10 Worst Mistakes You Can Make When Selling Your Home
A home is one of the most expensive goods you’ll ever sell. Therefore, you need to be careful with all the decisions you make and try to make the most profit possible. You need to be prepared for all of the steps involved: listing, making repairs, receiving and negotiating offers, closing the deal, and finally, moving out.
But, before you start this unique journey, there’s something you need to know. Many homeowners make the same mistakes during the selling process, and they can cause you to lose money on your sale.
Here’s a list of the worst 10 mistakes you need to avoid when selling your home.
- Setting an Unrealistic Price
Many factors can influence your property’s value, such as demand, seasonality, and market conditions. You don’t have to set a price according to how much profit you’d like to make. Instead, you need to analyze similar or comparable properties in the same area recently sold, and then, you’ll have a better idea.
Remember pricing is key. If your price is too low, you are gonna miss a great business deal, and if it’s too high you could turn away potential buyers. Also, don’t trust the internet. We advise you to contact an agent and request a comparative market analysis.
- Not Advertising Online
In an online world, photos and videos are essential to any selling process and they give customers a good idea of what they’re looking for. According to NAR’s 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 44% of recent buyers started their home search online.
We advise you to hire a professional photographer to take photos of your property and if possible to make a virtual tour. If you’re the one doing it, take the photos during the day when there’s plenty of natural light available, and remember to show your home’s best assets.
- Not Preparing For Home Visits
First impressions matter, so you should clean every surface, depersonalize your home by removing any family photos, eliminate odors, and organize everything, from toys to furniture. We advise you to hire a cleaning company to perform a deep clean in key places, such as kitchen countertops, floors and room corners, windows, etc.
Also, you could invest in external and internal painting jobs. According to the National Home Improvement Survey carried out by Home Gain the benefit of exterior painting is a 55% return on investment and a 107% return for interior painting.
- Selling By Yourself
Selling your house by yourself is one of the biggest mistakes people make. People usually do this to save 6% of the house price. Keep in mind that with an agent or a home buyer you have bigger chances to make more money.
However, if for any reason you cannot hire an agent, we advise you to do a lot of research, especially on recently sold properties in your area, and consider hiring an estate attorney to help you with any legal transactions and the escrow process.
- Limiting Home’s Visits
Once your home is on the market, you have to be available for any home visits. Potential buyers will like to see your home at any time on any day, even on weeknights. Therefore, you must be flexible and try to adjust to their schedule.
If you have hired an estate agent, let the professionals do their job and allow the customer time and space to look around.
- Not Expecting Selling Costs
Selling a house is not an easy decision and a lot of home-selling costs are involved. Here’s a list of costs that you should be aware of.
Agent Commission
Normally, you pay around 6% of your home price to cover agent commissions. So, don’t let this cost catch you by surprise and be prepared for it.
Closing Costs
These costs can include sales tax, title transfer fee, attorney fees, and title company fee. In total, they take about 1-3% of the home price.
Home Inspection Repairs
A home inspection is highly recommended before listing your house to be aware of any serious issues or major reparations.
Moving Expenses
Once the deal is done, you’ve to start thinking about your moving expenses. Depending on your new house’s size, the average cost typically ranges from $500 to $1,400.
- Ignoring Major Repairs
As we mentioned before, a home inspection is recommended and if you don’t fix the problem in advance, your home’s value will decrease. Also, a long list of maintenance is not a good idea in any negotiation process. In the case that you won’t perform the repairs, we advise you to offer the buyer a credit to fix the problem.
- Choosing the Wrong Way To Sell
If you’re experiencing a financial problem and the cash is needed quickly to resolve it, a home buyer company might be your answer. The sale process is much faster with them than it is with any traditional sale with a realtor.
You also won’t have to wait for clients to come around, since they’re the investors and they’ll provide you with cash in just seven days after closing the deal.
Usually, to start a process with a home buyer, you’ll have to contact them online by filling out a quick form and then, they’ll call you to schedule an appointment. After all the necessary information is received they’ll send you a no-obligation offer and once you accept it, you’ll receive the cash as fast as in 7 days.
- Getting Emotional
Getting emotional when selling your house is completely normal, especially if it’s the first one. Maybe you’ve raised your family and created special moments in this home and now, it’s time to let it go. Many people have trouble controlling their emotions because they constantly remember all the time and effort spent in the house.
For this reason, you and your family need to be sure about this decision and start seeing it as a financial transaction. When negotiating the price and other important factors with any potential buyer, your emotions should be turned off so you can make the right decision.
- Taking the Highest Offer
A higher offer does not mean a greater benefit. Sometimes, the buyer’s offer involves contingencies. This means that the seller will receive the cash until the buyer has finished a deal for his/her own property. So, it’s important to be aware of these types of contingencies, especially if you need the cash quickly.
There are many more mistakes that could happen when selling your property and you need to be aware that each one of them can cost thousands of dollars. If you want an easy and efficient way to sell your property and earn cash money instantly, Colorado Cash for Keys has a solution for you. Contact us and learn more about our process.