7 Big Mistakes that Cost Home Sellers
Becoming home sellers is a big step to take. While there are many viable routes to a successful home sale, there are even more opportunities for mistakes along the way.
To help home sellers navigate the process, beware of these big mistakes that can cost you a sale.
-
Not Knowing the True Price
Home prices aren’t selected out of thin air or based on what a person feels at the time. There are a lot of factors that go into pricing a home.
If you’ve studied the comps in your area and had an appraisal done, then you may have an idea of how much your home is worth. If you haven’t then there’s a good chance you could be very wrong.
Remember, not all “improvements” are improvements. For example, if you converted your garage to an apartment, that won’t impress all buyers, especially if you’re not in an area that’s zoned for rentals. Expensive kitchens and pools also don’t automatically increase value.
The comps should be able to tell you what does increase value.
-
Taking Poor Photos
Your photos are everything. If people don’t like your photos, then they probably won’t contact you for a showing. Just any photo won’t do. You need photos that highlight the strengths of your home while downplaying to softening the flaws.
Cleaning, decluttering and staging can help you take better photographs. You can also hire a professional.
-
Not Setting Aside Time
Selling a home takes a lot of time, something most home sellers don’t realize beforehand. If you don’t have the time to stage, market and work with buyers, then your home sale is going to suffer
-
Not Understanding the Buyers
A lot of buyers don’t want to share financial information with home sellers. They’d rather share with a trusted agent. For this reason, it’s harder to really understand a buyer’s financial situation unless they’re upfront and honest. If they’re not, then you could be making deals with buyers who will never be able to get approved for a mortgage.
-
Being Too Emotional
Home sellers can’t be too emotionally attached to your home. Your memories and feelings about it do not equal a higher price. You have to think about your home in terms of a business deal. What features of the home are really worth more money, if any?
Detach yourself emotionally from your home to really nail down the best price.
-
Not Knowing How to Show a Home
You may have shown your home a million times to guests, but guests and buyers do not have the same interests. Your buyers don’t care about your photographs or your design preferences. They want to know how many closets you have, what your utility bills are like and any renovations you’ve done.
A lot of home sellers don’t feel comfortable being so candid with buyers. They need an extra person in the middle to handle all the selling.
-
Being Bad at Marketing
Marketing truly is a skill, and some home sellers are bad at it. Putting a sign in your front lawn doesn’t mean much these days. You need to be posting online and sharing your listing.
You should also look into fliers, mailers and even door-knocking campaigns to spread the word. Open houses are also a great way to bring potential buyers in.
If you’re not ready to market, then you won’t get far in your sale.