8 Common Mistakes Home Sellers Make

A modern living room.

Selling a home can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. When you’re selling your home, there are 8 common mistakes home sellers make. This will help make the process more streamlined and efficient for you!

Overpricing your home

You may be surprised to learn that overpricing your home can work against you. Here are a few reasons why:

• Overpricing makes buyers think your house is better than the others. In general, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. However, if the quality of your home doesn’t live up to its name, the buyers will end up thinking you’re just greedy or irrational.
• It reduces the number of offers you get. Simply put – fewer people will even look at your house if they think they can’t afford it.
• It reduces showings – potential buyers won’t waste time looking at homes they think are out of their price range.
• It also means that you could have lost out on a sale by being too hasty in setting a price for your home.

Neglecting minor repairs

One of the most common mistakes home sellers make is neglecting to fix minor cosmetic problems before putting their house on the market. For example, hiring a handyman or contractor can quickly fix a squeaky door or sticky lock. These minor repairs can often be done inexpensively, and they can help your home sell faster and for more money than if you had neglected them.

Don’t forget to make small repairs to your home before selling it.

Not de-cluttering and depersonalizing

To make your home appear larger and more desirable, you need to remove anything that is not necessary. This includes removing personal items that have nothing to do with the buyer. You should also remove broken or damaged items from your home because they can be an eyesore and take away from the appeal of your home. Furthermore, you should remove outdated items like old technology and clothing, as well as any other items that are not in good condition or style. These essentials will help you prepare your house for the real estate market.

Not being flexible with showings

You should ask for showings at times that are convenient for you and your family. If a showing is set up on the weekend and you have plans, let your agent know so they can reschedule the showing for another time. This further becomes complicated if you’re trying to organize your relocation simultaneously. Especially if you’re moving interstate, like, for example, from New Mexico to another state. You might find yourself lacking time for showings which will, in turn, affect your relationship with the buyers. So, instead of doing everything yourself, look for reputable experts to help you. They will assist with all the details regarding relocation, and you can focus on selling your home.

Furthermore, don’t be afraid to ask for a showing at an inconvenient time if it’s important to you. You might need to cancel some of your plans or work around them, but it will be worth it if you’ve found your buyer. So propose a couple of different times that you think will benefit you both. This will put less pressure on the buyers and make them more willing to work with your schedule rather than try to fit into yours.

Unwillingness to negotiate

If you’re selling your home, there is no reason not to negotiate. Especially now that the housing situation is shifting from the seller’s market to the buyer’s. Of course, you should never agree to sell your home at a low price just to sell it. However, listen to what the buyer has to say before making any decision. For example, if there are some repairs you didn’t have the time or funds to make, the buyer might be willing to purchase the home and take care of them if you offer a lower price for it. So don’t always turn down offers for negotiation. You might end up selling your home with a better deal than expected.

Bad photos

When listing your home for sale, you should follow some basic rules. The most important is that you don’t reuse the same photos from your MLS listing. If you do this, buyers who see your property will think they’re viewing a different house than the one they want to see. You also need to avoid using dark or bright photos, blurry or out-of-focus shots, and photographs that show people in them.

Negotiating is an important part of selling your home.

Poor staging

Staging a home is the process of making it look as appealing as possible to potential buyers. It can include everything from decluttering and reorganizing closets to painting walls and replacing carpeting. If you’re planning on selling your home soon, consider staging as part of the process. One that should begin long before your house hits the market.

To get started, consider hiring a professional stager with experience helping homes sell quickly at full value. An experienced stager will go through every room in your home with you and advise how to make it more attractive for potential buyers (and sell faster).

Not doing a pre-inspection

One of the common mistakes home sellers make is not doing the pre-inspection. An inspector can find all sorts of things, including issues you didn’t know about or haven’t had time to fix. When home sellers are not prepared and don’t do a pre-inspection with an inspector, there’s a high likelihood that the buyer will refuse to close on the property because there are too many issues.

In other words, you should not hide a problem in your home before the sale. If something is wrong with your home, it will eventually come out during the inspection process.

A house inspector will help you find potential problems before the sale.

Many people skip the pre-inspection of their homes. Very often, the reason for this is just – a rush. If you are eager to move to a new home and sell your current one, consider pre-inspection a priority.

Conclusion

Don’t fall victim to one of these common pitfalls when selling your home. A few simple changes can make all the difference in whether or not you get the price you want and how quickly you sell it. Hopefully, our list of common mistakes home sellers make will help you avoid them and sell your home in no time. Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the professionals. They will help you make the selling process as stress-free as possible!