Today, many home sellers hastily jump into selling their home without thinking twice about how everything will work out. Not surprisingly though, some of them end up doing it rather unsuccessfully.
Are you one of those sellers who got so frustrated about everything after trying to sell it by yourself?Before selling your home, consider these four major mistakes that many people fail to avoid. Read on to find out what you should dodge before opening your home to the market.
1. Mediocre efforts in marketing a home
Some homeowners believe selling a home is as easy as putting up a “For Sale By Owner” sign on their front lawn and posting it on Facebook or Instagram. Little do they know, they are not even halfway through the process needed to ensure that their home will sell quickly. Selling a home is not as easy as selling lemonade and there is no assurance that the ultimate buyer of your home will walk through the front door. In most cases many homeowners fail to realize that what they really need to do is “bring your home to the buyer.” Good sellers use effective marketing strategies to ensure that the property will receive maximum exposure to attract a serious and ready buyer ASAP.
Many realtors are good at this but, of course they come with a demand for commission. But if you don’t have a listing agent, you can still sell the home on your own especially to cash buyers. It is very easy to find them on a sphere of connection on the Internet, Facebook groups and Craigslist. The good thing about selling to them is that they close fast and they have hard cash.
2. Neglecting the safety issues of the property
The old adage “Honesty is the best policy” is right. It’s better to disclose to your listing agent or realtor all of the issues and problems that your property may have because it will be discovered anyway during the inspection period.
In many states, the seller must disclose to the buyer any knowledge of existing property concerns. In most cases, these issues have been or can be factored into the home’s listing price. The home can even be sold in “as-is” condition but, very few are willing to accept that. Failure to mention the environmental, health and safety issues of the house to your Realtor is leading you to a huge disaster down the road whether in lawsuits or time being wasted as potential buyers walk away from the deal during the inspection period. It is best to disclose right from the start. Chances are, your Realtor may strategize to help correct those issues and therefore strengthen the value of your home creating a win-win situation for all. If you just can’t keep up with all of the issues of your home, you might lose more money in the end to repairs.
The solution is simple: sell your distressed home to cash buyers and investors. They can save you a lot of stress by buying your house right away.
3. Putting up the home for sale at a ridiculous price
Many FSBO home-sellers take pride in the sweat equity, time and money they have invested in their home through the years and most times that’s the main factor behind their pricing. It’s understood too that selling their home on their own will avoid paying a commission to an agent. However, most home-sellers are not trained to do Comparative Marketing Analysis (CMA) so they end up overpricing their home and opening it to the market at a ridiculous price that even serious buyers won’t consider.
4. Knowing and understanding your buyer
This is very important, assuming you have already found a buyer. In the negotiation stage, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. Hence, you need to know your potential buyer’s motivation, paying capacity, time frame in moving, etc. Knowing these in advance gives you an advantage because you’ll know how far you can push to get the price you want. But, you have to do your homework to find out what your home is really worth.
Selling a home is stressful, time consuming and a numbers game. Pricing your home correctly, staging and marketing can really drain your energy. If you are selling and a few months have passed and nobody is making acceptable offers on your home, something must be wrong. Look for your local cash home-buyer and see how they can make your selling process a breeze. Cash is king!