When it comes to selling a house, one mistake can cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars—or, even worse, make you and your unsold house sit like milk left out on the counter. To keep from going bad, here are a few of the most common mistakes people make when selling a home.
Fudging the Photography. It’s tempting to get your cell-phone and take a few snaps of your house, expecting potential buyers to see the charm under the Christmas decorations, stack of mail you’ve been meaning to go through, and kid’s soccer gear. Over 44 percent of potential home buyers start searching for their next home online before contacting a real estate agent or loan professional. This means, photography delivers the first impression they’ll have of your home. Photography is what decides the list of houses they want to see. Don’t cut corners when it comes to pictures.
Not addressing deferred maintenance issues. That thing you’ve been meaning to fix, but don’t want to—the mold on that one wall in the basement, a cracked window—it’ll all come back to haunt you during the inspection process. It’s a good idea to go ahead and address any deferred maintenance issues before putting the property on the market, and be upfront about any issues you haven’t addressed yet. Concealing issues with the property will create a trust issue between the buyer and seller once both parties are in the escrow period and could derail the transaction.
Overpricing. Nothing keeps your house curdling on the counter longer than overpricing. It leads to a home being on the market for much longer than initially expected and ultimately selling for a lot less than if the home were priced properly from the beginning. In other words, it’s not a good idea to price the home higher than what your agent recommends just to test the market. This will come back to bite you in the end.
Working with a real estate agent you trust to sell your house can keep you from making these common mistakes. Like a mom sweeping in to put the milk in the fridge, find one who’s there to keep things from going bad.
Sources:
- National Association of Realtors, 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
