Real Estate Tips for Sellers: The 5 most common mistakes
Selling a home is an intricate process. Since homes are valued so high, you want to make sure you get the best possible outcome. As such, it’s important to be mindful of the most common seller mistakes so you can do things right. I put together a few real estate tips for sellers. Here are the 5 most common seller mistakes and ways you can avoid them.
Real Estate Tip #1: Price your home properly
Pricing your home right may seem like the easiest thing to do, but it’s still one of the 5 most common seller mistakes. Sometimes sellers overprice their homes, hoping to squeeze the maximum amount of money from buyers. Or they do so to leave room to negotiate. However, pricing too high can lead to less interest, less foot traffic, and less opportunity. If buyers know your home is priced too high, and you are not in a market favoring sellers, buyers will find something priced more accurately.
On the other hand, sometimes sellers feel worried about the market or have a specific timeframe for selling. As a result, they underprice their homes, hoping they’ll stand out as a deal and sell faster. Will a bargain price result in a quick sale? Likely, but this comes with a cost, which is less money earned from the sale.
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So how can you avoid pricing too high or too low? Hire a real estate agent who’s well-versed in the local market. REALTORS® are trained to price homes accurately, and they have access to the data required to do so. They have a pulse on the market and can suggest a price point that reflects the current market and your home’s actual value.
Real Estate Tip #2: Prepare your home to sell
When you decide to sell your home, you must also shift your mindset. Your home is no longer about you, your preferences, and your style—it’s now focused on your potential buyer. Although your home might be absolutely lovely, it might not be optimized for buyers, who want to see how they can fit their lifestyles into your space. One of the 5 most common seller mistakes is not preparing your home to sell. Here’s a to-do list I give my sellers to do before we list.
1. Declutter
It is so important to declutter. The less stuff you have in your home, the more of a blank canvas you create for your buyers. You want them to visualize their things in your home. When your things are everywhere, it’s tough for them to see their lives unfolding there.
2. Neutralize
Neutralize certain rooms and spaces, which might require hiring a stager. A professional stager understands how to maximize your home’s appeal to buyers. Data shows that staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than those that aren’t staged. If staging your entire home is not in your budget, try focusing either on a specific room or on the areas a buyer will see first when they enter the home. After all, first impressions are important.
3. Exterior
Don’t forget about the exterior, which will be the first thing buyers see when they pull up for a showing or open house. A freshly cut lawn, trimmed hedges, and a few plants or flowers will do wonders to spruce up the outside of your home.
4. Odor Control
When it comes to scents, I encourage you to enlist help. When we live in a home, we often become accustomed to the smells of our home and don’t notice anything “off.” Grab a friend’s fresh nose and get some unbiased feedback. Whatever your friend thinks when walking through your home is what your buyers will think. Addressing any pet smells, opening windows for some fresh air before showings, or running an air purifier are all great ways to ward off smells. Think twice before lighting candles or using heavily scented products in your home. Buyers will be concerned that overly strong scents are a seller’s way of masking a problem.
Real Estate Tip #3: Make repairs before listing
Hear me out on this one. I understand that it may seem flippant to ask sellers to spend money making repairs on a home they are leaving. However, aside from the pool of people using their purchase to try out the skills they’ve learned on HGTV, most buyers don’t want to move into a home that needs a ton of repairs. Plus, it leaves buyers a bit wary when an inspection comes back with numerous fixes that should have already been done. You want the buyers to know that the home they wish to purchase from you has been cared for. Otherwise, you will immediately lessen the number of people who will be interested in moving forward with the purchase of your home.
From my experience, you want to ensure that the major components are in good standing. This includes ensuring the roof is free from damage, and that the HVAC and all appliances are working properly. Stains, cracks, and leaks should also be addressed.
Sometimes it can be hard to know what needs to be repaired without a pre-sale home inspection. If you want to get ahead of the game and make sure your property is in top-notch shape before listing, you may want to have one done. However, keep in mind that anything that is found on the inspection must be disclosed to buyers.
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Real Estate Tip #4: Use high-quality listing photos
Raise your hand if you’ve browsed home listings online and found photographs taken from an OG iPhone 2G 2-megapixel camera without a flash. You know, the ones so blurry they make you consider making an eye doctor appointment? Or how about the ones that are so dark that you can hardly picture what the home actually looks like? Yes, I am going to extremes to make my point, but the fact remains that one of the 5 most common seller mistakes is not using high-quality listing photos.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, “For 47% of recent buyers, the first step that they took in the home buying process was to look online at properties for sale….” That’s right—buyers are browsing online listing photos before ever contacting a real estate agent. Using high-quality images can take that first impression from whoa to wow, and entice the buyer to take the next steps in the homebuying process.
Not only will professional photographs of your home make an impact, but they can also help your home sell faster AND for more money. Listings with high-quality photos, on average, sell 50% faster.
If you are working with a real estate agent, you’ll get a recommendation for a professional photographer. On shoot day, ensure that the photographer takes a lot of photographs and uses natural lighting wherever possible. Aerial photographs have also been shown to improve a listing’s appeal—spring for those if you can. All of these are factors that will serve to optimize your listing.
Real Estate Tip #5: Pick the right real estate agent
Many sellers wonder if they should avoid paying REALTOR® fees and instead sell their homes themselves. A sale by owner can occasionally be beneficial, depending on the circumstances; for most sellers, it’s not. Real estate professionals have access, knowledge, and experience to maximize a home sale, which will often result in a sale price greater than what would have been saved by not using an agent.
If you do decide to use a real estate agent, another mistake sellers make is choosing the wrong one. Real estate agents are unique, and you want to make sure you work with someone who aligns with your needs. You don’t want to choose a friend or relative just because you know them if they don’t have a marketing style you prefer or experience with a specific need you have. It’s okay to interview several REALTORS to see who you’d most like to partner with.
Take note of these 5 common seller mistakes so that you can start the home sale process with an advantage. If you’d like to discuss other mistakes you should avoid, or want to see if I am the right realtor fit for you, reach out to me. Selling a home is a big decision, and I would be happy to guide you every step of the way.