5 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home

1) Pricing Your Property Too High

Every seller wants to sell their home at the highest price. Ironically, many
sellers often believe that listing their home at an excessively high price will
bring in prospective buyers in droves. Actually, this mistake often has the
opposite effect by driving away pre-qualified prospective buyers to other homes
in your neighborhood that are more appropriately and competitively priced.
With so much real estate data on the internet now readily available, savvy
buyers can often guesstimate how much your home should sell for and thus will
make offers on homes that sell at their expected price and market value. As a
result, overpriced properties tend to take an unusually long time to sell and
they end being sold with drastic price cuts and/or concessions. You will want
to avoid low-ball agents who under-price your home for a quick commission or
overly amenable realtors who say ¡°yes¡± to your too high pricing request in
order to get your listing while your home languishes on the market.

2) Mistaking a Recent Refinance Appraisal for Market Value

Often, sellers who have had a recent refinancing appraisal believe that their
home is currently the same value as the appraisal¡¯s estimate of the value of
their property. Often, this is not the case, as lenders estimate the value of
the property at a higher price in order to encourage refinancing. The market
value of your home could actually be lower even with a difference of three
months since the appraisal was completed and especially in a volatile real
estate market. Your best bet is to ask your realtor for a comparative market
analysis that shows the most recent information regarding property sales in
your community and neighborhood. Even then the price has to be adjusted for
the condition of your home and available amenities. This detailed analysis
will give you a factually accurate estimate of your property value.

3) Forgetting to ¡°Showcase Your Home¡± to Appeal to the Buyer

In spite of how this mistake seems like common sense and could be easily
avoided, it is amazing to see how often sellers neglect this. When attempting
to sell your home to buyers, try to keep in mind that even before you list your
home and set out the yard sale sign, you should develop an objective view of
your home as a product. The more appealing you make your house (the product)
to the general public by cleaning it, repairing things that need to be fixed
and making it presentable, the more likely you will get an offer you will be
pleased with. A poorly, maintained home will lower the selling price of your
property. In this day and age of instant coffee, instant internet access and
everything else, most buyers don¡¯t want to spend the time repairing anything.
If it isn¡¯t working properly, it usually ends up costing more at the
negotiating table than at the hardware store. Today¡¯s buyer usually just
wants to move in and get on with their day-to-day business. If they have to
spend time in repairing, they will subconsciously factor in more than the
actual cost at the negotiating table.

In addition, as more and more realtors are using virtual tours and/or photos of
the interior of your home on their internet websites, you need to declutter and
store personal items so your home¡¯s pictures truly showcase your house. Your
objective is to allow your buyers to see themselves living in your house and
not showcasing junior¡¯s artwork on the refrigerator or dirty dishes in the
sink.

4) Assuming All Buyers Are the Same and Selling to ¡°Looky-Loos¡±

Although not all buyers are pre-qualified, those that are usually mean to do
business. They have done their financial homework, know what they can afford
and will usually ask their agents to show them homes within their price range.
When their realtor requests to show them your home, they usually request the
showing in order to evaluate whether your home fits their needs and would be
more likely to make an offer if your house is the right match. Your realtor
should usually find out a prospective buyer¡¯s savings, credit rating and
purchasing power in general.

Most other prospective buyers who show interest really are a good six to nine
months away from buying. They are more interested in seeing what¡¯s on the
market and available in the neighborhood as opposed to making a serious offer.


5) Limiting the Marketing and Advertising of the Property to Solely Traditional
Methods

Your realtor should employ a variety of marketing techniques from traditional
yard sale signs, to MLS (multiple listing service) listings as well as internet
websites. Agents who are innovative and offer as many new technology methods
of attracting home buyers will measurably outperform those that use methods of
the past. The often predicted technology ¡°wave of the future¡± is here now,
most professional realtors who realize the sweeping changes that are affecting
the real estate industry are making it a priority to adapt to these progressive
strategies that add value and service to their sellers!

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