Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid when selling your home in the Brandon, Riverview, Valrico areas.
To Sell or Not To Sell?
Home sellers should not take the plunge of selling their home unless they have a reason to sell. In other words, are you seriously ready to list your house for sale? Sound obvious I know.
But one of the common home selling mistakes to avoid when selling your home is not being committed to selling their house. What does commitment have to do with it? Think about it...
There are many things that happen during the house-selling process: showings, inspections, responses back and forth with an agent and/or buyers, contract negotiations...and the list goes on and on...
So, if a home seller is not committed, then there will be no motivating factor to help close the sale.
The Costs Involved
Every real estate transaction has some sort of price tag associated with it. Not knowing the different costs associated with selling your house is another mistake to avoid when selling your house.
Some of the costs that home sellers may incur include fees paid to the title company, state and local agencies, HOA, banks / lenders, real estate agents, etc.
Knowing what those associated costs are will put home sellers in a better position and feel confident in their decision to sell their house.
Pricing Your House
Once you've decided to put your house on the market, it's time to price it. In a previous post, How To Sell Your House Without A Realtor - Part 3, I mention the importance of pricing your house within the bounds of what the market dictates.
Not pricing your house according to market forces and attaching sentimental value are but a few of the mistakes to avoid when selling your home.
So heed my advice here...if you're seriously wanting to sell your house, you've got to adhere to what the market is willing to pay.
Make A Great First Impression
Ignoring the importance of decluttering your house and creating a visually appealing exterior are other mistakes to avoid when selling your home.
Nothing can hurt your chances of selling your house than making a great first impression. Your house can check everything on a potential buyer's list.
But if the potential buyer walks into a cluttered house or smells pet odor, then all your work has gone in vain.
Get more about ideas on de-cluttering and creating a visually appealing exterior here.
Want home staging secrets from the pros? Read about it here.
Don't Be a Hard Head
It sounds tough. But it's the truth. Hear me out for a sec.
I can think of two quick scenarios where a home seller is quick to pass judgement and make decisions that may jeopardize the sale - offers and inspections.
Say that an offer finally came in. Perhaps it was a bit lower than expected. Or, maybe the buyer had some crazy requests after a home inspection. That should be no reason to lose your cool and walk away from the deal.
I've had a seller flat out reject the offer outright, without even considering to counter offer.
Why?
One option is to think about the offer logically. Don't get upset or emotional because an offer came in too low. Instead, have your Realtor®, if you're working with one, talk to the buyer's agent and find out why the offer came in that way.
What could happen? The buyer would either accept or reject your terms.
At the end of the day, remember it's a business transaction.
False Expectations
Finally, other common mistakes to avoid when selling your home include setting false expectations as to the amount of time it would take to sell your home and/or the price that your house would sell at.
We've already touched upon price above. But what about the length of time to sell your house?
We're in a hot real estate market at the moment. That doesn't always equate to home sellers getting what they want, in terms of price and time.
Each home is unique. Each homeowner is unique as well, especially in terms of motivation, life events, circumstances, etc.
So don't fall prey to false expectations and think that just because your neighbor's house sold in 10 days, for example, that yours will do the same.
In Summary
A lot of times, selling your house will not go according to plan. But it doesn't have to turn into a bad experience. Instead, avoid the mistakes home sellers make above and you'll be on your way to home selling success!