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10 mistakes to avoid
when selling your home
Buyers of single family homes have a
lot to choose from these days our market flush with properties. Anything buyers
perceive as a negative can become a reason to pass on your offering. If you’re
going to list your house or condo, be aware that one or more of the following
can cause a potential sale to quickly die before it has a chance.
#1 Pricing your home higher than the
average of similar sold properties in the area is an invitation for your house
to languish on the market for months to come. Decide if you can afford that.
Add up your current mortgage payment, heat, electric, water, sewer, garbage
pick-up, taxes, insurance and ongoing maintenance costs against the list price
you’ve set and how long it may take to get it. At the very least, try your
wishful price for no more than a couple of weeks. If no one shows interest,
make a significant reduction in price that’s more in line with, or even less
than, other neighborhood sales.
#2 Too many restrictions on the days
and times you will allow showings can make it too difficult for busy buyers to
arrange a time around your schedule. They’ll go where it’s easy to get an
appointment. Most buyers have a limited amount of time to search for homes.
#3 Dirty, smelly homes can turn
people off immediately. Put effort into preparing your home for showing. Many
buyers today are looking for the listing that’s considered move-in ready. It’s
got to be clean, with no strong odors. Roofs should not have leaks, windows and
screens should function properly. Appliances should all be in working order,
including the heat and air conditioning units.
#4 Refusal to use a lock-box can
significantly limit the numbers of visits. Buyers and their agents want to
maximize the time they have to look and it’s much easier to get access to homes
with a lock-box arrangement. Don’t be afraid that a lock-box situation will
result in missing or damaged items. A buyer’s real estate agent is the only one
who can access the lock-box (besides the owner) and they will take great pains
to ensure your home and possessions are safe during a showing.
#5 Insisting on hanging out at your
house or condo, following the buyers from room to room while it’s being shown,
makes buyers uneasy. They’ll spend less time inside and quickly move on to the
next one. Sometimes sellers feel they must be present to answer any questions a
prospective buyer may have. If a buyer is not accompanied by a real estate
agent you will, of course, not want to leave your home while they look around.
However, if an agent is also present there is no reason to stick around and it
can even be detrimental to the sale. Give buyers plenty of time to look around,
feel comfortable, and begin to visualize themselves living in the home. If they
have any further questions, their agent can contact you later.
#6 Specifying rooms or areas of the
home that are locked, or off limits during a showing, can raise a red flag that
something serious is wrong. If you have valuables in the room you’re locking,
store or remove them to another location. A barking dog behind a closed door is
also scary to buyers.
#7 Being slow to respond to time
limits set forth in a purchase offer can cause frustration and sets a bad tone
for the rest of the process. A buyer may have a couple of good properties in
mind so it’s wise to make your decision within the designated time. Once all
parties have signed off, the offer becomes a legal contract. A seller should
also make every effort to respond in a timely fashion to any further questions
a buyer may have. If one seller responds more quickly than another, it can be
the difference of which listing the buyer makes an offer on.
#8 Being unwilling or unreasonable
in negotiations can be an immediate deal breaker. Give consideration to buyer
requests and then counter-offer, if possible, so that both parties can be
satisfied. Be sure to make it clear in the marketing of your house if there are
any items that are not part of the sale. That might be the washer or dryer, the
chandelier over the dining table, the kids play swings, the ornate mirror
hanging in the entry hall, the wine rack on the wall in the kitchen, the
shelving in the den. Just be advised that the more items eliminated from the
sale, the less a buyer may be interested.
#9 Requesting an unusually long time
to close the deal and move out can be a problem for a buyer needing to find a
place to live within a limited period of time. Consider ways that you could
accommodate the needs of a buyer to close quickly, before you put your house or
condo on the market. Typical closings come approximately 30 days after a
contract is agreed upon. However, in the case where there is a cash deal the
buyer may want to move in sooner than that. If you can’t be flexible, the buyer
will be forced to look elsewhere.
#10 Hiding or withholding important
facts about the home, i.e. attempting to paint over the signs of a recent roof
leak, putting a rug over a severely damaged wood floor, unresolved survey
disputes, covering up evidence of live termite damage, liens against the
property, etc. can result in charges of fraud and initiate litigation. Be up
front about any significant problems and work to get them resolved. If it’s an
issue of needed repairs or replacement, negotiation between willing parties can
often produce a workable solution.
http://www.fayettevillencrealestate.info
Email: Donna@DonnaPatterson.com
Direct (910) 988-7641