In this article, we’ll explore seven common mistakes sellers frequently encounter during the home-selling process and offer essential guidance on how to steer clear of them, ensuring a successful sale of your property.
1. Not expecting home selling costs.
Agent commissions: Typically sellers pay both the Listing and Buyers agents commission fees.
Closing costs: Can include land transfer fees, attorney fees and taxes
Work with agent or an accountant and ask questions in regards to what kind of funds you may need to ensure the sale of your home goes smoothly
2. Selling without an agent.
Selling your home by yourself can be a huge headache. You could miss important steps within the paperwork or lose out on thousands of dollars for not pricing your home properly. Work with an agent that knows what they are doing and can help you get top dollar for your home.
3. Pricing your home incorrectly.
Allow an agent to do a cost market analysis for you and compare your home to other homes in your area and what they have sold for recently. If you price your home too low, you could lose out on a lot of money. On the other hand, if you price your home too high, your property may end up turning away serious buyers and sitting on the market for weeks or months before you end up having to reduce the price.
4. Hiding major repairs.
Why be dishonest? You are trying to sell your home so it is better to be truthful from the start to avoid any headaches down the road. It is likely that a buyer will ask for an inspection and may find out on their own and be tempted to walk away from the potential sale. Also, you may be liable for any repairs even after the sale is completed if you are found to have been dishonest about certain problems with the home that you knew about.
5. Using bad listing photos.
In today’s world, most buyers are going to find the house they are looking to buy online. If you have photos of your home that do not truly represent what your home looks like, when it comes time for the buyer to see the house for themselves they may feel deceived and be turned off of the sale. On the other hand, if you have poor-quality photos of your home, you may be losing out on potential buyers who just skip over your listing due to the lacklustre photos.
Work with an agent who knows how to take photos (or hire a professional real estate photographer) that will both represent your home accurately and make it shine with their different techniques.
6. Taking a low offer personally.
I understand that selling your home can be a very emotional experience so it can be hard not to take things to heart. This is especially true when a buyer submits a low offer that you do not agree with. This does not mean that the buyer does not like your house or even that they truly believe that is what your home is worth. You need to look at it as a business transaction and when a lower offer comes in, that’s when the negotiating starts. Make your counteroffer. If they are truly interested, they may improve their offer.
7. Limiting the number of showings.
It can be a pain in the neck to have to keep tidying your house or leaving every time a showing is booked for your home (especially if you have kids), but if you limit showing times to only weekends or certain times at night, you may be losing out on potential buyers that can’t make it at those times. Now is the time to be as flexible as you can be. Remember that this is only temporary and could help your listing gain the traction that it needs in order to sell.
Want to avoid these costly mistakes?
Working with an experienced real estate representative is critical to the home buying process. Get in touch with Brad today and you'll be moving into your dream home sooner than you think!
