Are you planning to sell your house? Is this your first time? Selling the house can be both exciting and stressful at the same time, regardless of why you must have decided to sell your home. There are various rights and wrongs to sell your house. At the same, it can be exciting to sell your house and think about the new house. Rent Smart USA warns homeowners should be aware of all the common home selling mistakes that should be avoided. Here, we have outlined 15 common mistakes to avoid when deciding to sell your house.
You will need to find a reliable realtor to sell your home if you want to do it quickly, rather than selling your home FSBO (for sale by owner).
Some Common Home Selling Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your House
The home will be the most expensive item that you will ever sell. You cannot take a risk to mess with it and make a loss on your financial goals. With some knowledge, you can avoid the pitfalls and get the highest possible value within the desired time frame. Let us check the dos and don’ts that will help you in home selling.
01. Avoiding The Home-Selling Cost Of Your House
As you intend to get maximum profit after selling your house, most of the home sellers forget the costs that are associated with the selling of the house. As a starter, you should expect about five to six percent of the total sale price of your house to cover the commissions involved in selling the house to both the seller and the buyer. Such hefty costs do not include any possible concession that the homebuyers will compel you to make when you negotiate like any repairs of the house that is required as suggested by the home inspector.
02. Avoiding Emotional Attachment To A House
You can easily get emotional when you decide selling your house, especially if you selling a property for the first time. As you must have spent a great deal of time and made all the efforts to buy the right house for yourself, saved up for your down payment and the furniture required, and would have created many memories. Once you have decided to sell your property, start thinking like a businessman or a salesperson more than just being an emotional homeowner. Try to remember how you had felt when you were purchasing your house. These changes will not only help you with the sales price but it will help you to keep an emotional distance.
03. Working With An Unrealistic Price Of House
Though you may be completely aware of the cost that you had paid for your house, but that does not mean that your property is still worth that amount. As Ellen Derrick, certified financial planner of Learn Vest Planning services rightly said, “Your house is only worth what the market will be ready to pay.”The realtor you approach will have an eye on the market and knows what the prices of such kind of homes are like the one you owe. You will have to avoid the cost you have spent and do not price your property higher than the market value as this will not encourage better offers. Get your property valued by a regional expert valuer who knows prices from recent sales, current market conditions, and what you should be expecting to achieve. In short, do not quote very high unrealistic price of house.
04. Avoiding Offers Of Low Price Home
Your home will mean a lot to you. You often must have inflated opinions about what the house is worth. Any smart buyer will negotiate when it comes to the price. If you want to sell your property, you will have to compromise. If you want to complete the sale you will have to settle it after some negotiation. You can list your home at a price that will attract the buyers but will still leave you with a breathing room for negotiations. They can work, as the buyer will feel like they have got good value at the same time allowing you to get the amount of money you require from the sale. This will completely depend on your pricing strategy.
Remember in all house or real estate, sales, the seller always feels that he got less value than what the property deserves and he had to compromise. Similarly, the buyer also feels that he had to pay a bit more price than what it is worth. But when you close deal without any compulsion, both are perhaps at the right place and price. What you consider your loss is always due to your emotional attachment otherwise both are done justice by market.
05. Hire Or Not Hire An Agent For Selling House
Real Estate agents take a hefty commission i.e., about 2% to 6% of the selling price of your house. However it will never be a good idea to sell your house on your own especially if you are selling it for the first time. So should you hire an agent/ realtor? A good agent will help you to set a fair and competitive price for your property that will allow you to make a quick sale. The agent can eventually tone down the emotion of the complete process by meeting the potential buyers and eliminate the wrong buyer who will only want to look at your home and will have no intention to buy the house. The agent will have more experience to negotiate that will help you to get more money than you would have done on your own. And if any problem arises during the process, they will be present to handle it. After all, every agent is familiar with all paperwork and regulators framework involved in the real estate process.
06. Hiring The Wrong Agent For Selling House
As every real estate agent will assure you that they are the best choice to sell their property, however setting on the right is always a challenge. Check the agent performance and reviews. You should verify their local knowledge and professionalism. Note, if they called you when they said they would. Check if they were on time and well-prepared for the appointments. Looking at their fees, do not ignore what you can get for your money. An expensive agent can be a better investment as, it depends on the agent’s knowledge and his expertise in the services. Take care of all the hidden costs. Pick someone who will suit you as per your needs.
07. Evading Major Repairs And Costly Renovations Before Selling Your House
You can do some home improvements before you put your property for sale like painting your front door or cleaning your garden to give the buyers a better first impression. Your house should look perfect for pictures and even for later valuations and viewings. Ensure that your home is clean and tidy and free from every clutter. Immediate repairs should be done leaks etc should be fixed. Clean the gutters or any patch holes, cracks on the walls and address the dripping faucets. Do a complete walk-through of your house as if you are seeing it for the first time. Get your home ready for a show-worthy shape. In nutshell update your property so that it doesn’t de-motivate the potential buyer with its sick or gloomy look.
08. Selling Your House At Wrong Time
Every good real estate agent will know that some periods are just not good than others to sell the property. Homes sales are generally slow during the winter season, especially during the holiday time. It will take a longer time in selling your house if it is put up on the market during this time. In India, people usually don’t buy new things and especially a house during the time of Shraddha or even Monsoon season. You will be statistically less likely to sell your house during this period. If you have time wait till such period ends. Choosing the right time will increase the chances of selling your house sooner.
09. Expecting High Unrealistic Price of House
If the inventory is low, it is common that buyers will pay for whatever we ask for when we want to sell our homes. Don’t forget that the bank of the buyer might send an appraisal officer to determine the fair value for your house. The bank will not lend the buyer more than what the house is worth in market. Be prepared, that you might have to negotiate the price after the appraisal. A real estate agent can help you with the true value of your property.
10. Saving On High Definition Home Selling Photos/ Videos
If you want a quick sale but not sure how to do it efficiently, you will have to show people what they are buying and for that, they will require home selling photos/videos. Traditional agents use 2-3 photos of every property, but through the internet, the sale is open to a wider audience. There is a vast difference between the photos that sell houses and photos that are taken through mobile phones. The difference is quality. You might think that the pictures look great, but it is much better to get it done by a professional. Carefully select the images you should publish to sell your house. They should be properly vetted and edited to make sure that the reach potential buyers to give the best possible view and information about of your house. Potential buyers will prefer to look at both the interior and the exterior of the house.
11. Not Considering Home Insurance
Your house is the largest investment that you might have done. Home Insurance is the perfect and valuable decision to protect your investment. This will prove to be helpful if in case there is an accident on the premises and may try to sue you for the damages. You will also want to ensure that there are no obvious hazards at the property or that you take steps to avoid them.
12. Selling your Home with Clear Title
When you are selling your house, see that your title to the property is clear and free from all sorts of encumbrances. If you have outstanding loan, mention it clearly and assure that out of sale proceeds you will clear the same. Pay all taxes up to date and keep the property free of any lien particularly the lien by government authorities.
13. Keep Home Selling Documents Ready
Keep all your legal documents and title paper ready for potential buyers to examine.
14. Assess Your Losses
While anticipating big price of your house, you may lose potential customers resulting into delay. So, assess your losses if any in case of delay. This occurs when you are moving to a new house or a new city where your rent or EMI will start or count the loss of return on investment, which you may do from the proceeds of sale.
15. Identify Genuine Buyers for Selling Of House
While meeting potential buyers and realtors, you must be smart enough to identify genuine buyer. Do not lose the buyer on silly issues. Also identify non serious buyers and avoid them and save your time.
Final Words
There are many home-selling mistakes that you should be aware of. Every mistake can cost you tons of money. Make sure that you prepare yourself mentally and financially to settle for the best deal you get. If you need to sell your house fast, you will have to avoid making such errors. Any of the above mistakes can damage your sale. Take advice from your local real estate professional to help you to navigate through the process and avoid the mistakes that seller’s usually do.
Call to Action
Make sure that you always have a pro at your side to help guide you throughout the home-selling process. After all, with good preparations and management, you can successfully sell your home at a desired price. Before selling your house, we would advise you to have a look at our article named:
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Author Bio
Sai Charan Gundreddi – Sai Charan Gundreddy is an author and a freelance content writing specialist with over 3 years of experience in the field. A writer by day and a reader by night, he is loathe to discuss Hinderer in the third person, but can be persuaded to do so from time to time.