3 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling a Home in 2020 plus I've added few more...
It’s exciting to put a house on the market and to think about making new memories in new spaces, but we can have deep sentimental attachments to the homes we’re leaving behind, too. Growing emotions can help or hinder a sale, depending on how we manage them.
When it comes to the bottom line, homeowners need to know what it takes to avoid costly mistakes. Being mindful of these things and prepared for the process can help you avoid some of the most common mishaps when selling your house.
1. Overpricing Your Home
When inventory is low, like it is in the current market, it’s common to think buyers will pay whatever we ask for when we price our homes. Believe it or not, that’s far from the truth. Don’t forget that the buyer’s bank will send an appraisal to determine the fair value for your home. The bank will not lend more than what the house is worth, so be mindful that you might need to renegotiate the price after the appraisal. A real estate professional will help you to set the true value of your home.
2. Letting Your Emotions Interfere with the Sale
Today, most homeowners have been living in their houses for an average of 10 years (as shown in the graph below):
This is several years longer than what used to be the norm, since many homeowners have been recouping from negative equity situations over the past 10 years. The side effect, however, is when you live for so long in one place, you may get even more emotionally attached to your space. If it’s the first home you bought after you got married or the house where your children grew up, it very likely means something extra special to you. Every room has memories and it’s hard to detach from the sentimental value.
For some homeowners, that makes it even harder to negotiate, separating the emotional value of the home from the fair market price. That’s why you need a real estate professional to help you with the negotiations in the process.
3. Not Staging Your Home
We’re generally quite proud of our décor and how we’ve customized our houses to make them our own personalized homes, but not all buyers will feel the same way about your design. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you stage your home with the buyer in mind. Buyers want to envision themselves in the space, so it truly feels like their own. They need to see themselves in the space with their furniture and keepsakes – not your pictures and decorations. Stage and declutter your home so they can visualize their own dreams as they walk through your house. A real estate professional can help you with tips to get your home ready to stage and sell.
4. Not Hiring a REALTOR
Many people think that selling a home is as easy as putting a sign in the ground and waiting for the phone to ring. It's not that simple. Many FSBOs (For Sale By Owners) try to sell, but end up failing for many different reasons. Pricing it too high. Not marketing the home properly. Not staging it or taking professional photos...the list goes on. Do yourself a favor and hire a pro. You'll get your home sold a lot more quickly and probably at a higher price.
Check out my previous blog post about selling FSBO.
5. Selling Quickly to an Online Buyer like Zillow, Perch, Redfin, OpenDoor, etc.
These companies tout that they'll buy your home for cash and close quickly so you can move on and buy your next home. Sounds too good to be true? It is! What they don't tell you is that they are going to give you a LOWBALL offer on your home AND they are going to charge you 6-7% for this service! So...you're not getting fair market value PLUS you're paying a hefty premium. LOSE-LOSE. Don't do it! You'll be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table!
Bottom Line
Today’s seller’s market might be your best chance to make a move. If you’re considering selling your house, let’s get together to help you navigate through the process while avoiding common seller mistakes. I'm here to help walk you through the process and show you what you stand walk away with at the closing table.
Sally Grenier
Broker Owner
Metro Brokers / Grenier Real Estate
303.475.4508 cell
sally@sallygrenier.com