by Marian McPherson
Selling a home is tough.
But sellers can unknowingly make the process more painful than stepping on a pile of Legos by committing these no-nos shared by agents in the Raise The Bar Facebook group of Inman News.
Here’s what they had to say:
1. Don’t take the for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) route. Most sellers who choose the FSBO strategy do so in an attempt to avoid paying agent commission fees, and some actually feel they have the skills to sell a home on their own. But, only about eight per cent of all home sales are FSBOs. Ouch!
2. Improperly preparing their home for sale. Agents shared stories of sellers whose homes smelled like smoke or pets (sorry, Fido), and sellers who were hesitant to invest in professional cleaning services to remove those odours.
“They swear they smoke outside, yet the home reeks of smoke,” said Eric Larkin.
In addition to issues with hard-to-clean odours, some sellers have a hard time decluttering their home so it can always be ready for showings.
Sonya Mays suggests sellers remove photos and knick-knacks from the walls and throughly clean kitchens, bathrooms, etc.
Furthermore, she tells sellers to get their home’s curb appeal up to par. “If the home lacks curb appeal, then it’s hard to get people inside if they don’t like the outside.”
On the other hand, Jay Thompson said sellers need to be careful not to go overboard with home improvements.
“Thinking a home improvement expense is going to add an equal dollar value to the home (is a mistake),” he said. “Thinking a home maintenance expense is going to add any dollar value to a home (is a mistake).”
3. A lack of showing etiquette. Showings are the first opportunity potential buyers have to get a feel for the home and imagine themselves living there. Sellers can sour the showing by refusing to leave the home, or lurking in the background as buyers go through rooms.
Moreover, some sellers are hesitant to even hold a showing, which greatly diminishes the chances of the home actually ever being sold.
Sonya Mays said it’s ridiculous to expect buyers to make an offer solely on photos.
4. Sharing too much on social media.
Matthew Leprino said he’s noticing that sellers are increasingly taking to social media to vent about the home selling process. Another faux pas is when sellers share incorrect listing information on sites such as Facebook or Craigslist.
5. Overpricing the home. This is the top struggle agents face with buyers: “(Sellers] either believing that their house is worth more than the market suggests or that a low commission will save them money,” said Andrew Wetzel.
Furthermore, agents talked about the danger of constantly turning down offers. Barb Hassan said some sellers refuse initial offers because they believe “they’ll get more as time goes by” or because “it’s too new of a listing, and they want to wait for a better offer.”
Of course, it’s important to be smart about the offers that come to the table, but depending on the market, sellers can end up leaving themselves out to dry.
— Inman News.