By Brandon Stanley
If you want to sell your property, you better be ready to dedicate a lot of time to one of the biggest decisions of your life. This is especially important if you're making the first deal of this kind, because first-time home sellers often make similar mistakes.
You need to prepare well for the entire process to avoid losing a substantial amount of money. In this article, we will describe six common mistakes that are often made among those selling a home for the first time. Rest assured, you can spare a lot of money and nerves by avoiding these situations.
Things to Avoid While Selling Your Property
Each year, a few million homes are sold in the U.S. alone. It's a serious business in which everybody wants to make a profit and get the best price possible. Sales preparations can be tricky for inexperienced sellers because they may not know how to negotiate with potential buyers. As a first-time home seller, you have to be smarter than that. Check out the most frequent oversights and what to do should these situations arise:
- You don't analyze market conditions.
Before you make the first move and host the first clients, you have to thoroughly analyze the real estate market in your area. Perhaps you own a home in New York, but you shouldn't list it at an astronomical price if you live in a neighborhood far from Manhattan. You have to take many elements into consideration before setting an initial price. And, if you don't feel too confident about your math skills, use a digital tool like the House Price Calculator.
- The price is too high.
This mistake is usually a consequence of the previous one. No matter the market condition, it's common for sellers to overestimate their home's value. They don't do the necessary calculations and look at the property from the emotional point of view, which always affects their financial logic. For this reason, you should hire a professional real estate agent who can make rational and objective estimates. An agent can determine a reasonable price and negotiate on your behalf. And you likely can't outdo an agent who has experience and knows how the average buyer thinks.
- You neglect advertising.
Putting one of those 'House for Sale' signs in front of your home is great, but it probably won't bring you many serious buyers. If you stick strictly to this advertising method, you localize the search and don't allow other people to learn about the offer.
Social media is particularly important in this regard because you can reach thousands of potential buyers within seconds. In fact, a recent study found that 90 percent of real estate clients start their property search online; therefore, you shouldn't miss a chance to target an audience in any given location and timeframe using social media and paid searches.
- You don't repair your home.
You can drastically improve the sales potential of your house if you repair a few things and make a small investment in cheap—yet appealing—interior details. By doing so, you can make your home look much better and impress potential buyers who come to see it.
But there is another catch here. Some homeowners take the time to fix everything, but they spend so much money in the process that it doesn't pay off. You need to be careful with this and be sure to make the minimal investment to maximize the price.
Related: Cost vs. Value: The Home Improvement Projects With the Highest ROI in 2018
- Choose the wrong timing.
Perhaps you think that timing doesn't really matter in real estate, but you would be very wrong. It's quite the opposite, actually. Most clients buy new homes during spring or early autumn, so be sure to pay attention to this factor and try to increase the odds of selling your home quickly by choosing the perfect timing.
- Lose yourself in the process.
Real estate projects take a lot of nerves, especially if you're selling your first house. That's why some people lose focus and make a series of compromises just to get the job done. Rather than rushing to get your home sold, prepare for a long process and complicated negotiations with interested candidates—or else you could end up with less money in your bank account. And do everything you can to eliminate emotions from the process. It's just a job, so act accordingly.
Selling your first home is no easy task. You need to put emotions aside and think only about the business. Keep our suggestions in mind as you go through the process and let us know in the comments if you have other tips to share with fellow sellers.
Brandon Stanley is a professional independent journalist covering the real estate industry for Rushmyessay UK. He is interested in writing articles about home sales and loves traveling and playing the piano.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of RISMedia.
