7 Biggest Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Home - YourStreetDreams.com & San Diego Ca Homes

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San Diego, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 6, 2011 --

My group at: YourStreetDreams.com located in Carlsbad Ca, has spent quite a time bit doing research on the 7 Biggest Mistakes that Seller's make when selling their home. Keep in mind the intent is not to offend anyone but rather to educate those homeowners that are thinking about selling and really want to get their home SOLD. For the most part, home sellers realize the need help, ask good questions and usually follow the advice of the professional that they have hired to help them with the sale. While this applies to just about all individuals selling a home in all states, I'm directing this advice to the 8% of sellers who have a different idea of what it takes to actually sell a home in today's (2011) real estate market.

Mistake #1. Not Hiring a Realtor

I don't just mean if you are a "For Sale By Owner." Sure, trying to sell your home yourself might seem like a great idea but not all home sellers what to deal with the hassles of marketing and showing their own home or property. When searching for someone to help sell your home, it's important to know that not all real estate agents are a member of the National Association of Realtors and in this state we also have the California Association of Realtors (most states have their own association). What's the difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor?

Realtors are held to a higher standard of ethics than non-members and in addition are afforded better resources for helping them with their profession. The most popular reason why real estate agents are not Realtor's is because they don't want to pay the fees and adhere to the standards. This is where you will find that most agents that aren't Realtors could be working only part time and have a full time job doing something else.

Advice: Don't listen to your best friend’s cousin or the guy down the street that claims to sell 50 homes a month. If they aren't a member of the National Association of Realtors, or the state association you might want to walk away. Anyone committed to the business will go the whole distance. I have heard many arguments as to why some real estate sales people aren't Realtors and they all sound too much like they didn't want to spend the money or they didn't want to be held to a higher standard.

Mistake #2. Not Hiring the Right Realtor

Now that you have identified a qualified real estate professional as a Realtor then you should ask the key questions that will actually qualify this person to handle the sale of your home.
Advice: It seems like there is a Realtor on every street corner so how do you know if you are hiring a good one. Interview them just like you would for a job at a marketing company. You can find the key interview questions by CLICKING HERE

Mistake #3. Not preparing the Home For Sale

What this means is simply, organize the home so that is in a presentable condition. Since the competition is tough and you may be competing against homes that are newer, have newer appliances, a more modern look or lower priced homes then the single most important thing you can do is stage the home. Like we discussed in the staging section it doesn't have to be expensive but it is always effective.

Advice: Don't confuse staging with spending $1,000 or dollars. New paint, shampoo carpeting, remove clutter inside and out and replacing pictures of the family with generic pictures is very simple to do and it affords large rewards.

Mistake #4. Not Reviewing the Correct Comps When Pricing Your Home.

All real estate professionals and true real estate investors have seen sellers price their homes too high and then follow the market all the way down to a disappointing end. It's totally natural for a homeowner to want to get top dollar for their home, however, here's where things usually go bad. The home starts out overpriced compared to its condition and/or location and compared to the other homes in the neighborhood. Testing the waters is great (trying a higher price to see if you get any response), however, reducing the price too late can sometime cost thousands of dollars and months of lost time.

Advice: Try to view your home from the buyer's viewpoint. The important tip here is: Price your home correctly to start with and make price adjustments every 16-21 days or sooner if the market is falling faster or your reductions have not been effective.

Mistake #5. Limiting the Home's Showing Times.

This has been the reason for many homes not being sold. Remember the golden rule, "If you want to sell your home make sure it's available at the convenience of the buyers". That means if you only want it shown between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM Monday and Thursday and limited times on the weekends when buyers are out in full force, then chances are your home will be on the market longer and could sell for less because there will be buyers previewing the other homes in the area PLUS, in a declining market the limited showings could end of costing $1,000s.

Advice: The two words that come to mind are "BE FLEXIBLE!" Sure it's a hassle but don't drag it out for 10 more weeks than it could have been. You want the house sold and there is a buyer out there. When your home isn’t available to show to a buyer on their time schedule then you might just consider that the home wasn’t for sale that day or time.

Mistake #6. Taking a Low Offer Personal.

Many a homeowner has been furious over buyers writing offers less than the listing price and in fact we have seen sellers reject full price offers because the buyers made them angry with one or two lower priced offers before agreeing to a reasonable offer. Remember, everyone wants a good deal and the buyers usually don't personally know the seller, therefore it is simply a business deal. Just as a seller might test the selling price when first listing the home, buyers will also test the waters to see if you will accept less. This is a business transaction and try not to take the negotiations personal. The Realtor should be the calming buffer in the transaction.
Advice: If you have hired a good Realtor then they will help you bring the buyer's price up with a few tricks of the trade or in some cases they might make the case that the offer the buyer has submitted is actual of viable offer. Your Realtor is working for your best interest.

Mistake #7. Taking the Ceiling Fans When you Move.

While the ceiling fans are the reference point here there are other fixtures that should stay with the house. Unless otherwise stated, anything that is attached by permanent means should stay with the house. Too many times we see beautiful ceiling fans, light fixtures, curtains, fireplace mantel all disappear when the sellers move out. Imagine what a shock that can be to a buyer who expected those items to be part of the house. Here comes small claims court. So what do you do if you want to keep your most treasured possessions?

Advice: Either remove them and replace with other fixtures before you start showing your home or make sure it is stipulated in the listing agreement that these do not convey with the sale of the home. It's up to your Realtor to ensure that gets in the MLS and everyone is on the same page. The end of the transaction is supposed to be a positive experience for the buyer and seller.

Summary:

The end goal is to get your home sold. When your home is first listed and you get little to no traffic coming to your home on the first few days that is a sign that the price could be too high. If you get traffic to your home and no offers, that's a sign that the price could be too high. Look for the signs early on so you can make the adjustments to bring you home into alignment with the market. (Specialty and unique homes usually take a little longer to sell.)
All comments, questions or opinions are welcome at: jeff@YourStreetDreams.com or call 760.494.3009

More information can be found online at http://YourStreetDreams.com

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