Selling Your Home: What NOT to Do and Why

When selling your house, you want to make sure you do everything right. Here are the top 4 mistakes people make when selling, and why you should avoid them.

1. Don’t price your home incorrectly

Every homeowner wants to sell their home for top market price, but it’s important to not go too high above market value.

Here’s why: If your home is not priced competitively, home buyers looking in your price range may reject your home in favor for another (larger) home for the same price. At the same time, the people who should be looking at your house will not even see it because it’s priced over their heads. Overpricing usually increases time on the market and that could end up costing you thousands. Ultimately, many overpriced homes sell below market value.

2. Don’t choose the wrong  Realtor (or choose a Realtor for the wrong reasons)

You want a real estate agent who you can relate to personally, but also one who takes his or her business very seriously.

Here’s why: You need to feel confident in your Realtor and work with someone who has a lot of experience helping people buy homes.  After all, this is the person who will represent you in this major business transaction.  Ask a few of your homeowner friends about the real estate agents they would recommend, give them a call, and set up a 30-minute meeting to talk about buying a home. If a real estate agent won’t take time to meet with you, then you don’t want them representing you. For those who meet with you, ask them how long they’ve been in the business and how many home buyers they’ve successfully helped in the last 12-24 months.

3. Don’t forget to showcase your home

Make sure you keep up with necessary repairs and spruce up both the inside and outside of your home.

Here’s why: Potential home buyers are looking for a home—not just any house -- so you don’t want to run them off as soon as a Realtor brings them to your property.  You’ll probably need to touch up the paint and landscaping. It’s also important to keep your home neat, clean and smelling fresh while it’s on the market. If you were selling a car, you would wash it or maybe even get it detailed so you could get the highest price. Houses are no different.  

4. Don’t mistake “lookers” for “buyers”

While you might get more foot traffic if you decide to sell your home without an agent, Realtors tend to bring in qualified buyers, not “Sunday afternoon shoppers”.

Here’s why: A qualified buyer is someone who is ready, willing, and able to buy your home. We’ve found that most people who go looking at “For Sale by Owner” homes are just starting to think about moving. They may be good buyers, but usually not for about 6-9 months down the road (and you don’t want your house on the market for that long, if you can help it). These buyers will more than likely decide to work with an agent once they get a feel for the market and “window shop” for a bit.

Do you have any tips on things not to do when selling your home?

If you’re looking to buy a home while you are in the process of selling your current home, let us know! We’re happy to help and can even connect you to one of our Realtor partners!