There are many things to consider when you are considering listing your home for sale. The following are some mistakes that sellers need to avoid:
Not Taking Your First Offer Seriously
In the vast majority of cases your first offer is your best offer. I have seen and experienced this numerous times. Generally the potential buyer who makes the first offer is motivated and ready to do business. The first offer might be lower than you would like, but that is the reality of today’s marketplace.
You can hold off in hopes of better offers, but many times properties sit on the market too long growing “stale” because the seller did not work with the first buyer. Remember time is the ally of the buyer and the enemy of the seller. As the Days On Market number increases, your chance of getting a higher offer correspondingly decrease – akin to a shark feeding frenzy when blood is in the water. You do not want to wind up negotiating a offer months later at a lower price, after answering questions inquiring as to why the first deal fell apart. By this time, that first buyer has already bought and moved on. Do not be kicking yourself later for not making the first offer happen.
Offering Credits For Work You Prefer Not To Do
Do your back steps have dry rot? Do you know some plumbing issues or a few windows that won’t open or close properly? Does the HVAC system act up sometimes? Then invest the time and money needed to make your home as problem-free as possible before you put it on the market.
Buyers are busy, too. They don’t want to deal with repair or maintenance work after they close. What they will do is call out these faults, either with a lower offer price, or in asking for credits after their home inspection.
Invest some money up front and get the work done yourself. Your home will sell faster. And most likely, you’ll get your money back and then some, in the form of a higher price. Money spent prudently on repairs prior to listing your home will serve you well.
Making Highly Personal Changes To Your Home
Do not assume that potential buyers will fall in love with your favorite paint color scheme, or the expensive floor to ceiling mirrors you installed in your living room.
Think carefully about any home project before selling. If you need to make choices on colors or styles, go with something neutral. If you’re not sure, discuss it with your agent. Most buyers expect to add their own touch to the home once they close. Do not try to do it for them.
Overpricing Your Home
When you price your home too high, you’re not fooling anyone. The rationale of “trying” a price for a few weeks is likely to backfire. Buyers are looking for the newest listings at the right price, and you only have that distinction of being new to the market for a brief time of three to four weeks. Rarely does a buyer ask to see what homes have been reduced, they almost always inquire what is new. Informed buyers know the comps in your neighborhood, and if they do not, their agent will. If your asking price is too high, your home will sit on the market longer.
The longer your home is on the market, the staler it becomes to the marketplace. You may end up having to reduce the price – sometimes more than once. As agents or buyers flip through listings, they may simply ignore yours because the Days On Market is too high. With a longer exposure to the market buyers begin to assume something must be wrong with it and move on to the next listing.
If you price your home right from the beginning, the odds are in your favor that the final sale price will be higher than if you’d priced it too high and reduced it a few times. Plus, you’ll have saved yourself months and months of carrying costs, including mortgage payments, maintenance, utilities, and property taxes.
Making Your Home Difficult To Show
Selling your home is inconvenient, period, but you are among many in the marketplace with a product to sell, and you must make that product accessible to potential buyers with the least amount of inconvenience to them. Buyers are looking online all the time for new listings to crop up. If your home is priced right and looks good in the photos, chances are you could get showing requests within hours of listing the home, so you must be ready from the start.
A serious seller must make the home easy to show to potential buyers. This means agreeing to open your home to broker tours and caravans up front and open houses right from the beginning. Turning away prospective buyers or making it difficult to show sends a negative message – that you’re not motivated or serious about selling. Forget about requiring 24 hour notice, that is a sure fire appointment killer. Appointments only at night or weekends, forget it! You can impose reasonable restrictions, but I suggest you need to be able to show your home with a 2 hour notice.
The market is changing gradually and the general consensus among area agents is that 2013 will see a modest increase in buyer traffic and sales, and a leveling of prices. If have been on the sidelines waiting for the right time to sell, this could be your chance at getting that number you need. But it is not as easy as just putting your house on the market. If you’re serious about selling, be wary of these mistakes.
Let’s talk about getting your home ready for the upcoming Spring market!
Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086
