By: Joshua Campbell
Avoid These 7 Selling Mistakes
Tags: knowledge broker, knowledge broker real estate, moving, relocating for moving, toronto real estate, newmarket real estate, new homes, new condos, selling mistakes,
There are a lot of steps involved in selling a house: paperwork, lawyers, real estate agents, listing, repairs, buyers, the list goes on. But, at the end of the day and after all your hard work, you know you are moving onto something better. However, in between all of those steps are mistakes that can be detrimental to the final sale of your house. Here are 7 selling mistakes you need to avoid at all costs.
- Choosing The Wrong Agent
Right off the start the biggest mistake you can make is by choosing the wrong agent to work with – one who does not share your goals and values and does not put your needs first. When picking a real estate agent, you need to look at exactly what they offer. How do they interact with you? How do they interact with the house? How have they marketed similar homes in the past? What do their past clients have to say about them? These are important questions to ask yourself before making a decision that could greatly cost you.
- Under Budgeting
Sellers often forget that selling a house does cost money. When it comes to commission costs, closing costs, renovations and upgrades sellers could end up spending 10% of the house’s sale price. Seller will also need to consider the possibility of renting a home while they wait to move into their new home. Before you go to sell, evaluate your available funds and see how much it will cost you to sell.
- Overvaluing Your House
Even with an opinion from a real estate agent or appraiser, some sellers choose to ignore their advice and demand it be listed at a higher price. The price you want and the price that the buyers will pay are often two different numbers. Over listing your property could defer potential buyers, your house staying on the market for months and end up costing you more money.
- Accepting The Highest Offer
Some sellers believe that the highest offer must be the best offer. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily true. The highest offer might also include contingencies that must be made before the sale can be finalized. These contingencies can be complex and have the possibility of cancelling the deal. Sometimes the highest offer is not always the safest option. Sellers you should consider multiple offers.
- Refusing To Make Repairs or Renovations
Depending on the shape your house is in, your real estate agent will most likely recommend you make some repairs or renovations. These repairs and renovations will cost you. If you are not able to pay or would rather not make them, just know these will impact your listing price. It also might be brought up in negotiations that certain repairs must be made before an offer can be finalized. Making renovations will cost you but not making them might cost you a good offer.
- Not Staging Your Home
Staging a home is non-negotiable these days yet some sellers still insist on forgoing this service. Staging has been proven to help sell your house 5-10% more than the listing price. So, even if it costs $1000, you might be getting back $5000 from that small investment. Not to mention staging is a service that impacts your life very little when compared to the rest of the selling process.
- Not Being Accommodating
Limiting the days of the week for showings, insisting you be present during open houses or not cleaning your house before a visit are just a few ways sellers can be very unaccommodating. Sellers need to remember that the goal is to get their house sold in a short amount of time as possible. In order to do that, they need to be accommodating to buyers' needs. Buyers will play nice with you if you play nice with them.
The bottom line is selling a house is a very large undertaking, but by starting off on the right foot the experience does not have to feel so daunting. The right real estate agent will be able to guide and protect you from making mistakes 2 through 7. Trust them and listen to them. A good real estate agent always has your best interests in mind.
At Knowledge Broker, our goal is to create an open-source of information for all our clients. We want to ensure that, at the end of the day, they get exactly what they want and what they need. If you know someone who could use our help or services please put them in touch with us or send us their details using the contact information below. And before you go, click here to take the Knowledge Broker Quiz and see exactly what we can do for you!
JOSHUA CAMPBELL (@knowledgebrkr)
Real Estate Broker
Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Centre, Brokerage
joshua@knowledgebroker.ca
249 Avenue Road • Newmarket, ON L3Y 1N8
289.231.0001
