Six mistakes many people make when selling a home
Selling a home is something most people do only once or twice in their lives. Obviously, it can be very easy to make a costly mistake in time, energy, and even worse, money. Before selling a house, avoid these six mistakes:
1. Not cleaning up a mess. If you expect a top price, your home should be in top condition when you are selling. Add buyer appeal by going above and beyond in overall cleanliness. Make the small fixes such as touch-up and/or repainting, getting the carpets cleaned by a professional and replacing worn hardware in the bathrooms and kitchen. A less-than clean home may not get any offers, or offers way lower than asking price.
2. Trying to hide problems. If something is noticeably broken or does not work, fix it before hand or have your agent disclose it up front. Do not try to hide problems, from small, rather insignificant cosmetic issues to large, costly structural necessities. When the buyers uncover such “oversights,” they will be suspicious at the least and upset at the most, enough to cross your house of their preferred offer list. Do not lose a sale over trying to be overly frugal in the showing stage.
3. Going to the extreme with improvements. It is certainly desirable to have an attractive house that exemplifies its unique neighborhood location, yet another to overspend to have the most impressive house on the block. Do not make unnecessary and costly improvements, especially when such enhancements would make your house unduly outshine all others in the immediate area. Normally, you will have a difficult time recovering such unwarranted costs.
4. Getting caught up in emotions. No doubt your existing home is full of sentimental family memories. This is not the case for potential buyers. Your house is most likely just one of the many they have looked at in their price range. Remove emotion by remaining objective in all associated selling transactions, from marketing to pricing.
5. Having a less than optimal relationship with your real estate agent. You should choose your real estate agent based on their expertise, experience in the market and ability to get competitive offers. Beware of working with a friend or family member. There may be inherent pressure to choose a familiar person, but they may not be the best choice for you given your unique situation. Be sure to do your homework and thoroughly interview an agent before contracting your home.
6. Overlooking the need to thoroughly check out the buyer. Before your agent accepts an offer on your behalf, it is important to look into the buyer’s qualifications. Too often, sellers hastily accept a seemingly competitive offer only to learn later that the buyer is not qualified for the asking amount and cannot get a loan for the needed transaction amount.
Beware of these and other well-documented mistakes when you are selling a home. It is important to remember, you only get to sell each house you own once, so avoid making a major mistake. It could cost you time and money. Two very precious commodities.