When a homeowner sets out to sell their home odds are they don’t plan on making costly mistakes, but without the proper knowledge and guidance, there is a strong possibility they will. Below is a helpful guide listing the top 8 costly mistakes home sellers make and how to avoid them. By doing so sellers will not only be able to sell their home for top dollar, but they’ll be able to do so in the shortest amount of time too.
8 Costly Mistakes Homes Make
8 Costly Mistakes Homes MakeGoing FSBO
Sellers who decide to go FSBO (For Sale By Owner) thinking they are going to save money can turn into a costly mistake! The same holds true for sellers who hire an agent based on their friendship. Even worse their commission rate, not on experience and their marketing expertise. It’s very important for sellers to do their homework and make sure they hire the best agent for the job.
The one who has outstanding marketing and negotiation skills. You’ll also want to make sure you hire an agent who is going to be there every step of the way. One who will deal with the inspection, appraisal, mortgage company, and title company. An agent who can put out any unforeseen fires that are bound to come up along the way.
Not Show Ready
Sellers only get one chance to make a first impression, so it’s imperative their home is “show ready” from the start. A show ready home means the home has been deep cleaned from top to bottom doesn’t smell, and isn’t cluttered. In order to achieve show-ready condition, it might cost some money up front, but if the right changes are made they will pay for themselves.
Difficult to View
If a buyer can’t view a home they can’t buy it! Sometimes it’s the seller who makes it difficult to view their home and other times it’s their listing agent. Regardless if it’s the seller, listing agent or both the issue impeding showings needs to be resolved immediately so it’s easy for the buyer and their agent to view the property. This might mean the seller will have to hire a pet sitter to remove their dog for showings or the listing agent may have to hire a company to handle their showings for them.
Overpricing
The BIGGEST mistake sellers make is overpricing their home! Statistics show the longer a home sits on the market the lower the offers become, so it’s extremely important the property is priced right from the start. A top Realtor will be able to educate a seller on the current market conditions and recommend a list price. However, it is ultimately up to the seller if they want to risk making a costly mistake by “testing the market” and overpricing their home
Unwilling to Negotiate
Yes, a lowball offer may be offensive to a seller, but it doesn’t mean the buyer isn’t serious or willing to pay market value for their home. Some buyers just have to make a lowball to see if they can get a good deal, but a seller can find out real quick how serious a buyer is by making a counteroffer, even if it’s a full-price counter. Serious buyers will be open to negotiating, unrealistic tire kickers will walk, so it never hurts to counter.
Not Removing Emotions
Not Removing EmotionsMaking decisions based on emotions can be costly! Selling a home can be extremely stressful and emotional for a lot of sellers, but it’s important for them to set their emotions aside. Oftentimes when a seller lets their emotions take over rash decisions are made, which can be costly.
Unwilling to Make Repairs
Homes in need of repair can negatively impact a seller’s bottom line! It’s essential for sellers to take care of repairs prior to putting their home on the market. Homes that visibly need repair can be a big turn-off to potential buyers and may keep them from submitting an offer.
Unrealistic
Not every seller is realistic when it comes to selling their home, which can turn into a costly mistake. Some are unrealistic about the value of their homes and think they’ll be able to defy the odds. While others have unrealistic expectations about the selling process. Oftentimes unrealistic sellers will make multiple costly mistakes; they’ll overprice their home, aren’t willing to negotiate, won’t make repairs and/or make their home difficult to view. It’s important for sellers to set realistic expectations when selling their home.
Final Thoughts
All 8 of these costly mistakes can be avoided when selling real estate. The decision to make these mistakes falls solely on the seller. They are in complete control of their home sale. I encourage every seller to discuss these 8 mistakes with their listing agent and find out how to avoid them based on their particular situation.
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A helpful guide listing the top 8 costly mistakes home sellers make and how to avoid them to ensure sellers get top dollar for their home. #homesellingAdditional Real Estate Advice from Top Professionals
- There are countless mistakes home sellers make, but so many of them can be avoiding like preparing your home for sale. Paul Sian provides an excellent guide on what sellers need to clean up when preparing their home.
- Sellers shouldn’t listen to everyone when it comes to home selling advice. Bill Gassett discusses who sellers should listen to and why.
- First impressions are everything and if your home has mold Sharon Paxson shares what you need to know. Don’t think painting over the issues is going to solve anything because it won’t.
The real estate article above, “8 Costly Mistakes Home Sellers Make” was written by Michelle Gibson of Wellington Florida Real Estate. Specializing in residential real estate since 2001 in Wellington and the surrounding area. Not only does Michelle assist buyers and sellers, she assists landlords and tenants too. She would love to share her expertise and guide you through the entire real estate process.
We service the following areas; Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres, and more. If you are considering selling your home, we welcome the opportunity to work with you and list your home with a top Realtor in Wellington Florida
Michelle Gibson of the Hansen Real Estate Group Inc is a full-time REALTOR who has been specializing in Wellington Florida real estate since 2001. This veteran of the real estate industry has expertise in technology, marketing, and social media.
These are great tips! We’re looking to move so this is so timely for us. We’ve been looking at houses too, and I have to say that being show ready is so important. We toured a house that was lovely, it looked like everything had been cleaned–except the floors. There were terrible stains all over the carpets. I know this is a little thing, but it completely turned us off of the house. After that, we called the carpetcleaningsouthsideva right away to do our own carpets. The little things like that make a huge difference in showing your home to potential buyers.
What a great help! These things seemed to be common and usually just how things should be but I only realized how true they are only after I have read this article. Thank you sharing! This is indeed a great help to a lot of people who wants to sell their property, the right way.
Luis of American Dream Homes