Just because you love your home doesn’t mean every buyer will. Avoid these Top 10 mistakes and you will find success selling your Louisville home.
Here at Louisville Homes Blog, I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to help our homeowners in Louisville make the most of their real estate investment. With that in mind, I present the Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Louisville Home.
#10 Misrepresenting Your Home
While it may be tempting to describe your family room as “a dream come true with more space than you could possibly imagine” in order to entice prospective buyers, you’ve got to remember that once a buyer arrives and discovers the room is “fine” but nothing special, they’ll wonder what else you might be exaggerating about.
Don’t stretch the truth about square footage either, as buyers represented by Realtors are likely to notice the deception. As in life, honesty is the best policy.
#9 Bad Timing
Sometimes you don’t have a choice.
Your boss says, “You’re moving to Cleveland” and your company refuses to help with the relocation. This is unavoidable.
But if you can choose when to sell your Louisville home, here are a couple of points to remember. First, if you’ve only lived in the home a short time (a few years or less) perhaps consider staying a year or two longer. After only two years, you’ve barely built up enough equity in your home to cover closing costs or other fees.
Second, avoid listing your home during the holidays. Most buyers are focused on family during this time rather than shopping for a new house. In real estate circles, we call this “the dead period.”
#8 Lopsided Listing Contracts
When sitting down with an agent make sure you are comfortable with the length of the listing contract. This figure is completely negotiable and both parties should come to an agreement before signing.
The length of the contract should be at least as long as the average Days on Market (DoM) for your area. Here in Louisville, that number has recently jumped to 125 days. 6-month listings are the most common.
It’s also a very good idea to ask about any remedies you would have if he or she doesn’t live up to their end of the bargain.
#7 Lacking a Sales Strategy
Selling your home requires more than simply getting it listed in the MLS. There are literally hundreds of ways to promote a property from the well-known.
Some are Open Houses, newspaper classifieds and post card mailings. But the real move over the past decade is to digital promotion. Make sure the Realtor you choose is an Internet expert! Not all Louisville Realtors are experts in this area so make sure that you ask.
Not every marketing method is equally appropriate for each property. It takes experience and creativity to chart the best course.
#6 Obstructing Negotiations
When you pick up that phone and hear those wonderful words coming from the other end, “We’ve got an offer!” you may think everything is golden. Just hold on a second. If you don’t negotiate the deal properly, things could go very wrong.
I’ve found that some sellers refuse to give ground in negotiations because they believe the buyer is already getting “a great deal.” It’s tough for sellers to be objective about their own home because they’ve built an emotional attachment to it.
What’s most important is, “What are the comps telling us?”
This is the unbiased way of learning market value. It’s not the seller, listing agent, buyer or buyer’s agent telling us the value… it’s the Louisville real estate market.
#5 For Sale by Owner
Current data from NAR states:
FSBOs accounted for 9% of home sales in 2012. The typical FSBO home sold for $174,900 compared to $215,000 for agent-assisted home sales.
But that doesn’t mean you should always use an agent to sell your home. If your home is in one of those ultra hot neighborhoods and you’ve got a good understanding of the home selling process and you know how to price your home appropriately, then you might do quite well.
Typically, those are rare situations.
Keep in mind that there are a number of variables that might arise that would make having a Louisville professional on your side a wonderful thing. Never say “never” but you could find yourself months into the process with very few showings and even fewer offers. There’s a reason why the number of FiSBOs have dropped nationally over the past 9 years.
#4 Wrong Realtor
I can’t tell you how many times I hear someone tell me they’re using their Aunt or their sister’s cousin’s neighbor as their agent. Just because someone is related to you, doesn’t necessarily make them a good Realtor.
Studies have shown that more than anything else, people want their agents to be trustworthy and professional. So when it comes time for you to sell, interview multiple Louisville agents and learn about their work ethic and their strategy for marketing your property.
Some of the more successful agents feel like they’ve already paid their dues and don’t need to do the little things. It’s those “little things” that separate the good agents from the great agents.
#3 Big Red Flags
There are certain problems that will scare off prospective buyers in a New York second. If your Louisville property has any of the following problems, you should quickly correct them before putting your home on the market:
foul odors
visible mold or mildew
siding or gutters that are separated from house
broken doors or windows
problems with the heating/cooling systems
“soft” floors or steps
Assuredly, some problems are bigger than others but problems like these will overshadow the positive qualities of your house.
#2 Neglecting Property Preparation
Before listing your home, perform the following exercise. Drive up to your house and park on the street. Walk up the drive evaluating everything from the mailbox to the lawn and landscaping all the way up to the front door. What did you notice about your home?
A wise person once said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
If a buyer doesn’t like your home the first time they visit, they surely won’t return. Therefore, it’s critical to have your house “on its best behavior” when the guests arrive.
Remove as much clutter as possible. Make sure the grass is nicely trimmed. Turn on all the lights and open the blinds or curtains.
Any little thing you can do to show that your home is well-cared for will improve your odds of impressing those buyers. For more tips, see Top 10 Ways to Prepare Your Property For Sale.
#1 Poor Pricing
Far and away, the most important aspect to selling your home is price. Simply stated, if the price is not right then buyers won’t even consider your property.
This is the point where having a savvy Louisville Realtor on your team really pays off. You shouldn’t just consider comparable properties that have sold, but also what’s currently on the market. Which areas are hot? Which are over-stocked?
There are a dozen important factors to consider when determining the appropriate price. In the end, a good Realtor will set an appropriate price range for you and then ask you to select the Asking Price. It’s very important that you feel comfortable with the price.
Even though you can lower your price in the future, new listings get the most attention in the first couple of weeks after they come on the market and homes that stay on the market longer than average usually sell for less.
If you can avoid these pitfalls, you will find yourself ahead of the game and well on your way to selling your Louisville home!
Updated: 3/13/2014
Tre Pryor is an Internet-veteran turned tech-savvy Realtor. One of the top Louisville agents, you can find his work at InsiderLouisville.com, Louisville Homes Blog or follow him on Google+ or Twitter.
The post Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Your Louisville Home appeared first on Louisville Homes Blog.