For Sale By Owner? Avoid These Home Selling Mistakes!
Are you selling, or thinking about selling your home yourself? That's great! It's a pretty extensive process, but we think you can pull it off! We're here to help, whether you work with RENOMAX or not, and we've got some common mistakes for you to avoid when going through the home selling process. Keep reading.
Arbitrary Pricing
Problem: You know what you paid for your home, and you might know what you want to sell it for, but that's not nearly enough to set a price.
Solution. Hit the sheets! Take a look at the many online real estate listing services (such as Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc.) to research comparable homes nearby. You want to strike a balance between maximizing your profit and getting the house sold in a reasonable timeframe.
Oversharing
Problem: You feel like you're talking the whole time prospective home buyers visit. You're doing your best to be helpful and answer all of their questions, but they get quieter and quieter as the showing goes on.
Solution: Buyers want to feel comfortable, relaxed, and at home during the showing. Answer any questions they have truthfully and honestly, but avoid oversharing and taking over the conversation - and avoid sharing memories! Buyers are there to find a place to create their own memories, not hear about how you made yours in the home.
Taking Bad, Deceptive, or Too Few Pictures
Problem: Your listing isn't getting much traction, even though you've priced it correctly. Worse, prospective buyers are confused about the spaces and views that your home provides.
Solution: Take better pictures! You don't need to be a professional photographer, but you'd be surprised how many home sellers think their job is done after 2 exterior shots and one per room. People will judge your home first by its price, and then by its pictures, and if both aren't on-point, you'll have trouble getting them through the door.
Here is a guide to taking better home listing pictures.
Extra Tip: Don't take deceptive photos of your home or property. It can be tempting to take photos that purposefully omit an issue with the home or surrounding property, but the buyer will notice it - and buyers don't like feeling lied to by the person that wants to sell them their home.
Sparing the details
Problem: Buyers are unaware of many of your homes features and the entire showing turns into a Q&A.
Solution: You need a well-written description of your home. You don't need to go into the minutia, but this (as opposed to during the showing) is your chance to go into detail about all the features your home provides and all the upgrades you've done.
Hiding a Property Defect
Problem: You're concerned if you disclose a defect your property has, your home will sell for less or not at all.
Solution: Disclose any property defects to buyers. Sooner or later, the defect will be found anyway... better up front then at the negotiating table, when you'll suddenly be faced with either selling for a drastically reduced price or having to relist your home. Additionally, Sellers can be held legally responsible for property defects serious enough to cause issues to the new buyers, even after the sale, if the defects were not shared.
Not Putting Up a For Sale Sign
Problem: You're a private person, and you don't want to put a For Sale sign in front of your home.
Solution: We're sorry, but you're going to have to deal with it. For Sale signs provide great visibility and word-of-mouth reach for your home... as in "You're looking to move into our neighborhood? A house just down the street is for sale!" On top of that, it will help the folks that have already scheduled showings find your house in the first place.
Neglecting Your Yard
Problem: Your yard has seen better days, but you don't think it's that big of a deal.
Solution: Bust out that weedwhacker and get to work! Curb appeal is a huge part of the decision making process for many home buyers, and studies show a less valuable home with a well manicured yard can punch above its weight class when it comes to price.
Taking Someone's Word For It
Problem: Your buyer has committed to buying your home, but so far hasn't put ink to paper.
Solution: Get everything you can in writing. Doesn't matter if it's a family member, friend, or total stranger - if they (and you) are not putting it on paper and signing your name to it, it's not legally true.
Not Asking for Pre-Approvals
Problem: You've had a couple express serious interest in your property, but you don't know if they are even able to buy it.
Solution: Serious and credible buyers usually have a mortgage pre-approval. Getting one is not a difficult process, so don't be afraid to ask folks that have expressed interest if they have one or can get one before spending more and more of your time trying to sell them on your home.
Not Having The Paperwork
Problem: You aren't sure where the property survey, applicable warranties, or other important paperwork is.
Solution: Find it BEFORE you list your home, or, if it's too late for that - start the process now. Don't let the paperwork be the thing that causes delays or keeps you from the finish line!
We're Here to Help!
We hope you found this to be helpful! Good luck on your home selling process.
One last piece of advice, though:
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when selling your own home is not putting in the effort. If you can't go all-in on selling your home... we're happy to help! We offer an incredibly valuable selling program that can take all the project's legwork off of your plate.
If you're interested in hearing what we have to offer, give us a ring at (540) 737-5617, reach out on our contact page, or message us on Facebook.
