their buyer a home, they go to our MLS (multiple listing service) to do so. If your home is not in our MLS (not listed with an agent) it pretty much does not exist. The MLS is where agents go when they are looking for inventory to show to their buyers. In addition, an agent and their buyer can be assured that a transaction involving a listed house (in our MLS) has certain legal standards and that settlement is more likely to happen if there are agents involved on both sides of the transaction.
If you have questions like:
Call me today to get a free market analysis!
Is now a good time to sell my home?
Is now a good time to buy a home?
Which houses are for sale in my neighborhood?
Give me a call for these and more answers to your real estate questions.
