Selling a house is not easy at all, but is it possible with the right assistance. When you decide to sell your house, the process will consume both time and patience, meaning you could start feeling emotionally drained, especially when you’ve never done it before.
10 mistakes to avoid when selling a house hide
At times, showing your house may feel like someone is invading your privacy, because strangers will come into the house, open the closets and cabinets, and they will start poking around.
Also, they can start criticizing a place that has become a part of your life, and to top it all, they could offer less money than you think the house is worth.
Discover what’s your property really worth
With no experience and an emotional transaction on your way, it won’t be easy at all. However, with today’s list of know-how, you will avoid making mistakes in the process of selling a house.
Read out to find out what you can to sell your house without being scammed by buyers.
Things to avoid when you want to sell a house
1. Let your emotions take control
It’s easy to get emotional when you are about to sell your house, especially if you are selling your first house. You spent a lot of time fighting for the right one for you and your family, and you created many memories there.
People generally have a hard time keeping their emotions under control when it comes to selling their house. What you need to do if you want to sell your house is start thinking like a businessperson rather than a homeowner.
Actually, forget about the fact that you’re the homeowner, and if you start looking at the transaction as what it is, then you will be able to distance yourself from the emotional aspects of selling a house.
Furthermore, you need to remember the way you felt when you were shopping for the property that you want to sell nowadays. Most buyers will also be very emotional, but you need to remember that you are trying to sell a piece of property, as well as a taste of your lifestyle.
By doing this, you will likely put more effort in the staging process.
2. Pricing too high
You want to sell your home for top dollar, but you need to be realistic about the value of the house and how buyers may see it. If you’ve overpriced it, chances are you’ll need to lower the cost.
In case you don’t know how to price your home, you can hire a real estate agent to help you price it. These professionals know how the market works, and they are going to be honest with you about what they think the right cost should be.
3. Hire a real estate agent
Besides helping you price your home, a real estate agent will also assist you in getting your house ready. They can also help you tone down the emotion of the process by interacting with potential buyers and getting rid of candidates who only want to take a look at the house with no intention to make an offer.
Your agent will also have more experience when it comes to negotiating property sales, helping you get the correct amount. If any issue comes up during the process, an experienced agent will be there to handle those issues for you.
Finally, real estate agents are familiar with the documents and pitfalls involved in these transactions, meaning the process will be a lot easier. This means you won’t have to worry about delays or unforeseen legal aspects in the deal.
4. Ignore major repairs
A long list of maintenance issues will decrease the value of the property. More importantly, buyers expect the condition of the house to match the selling description.
You need to prioritize the most glaring problems, especially those that are likely to appear during a house inspection. Many buyers will demand an inspection before closing the deal.
Keep in mind that when conducting home assessments, you have to look for broken items, in poor condition, or the ones that can affect the structure, safety or functionality of the house.
These are some of the most common repairs items you are going to find, and if you’re preparing your home for sale, you can’t forget about repairing those items.
5. Selling during the wrong months
Believe it or not, but there is a right time to sell during the year, winter. During this time of the year people are focused on buying comfortable clothes to stay indoors.
This means that fewer buyers are likely to be looking for houses, and it could take longer to sell your home, plus, you could get offers that are not right for you.
On the other hand, you can take some consolation in knowing that the market won’t be filled with sellers offering their houses, meaning there won’t be too much competition, and you could take the upper hand and sell your house a lot faster.
6. Skimping on listing pictures
If you don’t have HD visuals of the house, you won’t get the attention of potential buyers. At the same time, there are so many poor photos of listed houses that if you do the right job, it will set your listing apart from the rest, and you will generate a lot more interest.
Good photos should be taken when the sunlight is at its best. They should showcase your home’s best features. Consider using a wide-angle lens if you can.
This allows you to give potential buyers a clearer idea of what the rooms look like. Ideally, you could hire a professional real estate photographer to get the best pictures possible, instead of letting your real estate agent take some snapshots on a mobile.
Additionally, consider taking a 360-degree video of the house to further enhance your listing. You can do it using a smartphone, and this will definitely get the attention of potential buyers, and they won’t have to leave their current house to take a look at your property.
7. Not having proper insurance
Your lender may have required you to get a homeowners insurance policy. If this is not the case, you’ll want to make sure you’re insured in case someone interested in the house has an accident on the premises and tries to sue you.
Besides, you should also make sure there are no obvious risks at the property, and if there are, you have to mitigate them. For instance, you have to keep the children of potential buyers away from the pool if the house has one, and get your pets out of the house during showings.
8. Hiding the biggest problems
Many people think that hiding the major problems is the best way to avoid having to spend extra money. If you think you can get away with hiding major issues is the best thing to do, then you are wrong.
If this happens, you have three ways for dealing with any issues. Either you fix the problem ahead of time, price the property below market value to be able to sell it, or list the house at a normal price and offer your buyer a credit to fix the issue.
Keep in mind that if you don’t fix the problem in advance, you will eliminate a fair number of buyers who would give your house a chance.
Having your house inspected before listing is a great idea if you want to avoid costly surprises after the property is under contract. Moreover, many states have severe disclosure rules.
Some of them demand to disclose known problems about the houses if buyers ask directly, while others decree that sellers must disclose certain issues voluntarily.
9. Not preparing for the sale
Sellers who don’t clean and stage their properties throw dollars down the drain. Don’t be concerned if you can’t afford professional assistance. There are several things you can do without help.
Failing to do these things can drastically reduce your sale costs and could also prevent you from selling at all. If you haven’t paid attention to the minor issues, such as broken door knobs, your potential buyers may wonder whether the house has other issues that they haven’t seen yet.
What you can do is have a friend or real estate agent point out areas of the house that need maintenance. Due to your familiarity with the house, you may not notice the trouble spots.
Decluttering, cleaning extensively, painting the walls and getting rid of any odors will help you make a better impression among buyers.
10. Selling to the wrong buyers
If someone wants to take a look at the house, you need to make them feel comfortable from the get-go, even if it inconveniences you. Clean and prepare the house before every single showing.
A buyer won’t know or care if your house was clean two days ago. It’s a lot of work, but it helps you stay focused on finding the right buyer.
Use these recommendations in the process of selling a house and everything will go smoother.
