Most of
often people sell a house when they move out of their current home to a new
house in a new city or state. Often people like to retire and move out to their
native towns and cities, and in such situations the sell out their house. After
all, there is no point keeping a property when you have no plans to occupy
again.
Also selling
gives that extra liquidity that can be used to a buy a new home where you can
live with your family. The money will also help you survive in the new city
without worrying too much about monetary issues. Well, that is definitely a big
relief but if you want to get the maximum benefits of home selling, you at
first have to sell your home properly and avoid the common home selling
mistakes people often make when selling a house in hurry.
And if you
are moving out to a different city, state or to a different country and you are
planning to sell your home, then here’s the post worth reading. As in today’s
post, I am talking about a few of the most common home selling mistakes people
make. And by avoiding these silly mistakes, you can definitely get the maximum
benefits out of selling your home.
There are many mistakes we make when buying a house or at the time of selling a house. But if you want to get the best value when selling your house or get the maximum benefits when buying a house, you must plan everything strategically and avoid making these mistakes.
Costly home selling mistakes worth avoiding
The entire
process of selling a house can be lengthy and so you need to be absolutely
patient with it. Of course, if you want to sell it fast, then you can try to
speed up the process, but you cannot expect an overnight miracle. You need to spend
time in preparing your home for the sale, and then list the property on
multiple platforms to attract good offers for your property.
After that,
you need to talk to potential customers who will then visit your home to inspect,
and if both you and your customer are happy with all the terms and conditions,
the deal can get finalized.
So, clearly there
is a lot of work that needs to be done if you want to make the most of it and
if you want to sell your home at a good price.
However,
most of the time, the home owners commit some costly home selling mistakes
because they are not fully aware of what needs to be done.
So, if you
are in the process of selling your house, you must be aware of these costly
home selling mistakes and try your best to avoid these mistakes.
Not hiring a good agent
The entire process of selling a home can be a little tricky, so it is highly recommended that instead of working alone, you hire an agent. But, whom you choose to work with is a very important thing because it can actually make or break your experience of selling a home. If you are able to hire a good estate agent, then he will be able to guide you properly at every step, and also help you avoid crucial home selling mistakes. In contrast to that, if you end up hiring an inefficient one who does not have proper communication skills or is not taking things seriously as he should be, then you may not be able to make much profit from selling your home.
And
therefore, it is important that you do proper research before choosing an agent.
Besides going through reviews, you can ask for referrals from your friends,
neighbors and relatives. Also, talk to a few agents before finalizing one to crack
a great and profitable deal for you. Just try to understand that the longer the
time your home sits on the market, the lower will be its perceived value. So,
it is better you take a little more time in finding a good agent at the very
beginning rather than switching agents after your home has been listed for sale.
Overpricing the property
Pricing your
home incorrectly or rather pricing it too high is one of the most common house
selling mistake people make. Well, I understand that you want to get the most profitable
deal for selling your home. But, you cannot just set an unrealistic price by
getting driven by your emotions. You must not price your home as per what you
feel it is worth of, but depending on what comparable homes in your locality
have sold for.
Some of the
secondary factors like the location of the property, local demand, market
strength and the condition of your home definitely matters as far as pricing is
concerned.
Believe me,
an overpriced house is a complete turn off for any buyer. On top of that, if
you are not at all willing to negotiate with the buyers, selling your home will
become even more difficult. So, price it correctly and choose legitimate offers
from the buyers to evaluate.
Neglecting repairs
If you want to get good and attractive offers when selling a home, you can’t really avoid and neglect major or minor repairing works. Home repairing may be costly or cheap, but when you show a properly maintained and perfect house to an interested home buyer then it will surprisingly increase the chance of getting better purchase offers, and selling your home faster.
And, if you think
that buyers will not notice minor repair needs, then you are wrong, because
they will probably inspect your entire home by a professional before finalizing
a deal.
And, if any
major damage does come up during the inspection then it may delay the closing
date or even lead to termination of a good deal and offer.
So, it is
better that you yourself inspect your home and repair all the damages, be it a
minor repair work or a major on, before listing your home for sale.
Bad listing timing
The time of
the year when you are listing your home is an important factor, and therefore, if
you are listing during the wrong time, you may not be able to sell your home at
good rates. In spring, there is a lot of buyer demand while during late fall
and winter, the demand becomes less. Even a great property may have to sit in
the market for long just because there is lack of buying interest in general
during the off season. Therefore, unless you are moving out of necessity and do
not have the option to sell your home at the right time, try to list your home for
sale between late February and middle of May.
Listing depersonalized home
You may have
lived in your home for a long time and have a lot of emotional attachment
towards it. But when you are selling your home, you need to at first stop
getting emotional about the place. And, for that, one of the things that you
need to do is to depersonalize your home. Your buyers need to visualize
themselves living in that house so while they visit your home, if they notice a
whole lot of your family photos, they will not be able to make a personal
connect easily with your home.
I know that
it may seem weird to take down things when you are still living in that home
but try to understand that apart from proper marketing and pricing, home
selling is also about psychology. So, if you fail to remove those items that
suggest it is your home only, not of the buyers that will work against you so
please avoid doing this home selling mistake. Depersonalize your home before
listing it for sale.
Not de-cluttering
You cannot just expect to sell your property that is full of clutter to someone at good rates. It is obviously something that will turn off a buyer. Moreover, it will not just make the home look smaller but will also distract the buyer from the home’s best features. By showing a well maintained, clean and organized home to a buyer, you will be able to attract good offers, and even increase the value of your house easily. And therefore consider decluttering when moving out of the house or before listing it for sale.
So, once you decide to list your home for sale, please pack up the things that will not be required and store them somewhere outside your home. That may be in the storage facility near you or in the house of any generous friend, relative or neighbor. Try to be liberal when you are choosing what to get rid of because lesser the number of items around your home, the more the buyers and their agents will be able to notice the potential of your space.
Not staging the property to sell
You may have
decorated your home really well but you need to do something extra when it is
about staging your home. Home staging is all about setting up your property in
such a way that it looks very appealing to the potential buyers. Not all the
time do you need to rent or buy new things to put in the home. It is enough if
you edit down what is already present and arrange the items in such a way that
it looks visually appealing.
If you are
not too confident about how to make your home look best when staging your home,
then you may also think of hiring a professional home stager.
Listing with bad pictures
In case you
have forgotten, let me just remind you that the listing pictures do play a very
important role in helping you sell your home quickly at good rates. They are
often the first look of your property that the potential buyers will have. So,
please understand that if the pictures are not good or if there are very few of
them, then the buyers may lose interest in your home at the very beginning. And
therefore, you need to be very sure that the listing photos are just perfect
and that they should have primarily focus on the best features of your home.
I t is
always better to hire a professional photographer as they will have better idea
regarding camera angle and from where to click the pictures so that you get the
best pictures. At the end, you need to see to it that the pictures selected for
listing are bright and that there is no sign of clutter anywhere.
Being unavailable
Last but not
the least, when your home is on the market, selling it should be your top
priority. If you get a call from any buyer who is interested to view the
property, then you should be able to arrange the meeting and schedule an
inspection for interested buyers, as per their convenience.
Even on
holidays, you should avoid refusing a showing because the buyer might be
serious about making the offer with you, and your refusal may turn them off.
So, try to be available most of the time for the buyers.
Conclusion
Home selling
is not easy, especially if you want to get good deal for your property. It
requires careful planning and perfect execution. So, if you want to sell your
home quickly and at good rates, make sure you are pretty organized from the
very beginning.
Not hiring a good real estate agent, pricing your property too high, not de-cluttering or depersonalizing your home before listing, bad listing pictures, not being available to the buyers most of the time etc. are some of the most common home selling mistakes that you should avoid when selling a house.
If you avoid the above-mentioned home selling mistakes people make most of the time, I am sure you will be able to sell your home at a good valuation, fast and easily.
Have you listed
and sold a house recently?
What other
mistakes do you think one should avoid when selling a house?
Share your
learning and experiences of selling a home successfully by commenting below.
