1. Thinking all agents are the same
Huge mistake! Real Estate is a business and if the Agent you are interviewing to sell your home is running the show without support, it’s like going to the restaurant where the chef is a hostess, waitress, cleaner, and the cook – inefficient and messy. Real Estate is the largest purchase of your life and it is a good idea to hire someone with experience, passion, proper support, necessary tools, and the latest technology.
2. Failing to prepare the house for showings
First impressions matter. Buyers choose their home not only on the basic needs like location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and school district, but more importantly, based on how they feel in the home. If the home is not in a show ready condition, you might lose a great Buyer who didn’t “feel right” when they walked into the home.
3. Overpricing your home
If a home is overpriced to begin with, stats show that the seller will be looking on average at 3 price reductions and there is a 27% chance to sell the home under market value. Listen to your Realtor’s experience and advice, make sure they show you comparable homes in the area and data in which they based their price.
4. Thinking you can save the money selling it yourself
To hire or not to hire a Realtor – good question, especially because commission seems so large. Well, here are a few industry stats:
- Close to 90% of Real Estate Law Suites are For Sale By Owner
- The time of sale will triple without proper exposure that Realtors can provide
- 10% of FSBO hate paperwork
- FSBO sellers on average sold their home for $10,000 less than an agent assisted sale (*commission of the agent was taken into consideration)
Based on these stats it sounds like FSBO will have a headache of paperwork, potential lawsuits and still make on average $10,000 less and if they would hire a Realtor.
5. Not disclosing known problems in the beginning
Latent Defect – If you know there is an issue, please disclose. Sooner or later the issue will be known and it might resolve in losing a buyer, larger expense later in the transaction or a lawsuit if transaction is closed and issue discovered later.
6. Bad listing photos
Listing pictures is like online dating. Make it good! Most buyers start their search online, if you have low quality or bad photos you will lose the opportunity to invite the buyer into your home. Take into account out-of-state buyers who are not familiar with the area and all they have to rely on are the online images. Bad images can also result in low ball offers. Property marketing of such a large investment is a must and it starts with pictures of the product you sell – The House!
7. Making it difficult to show
Have you heard the phrase “Customer is always right”? Well, in sellers’ cases, “the customers” are the buyers and accommodating showing requests is the easiest way to make customers happy. More showings equals more possibility to see an offer.
8. Thinking selling a house is easy
Accommodating showings is the easiest part. The actual sale includes:
- Negotiating the price
- Preparing correct paperwork
- Inspection coordination
- Inspection Items negotiation and compilation
- Appraisal coordination
- Appraisal Negotiation
- Lender communication
- Title company communication and paperwork
- Coordinating closing
- Post-closing activities
This is just an outline of a few items throughout the sale, there is so much more. Please do not underestimate the importance of a good representative throughout the sale.
9. Expecting the asking price
Everything is negotiation, every step of the way – especially in a Real Estate transaction! The best advice is to get a Realtor as a Negotiation Expert in your corner. You will be all set.
10. Waiting for “Best time to sell”
The best time to sell is “Whenever you are READY”, don’t wait on the Market – it never will work out the way you’d imagine. If you sell in a high market and you need to purchase, you will pay top dollar for your next home. If the market is down and you are thinking of upsizing/downsizing you could score a good deal for your next home. There are so many possibilities in any market and any situation – make your move when you are ready and with the right help of a qualified Realtor you’ll be able to make some wise choices along the way.
Feel free to schedule a free consultation with our amazing Team of professionals, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have and be your advocate in the next step of the sale. Contact Us!
