Five Mistakes Sellers Make

There are always appropriate steps to selling your home. However, there are also inappropriate steps sellers can walk down when it comes time to put their house on the market.

Five mistakes some sellers make

Mistake 1: Putting the home on the market before it’s ready. Most times this happens because the seller gets impatient or is a procrastinator and has pushed himself up against a moving deadline without getting the pre-sale work done. So it comes on the market with outdated carpet (that gets replaced during the marketing of the home); or they are painting it while it goes on the market. Presentation is everything — so get the work done before marketing the property.

Mistake 2: Pricing the home based on what the seller wants to net. This pricing strategy always ends in failure. Sellers can control the “asking” price, but they don’t control the “sales” price. The market does. It doesn’t matter what the seller wants, the price is determined by the black-and-white, matter-of-fact reality of the market.

Mistake 3: Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges home sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your house, it’s no longer a home, but a commodity. It needs to be prepared as a commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as a commodity. People are going to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can’t get emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of seven years.

Mistake 4: Trying to cover up problems, or not disclosing them. Washington has an extensive property disclosure/disclaimer form. In my experience, it is always best to disclose. Negotiations can happened when there is trust. Without it, transactions do not go well.

Mistake 5: Not getting your ducks lined up before trying to sell. If your local market is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early, not later — it will cost you more. If the local market dictates selling your home first, then buying second, do it in that order, or vice versa.

Avoiding these mistakes is not that difficult. I’m here as a along with my fellow team members, who are there to help you step over the pitfalls.