Common Pitfalls Encountered When Selling Your Home
Pitfall 1 - Improper Pricing - It is just human nature to want as much for your home as you think you deserve. Be aware that if you price your home too high, you will probably receive less than market value after all contract negotiations are complete. The reason this happens is that buyers will neglect your property in favor of similar properties that are appropriately priced. The net result is that qualified buyers and their agents will probably never even see the home. After the home is on the market for a long period of time, it suffers "exposure fatigue" and even price reductions or new listing agents cannot revive interest. Net Result, in order to sell you have to price it below market value. My personal goal is to sell a home in 45 days or less. It is not always possible, but the vast majority of showings should occur in the initial 30 days, or at least in my opinion.
Pitfall 2 - Failure to make it look new - Most likely your home will be competing with new construction for the same price or close to it. This is particularly true in Middle Tennessee where we are currently experiencing a building boom. Given a choice between a new home and one for resale, most people lean toward a new home if the price is similar. With this fact in mind you should do as much as possible to give your home a "fresh" feel. Clean your home as thoroughly as if you were having it "detailed" like a car. Paint if required and remove as much clutter as possible. If your rooms are loaded with furniture you may want to store some of it just to get a roomy feeling. Word about a home's condition will spread rapidly within the realtor community. If your home doesn't "show well" realtors will avoid showing.
Pitfall 3 - Thinking all lookers are qualified buyers. If you try to sell your home yourself (FSBO) and have an open house you will probably get a lot of traffic. The problem is that most of those people are simply curious about your home or even looking for decorating ideas. Others may be serious buyers who are thinking about selling their home but are months away from the point of selling their home. Still others are bargain shoppers looking for distressed properties. There is also a group, at least in my opinion, who plan their Sunday afternoons around "Open Houses."
One of the major advantages of having realtors show your property is that most realtors won't even begin to show buyers homes until they've been pre-qualified for a loan and many even request that they be pre-approved prior to showings. Good agents know their buyers capabilities.
Pitfall 4 - Remaining at home during showings. Most potential buyers won't feel comfortable looking at your home if you're there talking during showings. I have seen sellers completely turn off serious buyers by trying to point out "too many features" of a home.
Honesty is an important factor in the home buying process. If a buyer is uncomfortable expressing their opinion to their realtor during a showing, it is very hard for the realtor to overcome perceived objections. In short let the realtor do his or her job.
Pitfall 5 - Picking the wrong Realtor - Real Estate is a 24 hr a day job, but there are tons of Agents trying it part-time. When I sold my Medical Business and decided to sell Real Estate I had thoroughly investigated what would be required to succeed. I realized that there was a possibility that I would not "break even" for two or three years. I also knew that Real Estate could be a great paying very hard job or a poor paying easy one. I have nothing against part time agents who only want to spend 10 to 20 hrs a week working, but when you have someone's largest asset on the market I feel that they deserve full-time service.
In today's environment you need as much help as you can get to sell your home. I discovered early on that technology can translate to sales. For example, we live in the information age where buyers are becoming frequently more sophisticated in their search. In the past, Agents frequently took the approach of "list it and they will come" meaning that you could put a for sale sign in the yard, put the property in the MLS directory, print flyers for the house, and maybe do an open house. The chances were that eventually the house will sell. What my experience has been is that time is money. To try to cut time of the sales cycle down, I've used many different tactics such as: picture advertising in the Sunday Real Estate Section, Talking house - a radio transmitter which broadcast information on the home over the radio, internet marketing through Realtor.com and other sites, national advertising in selected publications, custom programs for likely buyers i.e. medical professionals, and various other techniques. The main point I'm trying to get across is that you need to have confidence in your realtor. Choose Carefully.
Pitfall 6 - Not Realizing your obligation - In the sale of a home it is Imperative that real estate laws be obeyed. If your home was built prior to 1978 you will need to provide a lead disclosure document as well as a property disclosure statement required by law. In addition any contract written on the property is a legally binding document, the wording should be checked thoroughly. Also, inspectors, title searches, radon test, repairs, etc. are all factors which can affect the sale. Be on the side of caution.
Pitfall 7 - Improper Marketing - Many people rely on the traditional method of classified ads and open house. While these are beneficial on an occasion, a home is rarely sold at an open house. The real value of open house is for agents to find potential buyers with which to work . Classifieds help, but if there is no picture with the ad, it is frequently just one of thousands in the paper and easily overlooked.
Your realtor should employ every method possible to gain exposure for your property. In addition prompt return of phone calls and email is a must.
Pitfall 8 - not doing your homework - What, When, Where, Why, and How are all factors that you need to be prepared to answer both to yourself and potential buyers.
You need to know What comparable market value is; When you will have the property 100% ready to sell; Where you can move immediately if rapid occupancy is required; Why you're selling; and How much are you willing to negotiate. If you don't have answers to these questions that make good sense, you need to rethink selling your home. While this might seem silly, you should realize that some people put their home for sale with no definite plan in mind if it sells. BUYERS and SELLERS REMORSE is a common problem that has to be overcome. By the time you decide not to sell you could be in a contract that will cost you a lot of money to break. Before you even think about selling, make sure you can replace it for reasonable value. The old saying about "Prior planning preventing poor performance" is especially true for home sellers. It's also not fair to your realtor who may have thousands of dollars invested in the sale of your home.