Home Selling Mistakes to Avoid

Selling homes can be surprisingly time-consuming and challenging.  If you are a first time seller it can even feel near on impossible and almost always an experience sooner forgotten once over.  It doesn’t have to be this way however.  In fact, with the right foresight and mind-set selling can actually be fun, rewarding and the celebration it should be once you have succeeded.  This article is a roundup of some top home selling mistakes to avoid if you want to achieve a fun experience and the outcome you desire.

Don’t take criticism personally: It is only natural to feel disheartened or insulted if a stranger comes into your house and, after mentioning a list of disadvantages of your home, walks away offering you less money than you believe your property is worth.  Your awesome house, your favourite living room and back yard may not be as attractive to some prospective buyers as they have grown to be for you.  But take it on the chin and know that there is somebody out there that will either love those things as much as you have, or change them to suit their taste once they have purchased at a fair price and you have moved onto the next exciting chapter in your life.

Marketing: Have you ever heard of a great product that hasn’t been marketed properly?  Having spent most of my career as a marketing consultant I strongly recommend that you don’t skimp on marketing.  This is really the first and most important thing you shouldn’t do when selling your home. 

With today’s broad range of social media platforms, it would be a missed opportunity not to utilise them.  Millions of people are checking their Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and other personal social media accounts daily, just as you are by reading this article right now.  So why chance missing that potential buyer? Find your target audience and talk to them directly, tell them how awesome your house is!  Ask your friends and family to like and share your property sale posts to their networks also for maximum exposure.

In addition to social media it is crucial that you list your property on all leading real estate listing websites.  In Australia this needs to include: realestate.com.au and domain.com.au

Quality brochures, flyers and signage are investments that will increase your promotional reach and attract your target market in a professional manner.  If your objective is to achieve top dollar for your sale, don’t cut corners otherwise you will gain the attention of bargain hunters only.

Price: Everyone loves their home so much that when it comes to selling it, deciding the home value can become the most emotional step to take. Be cautioned that overpricing your home will increase time on market and statistically leads to a selling price which is less than it otherwise would have been if priced fairly from the outset.  Do your research to ensure the price you set is justifiable based on market conditions and comparables.  You'll need to be ready to always negotiate, so choose a reasonable price with some room for negotiation and note that if you haven't received any offers if within a 30-day period, then you're listing price is either too high or you need to revisit your house or market conditions.  The best way to ensure your price is accurate is to have a valuation carried out by a licensed Valuer.  Beware that valuations and agent appraisals are not the same thing.  Appraisals hold no guarantees and can sometimes be inflated by agents as a tactic to win business.

Professional Support:  As tempting as low cost, budget DIY online real estate sales packages may be, it is important to note that the success rate for this option is very low.  Going it entirely alone is almost certain to be a stressful process, especially if you have never sold before. It could result in a disappointing sale price, longer time on market or possibly no sale at all, which is sadly the outcome of 70%-80% of people who attempt this option.  Having support and ongoing advice from a real estate professional will enable you to overcome any common problems that may arise during the process and improve your overall outcome.

Listing Photos: Quality property photos taken by a professional, are essential. They should be taken when there is ample natural light so that they are clear and crisp.  Before the photos are uploaded online look at them several times, show them to your friends and family.  Ask others opinions. Poor photos result in good homes staying on the market for a long time, so don’t let this happen to you.  You will no doubt have seen enough property sales TV programs to know that staging and curb appeal help to sell homes.  So prepare your home and make it look at its best before having the photos taken.  Be proactive and think about the features that attracted you to the home when you purchased it and ensure the photographer gets photos of those areas.

Broken things: Some sellers try to hide large problems hoping they will not be noticed by prospective buyers.   However more often than not this back fires and leads to them having trouble within the selling process and losing potential buyers. Even if the buyers don't notice any problem, they are likely to have the home inspected before signing the final contract and it's obvious the professional inspector will find any issues.  To avoid risking the process becoming more complicated and longer, you are best advised to have all broken things fixed and major problems solved.  If you're on a budget or you don't have time to repair, you should definitely tell the prospective buyer about the problem and propose they buy your home for less money to cover the repair cost difference.  Having your home inspected before listing it, is good idea.  This will help you avoid costly surprises when inevitably the buyer’s inspector uncovers any serious problems.  Remember that honesty and integrity is always the best policy.

Cleaning: Have you ever entered a house which is isn’t large and is not expensively decorated with luxurious furniture, but the home shines and you have a great feeling of comfort? Chances are it is the cleanliness and tidy presentation of the space that has made you feel this way. Putting your home on the market without cleaning up beforehand, is an obvious must not do. Clean and sunny rooms make a home feel larger, more beautiful and cozy. Decluttering is where you should start.  If you don't have time for a deep clean, hire a professional for this job.  Cleaning up the interior and exterior with paint, replanting and renovating will make a huge difference. Pay special attention to your homes entrance as this creates a lasting first impression.

Personal Items: After a proper clean, think about personal items and staging.  If staging your home is out of budget, at the very least you need to depersonalize.  Many people wait until their home is sold before taking away family pictures and personal items.  If you want perspective buyers to visualize your home as their own and not feel like an uncomfortable visitor, before your houses photos are taken and you list, have a few boxes and fill them with all your personal items to help perspective buyers imagine living in your home. This will also make your rooms seem larger.  As you might know buyers love spacious rooms and a lot of storage.  Start preparing to move and try to create as much empty space as possible. This will help you sell your home faster.

Negotiate: My home is the best in the area and I’m asking the best price for it – no negotiation! Do you think like this?  Really? Remember refusing negotiation is the last ‘don’t do’ in this article. Any smart buyer will negotiate.  And, if you want to complete the transaction, you should play the game. Think about this before listing your home.  Make sure you commence negotiations at your best price whilst leaving some wiggle room for later negotiation. Buyers will be happy feeling they are getting better value.  Above mentioned, a real estate professional will assist you to negotiate and achieve the best price for the sale of your home. 

Summary:  It is ultimately the market that will determine your home’s value, not an individual with the gift of the gab.  If you set your price fairly based on area data and market conditions, present it at its best and approach the process in a level headed, positive and honest manner.  You will achieve your desired outcome.

About Hello Real Estate.

Hello Real Estate offer a proven, end-to-end “Vendor Assisted Sales System”, which is designed to help our customers successfully and seamlessly navigate all of the potential issues raised in this article and many more. Hello achieve this by allocating our customers a personal Mentor and a team of industry specialists to price, present and promote property for the best possible results.  Our all-inclusive flat-fee package is offered at a fraction of the cost traditional real estate agencies charge in commissions etc and although we empower our customers to play a proactive role in their homes sale, our model is certainly not a budget DIY.  Quite simply, we are unique and more effective than any other offering in the real estate industry.  We are Real Estate Re-Imagined. ;-)

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