Photo By Alan Cleaver
1. Choosing your friend as your agent
Please remember this…selling your property is a matter of business. You need to find the most qualified agent. Your friend just might not be one of them. Feelings will be hurt a lot more if your friend fails to sell your home.
2. Listing your home for sale when you are not 100%ready to move
The most important question to ask yourself, why are you selling? If you cannot answer this truthfully and with confidence then maybe you need to delay your decision to list your home.
It’s easy to get cold feet when those offers come about and rather than deal with a lot of heartache, be honest with yourself before making the decision to sell. If you are ready, be sure to have a plan ready for when the home does sell. The best offer price is when you, as a seller, are flexible with closing timelines.
3. Not pricing your home accordingly
The number one factor when a home doesn’t sell.. price. You must price your home according to the current market (you can listen to a recent Ask Connie episode about this topic).
Sit down with your agent and review similar recent sales. Understand that just because you spent $30,000 on that new kitchen does not always mean you will be able to tack that on to the asking price.
If you overprice your property, the home sits on the market for what buyers feel indefinitely then they start to wonder.. “What’s wrong with that house?” Don’t let this happen to you. Price accurately.
4. Delaying property showing requests
A reasonable expectation that buyers have is to be able to view your home. While its totally acceptable to put a limit on this (no need to show your home at 9pm) you must be able to accommodate showing requests.
If you delay the showing, buyers then become less excited to see your property and may just move on to the next.
5.Neglecting curb appeal
If you carefully prepare the inside your home but neglect to pull weeds or spruce the exterior, you run the risk of potential buyers leaving without ever entering your home.
You would be surprised how easy (and wallet friendly) a fresh coat of paint on the front door, new shiny house numbers and a new mailbox can make the exterior pop.
6. Failing to disclose information
Being upfront about any of your home’s issues will save you lots of money and time. Buyers will uncover those problems themselves and at that point, they will either walk away or hugely discount the home depending on the work needed. It’s not worth it. I answer this topic in more detail on my Ask Connie episode
7. Selling your house empty
Selling an empty house makes buyers feel the same way, “cold” and empty. If your furniture is already in another house though, I highly recommend making the investment in a local stager to give the for-sale home a look that will entice and charm potential buyers.
Remember, buyers need to envision themselves living your home (de-cluttering and de-personalizing is a must) however, with no furniture the space suddenly makes buyers become emotionless.