10 COSTLY SELLER MISTAKES

Choosing the Real Estate Agent who suggests the highest list price. 

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement over deciding the selling price. More money means more financial opportunities for the seller.

The truth is it doesn't really matter how much you think your home is worth. This is a dynamic buyers market. Pricing homes is part art and part science. Too many agents will tell sellers what they want to hear in order to get the listing today.  Two months from now the price will need to comeback to market conditions & reality.  A good starting point is a well thought out CMA or Comparative Market Analysis, to see what is happening CURRENTLY in the market.

Trying “For Sale by Owner”. 

Some people are convinced that they can do it on their own. Maybe they can sell their own home, but it likely won't happen without some major headaches and grief.

Trained specialists are called "experts" for a reason. An expert real estate agent knows the current market conditions and can price your property accurately.  Agents have a much broader reach as far as buyers are concerned.  They know how to negotiate, handle the contracts, handle the closing, and are networked with other agents in the market.  An expert will make the process of selling your home simpler and ultimately more profitable.

 Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home.

 This is one of the biggest challenges home sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your house, it's no longer a home, but a commodity. It needs to be prepared as a commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as a commodity. It doesn't matter what you "want," only what the market can bear on pricing. People are going to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can't get emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of 8 years.

Choosing a friend to be your Realtor.

Bottom line is that the sale of real estate is a serious business transaction.  Friendship alone isn’t enough to establish professional’s credentials. Use tough standards when selecting an agent, just as you would when hiring an attorney, a doctor, or an accountant.  Additionally, if a problem or challenge develops while selling your home, do you want to risk damaging a friendship or family relationship?

Waiting for a market rebound.

No one knows when or to what extent home prices will rebound.  But that doesn’t mean you should wait until then to sell your home. In fact, waiting could cost you thousands of dollars. If your home is worth $300,000 now, but area prices are expected to sink another 5% by the end of the year, that s $15,000 you missed out on by postponing the sale, in addition to carrying costs on the property you continued to incur.

Taking offense at lowball offers.

Home buying is one of last great bastions of haggling (that and buying a car). And now more than ever, buyers are testing the waters to see how low they can go. Rather than turning your nose at what you think is a low bid, listen to every offer and present a realistic counter offer, with the intent or initiating real negotiation.

Being inaccessible.

Agents love to show homes that are easy to get into. So make it easy for buyers to arrange to see your home. If you need to be called numerous times just to get a buyer into your home, it won’t get shown or sold.

 False advertising.

Don't misrepresent your home either through your description or by retouching photos to the extent that it's. Altering a photo won’t fool anyone.  Similarly, be accurate with the number of bedrooms, key features such as water view or waterfront etc.  Ultimately, being misleading just wastes everyone’s time.

Not Cleaning Up.

It may seem obvious, but it happens too often.  Inviting potential buyers in to see a messy dirty home is like going on a job interview without freshening up after you cleaned your garage. How you show your home tells the buyer what type of care you, the seller, has put into your home.

If you can't take the time to wipe the grime off the refrigerator doors, tidy up the kids' rooms, take out the messy diapers, put away the food, and take the dogs out of the house for a while, then you'll likely find buyers will quickly move on to the next home on their list.

Lingering During Showings.

Yes, we all want to know how showing went, but hanging around is not a good idea. Sellers who tend to linger during showings often make the buyers uncomfortable. Buyers like to have time to explore the home at their own pace and without feeling any pressure. Sometimes buyers want to sit on the porch or out in the backyard as they discuss the home's possibilities. However, the chances of them doing that with the seller present is less likely.

If you're selling your home, do yourself a favor and take a walk or head to the coffee shop. As soon as the showing is over, you can get all the details from your agent.