5 Mistakes Sellers Make

When deciding to sell your home, it’s important to avoid the big mistakes that will keep your home from selling.

Here are 5 mistakes that many sellers make that will either cause a home to stay on the market too long or, at the other end of the spectrum, cause a seller to leave money on the table.

1. Hiring the wrong agent. Don’t hire a real estate agent just because he or she is a friend or family member. This is a business transaction. Hire a real estate agent with a good track record. Get referrals from friends and neighbors, and do your research.  
2. Overpricing. This can be the biggest mistake a seller makes. If your home is overpriced, you will receive less interest in your home as well as fewer offers. If you want your listing to perform well in a competitive market, you need to price it competitively. Work with your real estate agent to determine the right price for your home that both you and your potential buyers will be happy with.
3. Ignoring the importance of home staging. Presentation is everything. Hire a home stager or stage your home yourself. Either way, make sure the home has a fresh coat of paint, the carpet is clean, the furniture is arranged in a way that makes it easy to walk through the home. Take down family photos and knick-knacks so potential buyers can picture themselves living in the home. Always make sure the home is as clean as it can be when there is a showing scheduled. Don’t forget the home’s curb appeal. Staging your home can make a big difference in the number of offers you’ll receive.
4. Prematurely accepting an offer. Being up against a deadline should never be an excuse of accepting an offer that is too low. You might be excited when you get your first offer, but you need to allow yourself enough time to see what other offers you may receive. Buyers need to compete on price. Respond to the offers quickly when they come in, but make sure the offer is at or above the price you’ve already agreed on. Let your home be properly exposed to the market and remain on the MLS long enough to receive multiple offers. However, if you’ve only had your home on the market for a few days and you get an offer you think you want to take, ask your agent to call other agents who have expressed interest in showing your home. Have your agent let them know that you have an offer in hand and ask them if any of them are interested in submitting an offer. Give them a firm deadline for receiving offers, but don’t prematurely accept one.
5. Getting emotionally involved in the transaction. This is a big challenge. You’ve lived in your home, created memories there, invested time and money in your property, etc. But once you move forward with the decision to sell your home, it becomes a commodity. You may think your home is “worth” a specific amount, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you want. Not everyone will appreciate your home like you did, but now it’s time to move on. Put your emotions aside and move forward with the sale as a business transaction.

@Cobblestoneinfo