19 Sep Top 10 Home Selling Mistakes
You may get lots of advice from people about selling your home. Here are some common mistakes that are made.
1. Don’t base the sale of your home on the season. Yes, spring may typically be a busier time of year for home sales, but homes are purchased year round. Use your homes amenities, like perhaps a fire place to showcase how lovely your home can be during the winter months too!
2. The contract process is complex. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and read the fine print before signing. You really want to understand what you are responsible for and what the buyer is expecting. Speak with your attorney or real estate agent if you have questions.
3. If you are thinking of listing your home yourself make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. There is a ton of paperwork not to mention the marketing and showing of your home. Make sure you do your homework and really assess if it’s worth it in the long run to do yourself.
4. You love your home and think that is worth all its weight in gold, however buyers may not offer what you are asking. Don’t be insulted, instead try to negotiate, perhaps if you counteroffer you can come to an agreement with the buyer and close the deal!
5. Mortgages are harder to come by these days. You want to make sure your buyer has been pre-approved for a loan, not just pre-qualified. It would be awful for the deal to fall through just days before closing because of financing issues.
6. Buyers today want to be able to sit at home and weed through photos of what they like and don’t like. It is essential to have your home listed on the internet these days with high quality photos showcasing why your home is great. No longer is a newspaper ad going to bring in the buyers so make sure you are advertising on the internet!
7. It’s hard to let strangers in your home to look around, but resist that urge to be there. Buyers won’t really get a feel of your home if you are hovering about. They want to be able to really look and ask questions. Also it might be a good idea to have a lock box so agents can show your home without having to juggle around your schedule, being flexible may get your home more showings and eventually sold!
8. Make sure your home is cleaned and uncluttered. Nothing worse than seeing a filthy bathroom or cluttered closet. Also, make necessary repairs around the house, anything you can do ahead of time will make the buyer feel that it’s one less thing for him to invest time and money in.
9. Don’t go crazy when remodeling, you don’t want to invest so much that you will not get your money back in the sale of the home. Be comparable to what the homes in the neighborhood are like, you don’t want an over the top kitchen if yours will be the only one like it. Chances are you will lose your money if you go with the most top of the line appliances or fixtures.
10. Of course you want the most money for your home. However, if you over price it you may not get any offers. Buyers are savvy these days; they have done their homework so make sure you do yours. Check the comps in the neighborhood; you want to be in line with them if the homes are comparable to yours. Perhaps coming down a bit on price will lead to multiple offers and in the end you may get a higher price after all.