If you want to sell quickly and for top dollar, there are seven critical mistakes you must avoid:
1. Picking the wrong agent. Pick someone who’s experienced and has sold a lot of properties. If you need heart surgery, you’ll probably want to pick a heart surgeon who’s performed a lot of surgeries, right? Your agent needs to have their finger on the pulse of your specific market and offer a solid, customized marketing plan for your home. Make sure your agent actually walks through your home; believe it or not, some agents won’t even do this, and it should be a huge red flag for you.
2. Overpricing your property. Even though it’s a seller’s market, it’s all too possible to price yourself out of the market. Consumers are well-educated these days and can find out everything they need to know online—including the price at which a given property should be listed. Today’s homebuyers won’t even bother seeing your home in person if they believe it to be overpriced, and remember: The longer your property sits on the market, the staler it becomes. If you do get an offer on your overpriced listing, appraisal problems will more than likely come back to bite you.
3. Only considering the highest priced offer. There’s more to an offer than just price, so you’ll need the help of your agent to interpret the overall strength of each offer you receive. Obsessing over price alone will cause you to neglect other key elements, like the buyer’s financing (e.g., earnest money, down payment, lender credibility).
Is money your only priority? Perhaps you’re like the many other sellers we’ve worked with who needed time to find their next property and move. If so, the strongest offer may actually be one where the buyer agrees to an ample rent-back period and throws in two additional weeks rent-free. That’s exactly the offer that one of our sellers recently accepted, and it worked out well.
“Buyers can’t make an offer on a home they can’t see.”
4. Not preparing your home for the market. We understand the temptation to leave things as they are—we are in a hot seller’s market, right? Yes, there will be a lot of buyers walking through your home, but they’ll also be seeing a ton of different homes. Yours needs to stand out from the crowd. In a previous video, we explored all of the steps for getting your home market-ready and offered advice on how to prioritize repairs; we advise you to go back and check it out!
5. Not allowing showings. Let’s say you go on the market on a Thursday but decline showings that following Saturday. That’s a colossal mistake! Those weekend showings are critical because that’s when most buyers are off work and viewing properties with their agents. Buyers can’t make an offer on a home they can’t see. Yes, it will be inconvenient and frustrating at times, but be proactive and designate a spot where you can go at a moment’s notice should a buyer request a showing.
6. Getting too emotional. Stressed and tired sellers are more likely to decline showings, which is never in their interest. Sometimes, buyers love to come in with their guns blazing and tell you everything they think is wrong with your house to get a better deal on it. It’s easy to get offended by that, but let cooler heads prevail; the better offer may come from a buyer who is quite particular. Try to remember that, at the end of the day, your home sale is just a business transaction—the calmer and more focused you are, the better your outcome will be. Listen to the advice of your agent because they are not nearly as emotionally involved as you are.
7. Not decluttering. You’re moving anyway, so why not begin boxing up your belongings now? A clutter-free home helps buyers to better envision themselves living in that space. In a cluttered home, all buyers see is your stuff. Your agent has seen countless homes, and they will be a fresh pair of eyes for yours; listen to their feedback.
If you have further questions on how to sell your home quickly and for top dollar, or want more personalized solutions for your selling situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via phone or email. We’re more than happy to help!
