Biggest Seller Mistakes!
Everyone wants their house to sell! Make sure that you aren't making any of these mistakes that will hurt your chances of selling!
1. Showing Availability
I know it’s an inconvenience, but when your house is on the market you have to be ready to show within a few hours. If you need more time due to special circumstances such as children or pets, you can request 24 hour notice and people will generally understand. Once you start requesting 48 hours notice, the buyers are most likely going to skip your house and move on to the next one. Buyers want to see things as soon as they can, so the more ready and willing you are to accommodate them, the better your chances are of selling your home.
2. Overpriced Home
If your home is overpriced, many buyers will skip right over it. You will end up reducing the price and will have missed out on buyers looking when you first put it on the market. Your home needs to measure up to comparable homes in the area.
3. Cluttered Space
Clear out your clutter, people! In the kitchen: remove everything from counters (except toaster and/or coffee maker), clear off anything on the fridge and on top of the fridge, and remove things under the sink. Bathrooms: remove things from counters and put away medication. Bedrooms: clear off nightstands & dressers. Living room: put away DVDs, remotes, magazine, etc.
4. Unwilling to Negotiate
Do you really want to sell your house? You’ll have to give a little to get a little, otherwise a buyer will likely walk. Everything is negotiable.
5. Unpleasant Odors
I love animals and have pets of my own, but pet odor in your home can really turn off a potential buyer. Get your carpet cleaned, scoop the litter box, and wash floors.
Other odors such as garbage (yes, I’ve actually shown a house that had a can full of rotting garbage in the kitchen! Yuck!), strong cooking odors, and overpowering scents such as air freshener and candles, can also be offensive to a buyer. You may love curry and strong plug-in room fresheners, but others might not and they might wonder if you are trying to cover something up!
6. Won’t Make repairs
This is similar to not negotiating and you run the risk of a buyer asking for a lower price in lieu of repairs.