It reaches a point when you decide to sell your dream home due to several unavoidable factors. However, selling a home is not as easy as it sounds, especially if this is your first time. This also means opening your doors to strangers to come and view the house. Some strangers will criticize what you have treasured as a home for several years, and others will open your cabinets, drawers, and all the rooms, invading your privacy.
As a first-time seller, it becomes easy to make mistakes due to emotions and lack of experience and knowledge of the entire transaction process and the market. But, worry not. Read the below mistakes to avoid and sell your house in good time while bagging the highest bid.
Being Emotional
Without a doubt, selling a house can be very emotional, especially if you have lived therein for a long time and raised your family. Even worse is when you remember the struggle you went through to get and buy your dream house. Saying goodbye to something you have fond memories of can be painful hence become an emotional transaction.
The only way to overcome the emotions is to consider yourself a home seller rather than the owner. Switching your mind to think of the transaction from a financial angle will sweep your emotions off the property. Read on.
Take yourself back to the times you were buying the property. Because most buyers are usually emotional, remember you are selling more than a house and a lifestyle and image. This way, you will give your time to staging the house for buyers in the best way possible. This different approach will help you detach your emotions as your house will look very different.
Hiring an Agent or Not Dilemma
Real estate agents ask for a commission that can be heavy on most house buyers. While this can be tricky to consider, it can also be a good idea than trying to sell the house alone. Besides, you must have come across various properties with an agent’s sign ‘for sale.’
Working with an agent will help you set a fair price and even negotiate on the closing cost to earn you a better deal. Even better, they help you eliminate buyers who are not serious and are only after wasting your time and not making any offer.
However, the best approach would also be to eliminate the agents and not work with an agent. Is this possible? Of course, yes! But only with real estate investors that buy houses directly from the owners. These investors help you save on paying the agent’s commission and sell the house fast and in cash even without you doing any repairs. Sounds pretty convenient, right?
Setting Impractical Price
It doesn’t matter if you are using an agent to sell your house or work alone; always set the right asking price. Just the same way you did a comparative market analysis with your agent while buying your house, your buyers will also do the same.
Among the top mistakes that most house sellers make is setting an overpriced cost. Overpriced houses do not sell; even agents agree and advise most sellers not to go that route. Even if your house is worth more, remember always to set a realistic price reliant on the comparable homes around.
Do not be afraid of setting the price on the lower side, as this will generate several offers, which will give you the platform to price up to the actual market rates. Besides, this is a clever tip to attract more buyers while giving you the freedom to reject an inadequate offer.
What’s more?
Not Adding Photos
Pictures speak a thousand words. Therefore, not including photos for your house will make buyers skip on your ad and look for what they can see first before coming for the actual view. It would help if you had real photos of your house. Better still, ensure they are of excellent quality to set your offer up, generating interest from several buyers.
You should take your photos during the day with natural light to get clear and crisps pictures. Besides, ensure you take photos of your home’s best features to act as a ‘magnet.’ You can achieve great photos when you use a wide-lens or even hire a professional photographer to do a neat and top-notch job.
Moreover, you can include a video tour of your property to charm your buyers to coming for viewing. Excellent quality photos and an excellent introductory video to your property will certainly get you more offers.
Lack of Proper Insurance
It is always a good idea to have insurance for homeowners to secure you in case of injuries, including when viewers get an accident in your property and sue you for damages.
Conversely, ensure there are no reckless hazards when you open your doors for potential buyers during viewing. For instance, you should ensure these buyers’ children do not go near the swimming pool without supervision to avoid accidents. Also, lock your dogs in their kennels not to cause any injuries.
Covering Major Concerns
Remember that you cannot get away with hiding any problems with your home since there will be an inspection before closing the transaction. However, there are three ways you can rectify the problems in your property rather than hiding them. You can choose to fix the issue before viewing and inspection, place a low price to account for it, or list at an average price and offer the buyer a credit to repair the issue.
Always remember that failure to fix the problem ahead of time will likely get rid of buyers who want a clean home in top-notch condition. Even better would be to have your property under inspection before listing to avoid any surprises that may be costly when you already have a contract with a buyer.
Not Receiving Buyers
Always be ready to receive buyers in your home for viewing even when you feel it’s an inconvenience. Moreover, after every visit, you need to clean the house to ensure the house is always clean, tidy, and ready for more viewers. It is always good to stay focused on the prize and overlook any tiresomeness.
Learning how to sell a house is vital, and you should be ready financially, mentally, and emotionally. If you avoid these mistakes, you will likely sell your house within a short time after listing. Happy selling!
