Selling your home? Welcome to one of the most exciting periods of your life. This is a really cool opportunity to move to a new neighborhood while profiting off the sale of your home. Want to know what mistakes previous home sellers have made so you can avoid them? Let’s talk about 5 common mistakes sellers make.
Mistake 1: Placing Home Value Way over the Market Price
Any one who runs a business knows that this is one of the quickest means to run at a loss. You can’t simply place an arbitrary price over your home, and hope to get it sold at the snap of your fingers. Instead, you should use the right home evaluation tools; a good example of which is Zestimate in US and Wowa property valuation in Canada to get a realistic estimate of how much your home is worth. Smart home sellers who want to get their property off the market within a very short time span know that the best way to find out the value of your property is to hire experienced local realtors.
Mistake 2: Buying a Home in the Wrong Location
When buying a home, you need to think into the future and ask yourself if this would be a favorable location for most potential buyers, keeping in mind the probability that you’d want to sell it. For example, how good are the schools in that neighborhood? How safe is the area? These are some of the things a potential buyer would consider; and even if you don’t have kids, you should keep these in mind that many potential future buyers do.
Mistake 3: Working with the Wrong Agent
Most people who have sold their houses in record time and for a large profit were able to achieve this not because they had some sixth sense but because they used the right real estate agent for the job! A pro tip is to hire experienced local real estate agents, who have sold enough homes at good prices in that area in the recent past. Between helping a client get a first time home buyer rebate and ensuring another client gets that ‘sold’ sign on their property in record time, good agents are priceless. While the commission of real estate agents are important, the most important thing for a real estate agent is their knowledge, especially about your neighborhood.
Mistake 4: Selling at the Wrong Time
If there’s one thing you need to know, its that there is a right time and a wrong time to put your house on the market. This could be the difference between having your house on the market for as long as six months, or for less than two weeks. Thinking of putting up your home in August or November? Think again! Those are slow months, and you’re likely to get disappointed when your home sits on the market for a long time. The best time to sell is always at the point when the market is hot and very active.
Mistake 5: Renovating with the Aim of Exaggerating Home’s Worth
No matter how much you renovate your home, keep in mind that houses in your neighborhood are going to be priced around a certain range. Therefore, renovating with the aim of raking in exaggerated profits might not be worth the effort. Try to make renovations with your neighboring houses in mind; 50,000 dollars’ worth of renovations might only lead to an increase in your asking price by the same amount and not 100,000 that you are hoping for!
Be a Smart Seller
Selling a home is a pretty big deal, which is why you shouldn’t do so without making advance plans. Keep your renovations in line, work with a proficient realtor that knows your neighborhood well, use the right real estate tools to come up with a realistic asking price, put up your home at the right time; and watch all your hard work translate into fulfilment when you home is sold in record time!
