Deciding to sell your home is an exciting commitment that you want to go smoothly. Making simple mistakes can result in lost money and wasted, which is the last thing you want here. Let’s discuss 12 mistakes to avoid when selling your home.
1. Not Anticipating the Costs
There are many “extra” costs associated with selling your home, and failure to prepare for that can be financially catastrophic.
- Agent commissions: Typically, you’ll be paying around 6% of your home’s final selling price to agent commissions.
- Closing costs: The seller’s portion of closing costs usually ranges from 1–3% of the total home price.
- Staging costs: This will be based on a few different factors, such as home location, home size, the number of rooms to stage, if you’re renting decor or using your own, and how much each company charges. On average, you can expect to pay from $500 to $2000 for these services.
- Home inspection repairs: The cost of repairs can range from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. Now, you don’t have to pay for these, but your buyers will expect a discount if you don’t.
- Seller concessions: Buyers may attempt to negotiate a lower asking price, or may offer full price if you throw in items like the refrigerator or washer and dryer.
- Moving costs: Obviously, you’re moving as well. If you opt to hire movers, this can cost up to $2000. Additionally, if you’re not moving in right away, you will have storage and rental fees.
2. Selling When You Owe More Than Your Home is Worth
If you are upside down on your mortgage, you won’t make more than you owe when you sell. You might be able to break even, but that isn’t great either. If these are your circumstances, only sell if it’s to avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy. Otherwise, the best choice is to stay in that home and work at it until you have more equity.
3. Trying to Sell it Yourself
Not using a real estate agent is a huge mistake. You may think you’re saving money on commission costs, but you’re also missing out on a lot more money overall. A good real estate agent like me knows how to get you the best bang for your buck. I’m committed to getting you every penny you deserve and then some.
4. Pricing Problems
This is a tricky one. Pricing too low can cost you thousands in profit. Pricing too high…can also cost you thousands in profit and waste time. You want a professional real estate agent to do a comparative analysis to determine the absolute best price for your home. When you list at the right price, the home will sell quickly and you’ll pull a solid profit.
5. Hiding Necessary Repairs
If you think the buyer isn’t going to notice a leaky roof or bug infestation, think again. Most buyers will get an inspection done, and if a major problem pops up, it can delay things big time. It’s a good idea to get a home inspection done prior to listing to ensure everything is in order.
6. To Stage or Not to Stage
You may think staging is not a huge deal, but it actually does help sell homes faster and at a higher price. Just don’t show an empty house; at least rent some furniture and decor from a staging company so people can envision it being their home.
7. Keeping the Clutter
You can’t demonstrate the beauty of a home if it’s full of random clutter. You want things to look personally impersonal, so remove that mail piling up, get the pets out of the home, and clean everything up. Treat the home as if it’s no longer yours; it’s the buyers now!
8. Skimping on Lighting
Keep your rooms bright. This makes everything look bigger, so fill rooms with lamps, throw back the curtains and light some candles.
9. Ugly Listing Photos
It’s easy for buyers to tour homes from their couch nowadays, so you want great, detailed photos of all your listing has to offer. Hire a professional to do your photos and show your home in its best light.
10. Not Letting the Agent Handle Showings
Hanging out while your home is being shown makes everyone uncomfortable. Again, act as though the home is now the buyer’s, not yours. Give your agent room to answer questions and let the buyer see their dream home without you in it.
11. Personally Accepting a Low Offer
When you sell your home, be ready to negotiate. If someone comes in low, try to work with them through a counteroffer. If they’re truly invested, they’ll meet you in the middle.
12. Hiring a Bad Real Estate Agent
Unfortunately, there are bad real estate agents out there. If you happen to have one, give me a call today. You don’t want to pay someone thousands to not get the job done. I’m here with the experience, knowledge and skills necessary to get your home sold quickly and at the best price!
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