A recent
survey of real estate agents by ActiveRain has confirmed that there are certain
things a seller should avoid if they are trying to get their home sold for the
best price in the least amount of time.
The
results of this survey are no surprise to real estate agents, but sellers need
to understand that eliminating as many hurdles as possible to the sale of your
home will help you achieve you desired outcome.
Of the top mistakes, most are ultimately in the hands of the seller. Working
with your real estate agent to minimize the impact of each of these mistakes
will make the sale of your home a reality.
Here are the top mistakes real estate agents commonly see made by homeowners
looking to sell their house.
Overpriced
home
Nothing shocking here. This was far and away the most common mistake sellers
make that prevent them from selling their home.
If you overprice your home, there is a pretty good chance no one is going to
want to buy it. Real estate agents do not set the real estate market. 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.
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.
Many serious buyers may want to physically inspect a property during times
which may not be convenient for the seller. Knowing this, motivated sellers
need to understand that flexibility in when you allow the home to be sold could
have a direct impact on the sale of your home.
It’s not uncommon for sellers to see 8, 10 even 20 homes during a showing
tour with their agent. If your house isn’t on that list because you only do
showings on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, you will miss out on ready,
willing and able buyers.
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.
Cluttered
Space – Unwilling to Depersonalize or Remove Clutter
Sellers are sometimes unwilling to either make the effort, or unwilling to
compromise how they live in their home during the time the home is on the
market for showings. 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. We know
you are proud of your kids as they shrine in the living room displays all of
their ribbons, trophies and diplomas from the last 20 years. But for a buyer,
this is only a distraction.
Many agents will make recommendations about ways to remove clutter or
depersonalize your home. Some will even suggest that a professional home stager
be brought in to completely maximize the space and create a setting maximizes
the buyers ability to visualize their own things. The key thing to remember
here is these suggestions are not personal and you may have to be a little
uncomfortable so that your house puts its best foot forward.
Unpleasant Odors in the House
“Mr. and Mrs. Seller, your house stinks!”
Most agents aren’t going to be this
blunt. But in some cases, they wish they could be. They’ll take a more tactical
approach and say something like…”During the time your house is on the market,
it might be a good idea to smoke outside”.
But what they know is that 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 night’s dinner. In more extreme cases, agents tell
horror stories of entering homes that have a bad smell of pet urine or smoking.
The main concern for the buyer is, of course, “is the house going to smell
like this once we move in?” Real Estate agents confirm that many a buyer has
passed on a home after coming to their own conclusion on that answer.
Your agent isn’t suggesting a fresh coat of paint and new carpet because
they don’t like how things look.
They
are making this suggestion because they realize that the smoke odor in your
home is going to be a major turn off for anyone thinking about buying your
home.
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.
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.
Price is not the only condition which is open to negotiation. Buyers and
sellers can negotiate on dates, fixtures that might stay with the home, repairs
and a host of other sticking points. Sellers that refuse to negotiate and are
set on digging in their heels are much less likely to find a willing and able
buyer.
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 seller 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.
Bad Photos in the MLS
This one will most likely fall on your real estate agent. But knowing that
bad photos in the MLS can be an impediment to the sale of your home, as a
seller, it’s imperative that you demand great photography from your agent.
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. Poor photos could be cause for them to disregard your home
before they ever set foot in it.
The photos used to market your home are generally the first impression any
buyer will have of your home. When picking an agent to list your home, ask to
see examples of photos from previous listings. Do their photos make you want to
take a look at the home?
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.
The Home is Just Plain Messy
You were late for work this morning so you ran out of the house without
picking up from last night’s dinner. Not a big deal…unless you have potential
buyers that will be stopping by.
Some people may be able to look past the dishes stacked up in the sink, but
enough buyers won’t be able to look past the mess. Remember, buyers want to
envision their things in your house. The more obstacles you put in the way, the
harder time they have connecting with the home emotionally.
Take the time every day to make sure everything is cleaned up and the home
is in showing condition.
Sellers Who Like to Play Tour Guide During
Showings.
Almost every real estate agent who participated agreed that sellers should
leave the house during showings. Some sellers want to stick around and make
sure buyers see all the important features of a home. The problem with that…..as
a seller, you don’t know what’s important to a buyer.
Sellers that hover around during a showing will make the buyer nervous. They
won’t feel comfortable discussing things they like or dislike about the house
with their agent.
In addition, most
buyers like to explore a little bit. Interested buyers tend to do things like
open cabinets and check in closets to get a better sense for the entire home. A
hovering seller can make this very uncomfortable for some buyers.
Bottom line….leave the house when it’s being shown. Your presence will only
make things worse.
By Active Rain Real Estate Network
Education & Training with ActiveRain
January 23, 2014
If you are thinking about selling your
home, please contact me. I would love the opportunity to sit down with you and
explain how I could market and sell your home. My phone number is
503-318-1918. ~ Jolynn Winter – Keller Williams Realty Professionals.
