While most of the top mistakes are ultimately in the hands of the seller, a qualified, professional REALTOR can substanitally minimize the impact of these mistakes help facilitate the sale of your home.
Here are the top mistakes real estate agents commonly see made by homeowners looking to sell their house.
1. Overpricing the Home
A great real estate agent will suggest a price at which to list your home based on comparable homes that have already sold in the market. Overpricing a home to ‘see if you can get someone to bite’ is not a strategy employed by someone really serious about selling. Overpricing a home will lead to missed opportunities with buyers that are serious about buying in the range at which your home should be listed.
The first week during which a home is listed will generally be the time that the most eyeballs are on the home and the largest potential pool of buyers will be exposed to the listing. Setting a price that reflects the market is essential to selling! This is exacerbated in a downward trending market. Many a seller has lost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars chasing a market down after setting a listing price that was outside what the market was willing to bear.
2. Showing Availability – It’s Difficult to Set a Showing
The chances your home will sell when buyers can’t get in to physically inspect the property are minuscule. Sellers need to understand that listing a home for sale is going to lead to some inconveniences in your normal routine. Motivated sellers need to understand that flexibility in when you allow the home to be shown could have a direct impact on the sale of your home. As a seller, realize that the more people that can see the home in person, the more chance you have to find the buyer that wants your home. And the Seller should NOT be present for showings!
3. Lack of Staging
Declutter every area of your home. Sellers should ensure that their home is picked up and CLEAN! Serious sellers realize that by depersonalizing the home and removing unwarranted clutter, it allows potential buyers to more easily visualize their own things in the house.
When you live in your home day in and day out, you become comfortable with your own ‘things’. In many cases, however, your ‘stuff’ can make a room feel smaller than it actually is and in some more extreme cases, your ‘stuff’ can completely distract someone from visualizing the potential of a room.
Many agents will make recommendations about ways to remove clutter or depersonalize your home or even suggest that a professional homestager be brought it to completely maximize the space and the buyers ability to visualize their own things in the home. The key thing to remember here is the way you live in your home is different then how you stage it for sale.
4. Strong Odors in the House
Nothing will stop a potential buyer in their tracks faster than a strong odor of any sort. In some cases this could just be the left over smell from last nights dinner. In more extreme cases, agents tell horror stories of entering homes that have a bad smell of pet urine or smoking.
5. Seller Unwilling to Make Repairs Prior to Listing
No seller wants to spend a few thousand dollars making repairs to a house you are about to sell. Agents understand that. But they also understand that few buyers want to move in to a house that needs a bunch of work done immediately upon moving in.
One of your objectives to selling your home is to make it as appealing as possible to as wide of an audience as possible. If the seller is unwilling to make repairs, and a buyer doesn’t want a bunch of work upon moving in, you’ve shrunk the pool of potential buyers for your property.
6. Sellers Unwilling to Negotiate with Buyers
Setting a market price on a home is not an exact science. Many real estate agents will give the seller a range in which they predict the home will sell. As a seller, you should always want the most money the market will bear. That being said, the unwillingness to negotiate with buyers can turn away even the most serious buyers.
Don’t be insulted by low offers. Buyers want to get the home for the best price and on the best terms they can. Just like a sellers wants to sell for the best price on the best terms. It’s rare that either party walks away from a negotiation with everything they want. Motivated sellers understand this and are willing to negotiate.
7. Bad Photos in the MLS
Studies show that greater than 85% of people are going online as a part of their research for buying a home. Most buyers will probably first be introduced to your home online. The photos used to market your home are generally the first impression any buyer will have of your home. Poor photos could be cause for them to disregard your home before they ever set foot in it.
Never let your home go on the market without photos! If it means waiting a day or two before listing, wait. A large number of potential buyers in your market will be exposed to your home the first day it goes on the market. Having great photos the first day the home hits the market is a must.
8. Picking the Wrong Agent
You decided to list with your aunt or with your friend that just got in the business. You paid no attention to their experience or what they do to market a home. Real Estate agents will often suggest interviewing more than one agent. You’ll never know if your aunt is going to do a good job of marketing your home for sale if you have nothing to which to compare her. Don’t be scared to ask a real estate agent questions about why they are a better choice than anyone else you may be considering.
At North Eastern Group Realty, we are prepared to assist our clients with their significant Fort Wayne real estate decisions. Our corporate commitment is to provide real knowledge, proven experience and professional, quality service. To search all Fort Wayne homes for sale or find a Fort Wayne REALTOR®, visit our website at NorthEasternGroup.com.
North Eastern Group Realty is Fort Wayne’s largest independent real estate company located at 10808 La Cabreah Lane, Fort Wayne, IN 46845.
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