Welcome For Sale By Owner's! Thank you for following this link. Below we provide you with a list of the most costly mistakes FSBO's sometimes are guilty of.
The 10 Deadly Mistakes of Selling Your Own Home
1. Buying a replacement home before selling the old one.
The temptation may be great to buy a replacement home first. That way you will know where you are going and how much you will be paying. And you will not have to worry about being left out in the cold with nowhere to go if your home sells quickly.
However, the financial risks of buying first are great. It is far better to sell your current home first and endure the inconvenience of moving into an interim rental, which rarely happens, than it is to end up owning and paying for two homes when you only want one.2. Basing the list price of your home on the price you would like to get rather than on market value.
Market value determines the price of your home - NOT WISHFUL THINKING! A buyer will not pay more for your home just because you think you need more money in order to purchase your next home.
Here is where Valle del Sol Real Estate can help. We are especialists in this area and we will provide you with a Comprehensive Market Analysis of your home. Or, if you prefer, we can recommend several appraisal firms for you to contact them and get an appraisal done. This will tell you the value of your home based on the current state of the market. Armed with this information you are more prepared to determine an accurate list price for your property.
After you know what your home is likely to sell for, ask Valle del Sol Real Estate to prepare you a seller's net sheet, which will help you figure out an estimate of how much cash you will receive from the sale.3. Failing to get a termite report (or other indicated report) before listing a home for a sale.
Sellers are often required to pay for eliminating wood pest (also known as termites) infestation when they sell their home. They may also be asked to correct other defects. Sellers who know the condition of their home before they sell are in a better position to negotiate a firm sale because they can disclose existing reports on the property to buyers before they make an offer.4. Putting a home on the market before it is spruced up.
Buyers and real estate agents remember what they see. Their first impressions are lasting ones. If a property looks a mess when it hits the market, that is how agents and buyers will remember it.
Most people lack the vision to imagine what the home will look like when it is fixed up. It is usually better to delay marketing a home until it is elegantly prepared for sale. Most buyers utilize REALTORS® services to purchase homes and generally REALTORS® are more excited about showing and selling homes when they are in optimum condition.5. Refusing to reduce a listing price that is too high for the market.
This is probably the most common and costliest mistake a seller can make. And this is the main reason why you could use the help of a real estate professional from Valle del Sol Real Estate. It is hard to be objective about the value of your home, but over-priced listings often take a long time to sell. Therefore they can sell for less than they would have if they were priced right to begin with.
It is natural to want to get the most money possible when you sell. Competitive pricing is the way to achieve that result. If you find that your list price is too high for the market, reduce your price sooner rather than later. The longer it sits on the market unsold, the lower the ultimate selling price is likely to be.6. Refusing to counter a low offer.
Sellers want to sell high; buyers want to buy low. It is the nature of the market. But a low offer from well-qualified buyers is better than a high offer from unqualified buyers and better than no offer at all. A high offer from an unqualified buyer only leads to disappointments and wasted time and effort. Therefore, ALWAYS counter a low offer from a qualified buyer. If he is willing to negotiate, you might be better off negotiating with him than going with your higher unqualified buyer and just before close of escrow having the sale fall through. Then you have to start the whole process again.7. Insisting on being present when the home is shown to prospective buyers.
One sure-fire way to discourage buyers from buying your home is to be home during showings. For buyers to decide to buy a home, they must first discover, and discuss, all of its flaws. Buyers are reluctant to say anything negative about a home in the sellers' presence. It is best to leave your home when it is being shown to prospective buyers.8. Listing with a contingency to find a replacement home.
This is like saying that your home "might be for sale". Serious buyers make offers on homes that are definitely for sale. Otherwise, buyers could wait in vain for unrealistic sellers to find an acceptable replacement home.
Sellers often want a contingency to find a replacement home so that they don't have to move twice. If avoiding having to move to an interim rental is of the utmost importance to you, list your home with a provision that you may need to remain in possession and rent back the property for a period of time after closing. At least, the buyers know they have bought a home, even if they cannot move in right away.9. Setting up a complicated showing procedure that discourages showings.
It is this simple: a home that cannot be shown, cannot be sold. The easier it is to show a home, the more often it will be shown, and the quicker it will be sold. There is usually a direct correlation: the more showings a home receives, the less time it takes to sell.10. Refusing to do anything to get the house ready to sell.
The way most people live in their homes is usually very different from the way a home should look when it goes on the market. In order for someone to want to buy a home, they must be able to envision themselves living there. At the bare minimum, getting rid of clutter and a thorough cleaning must be done.
Often there is quite a bit more work that needs to be done before a home is ready to sell. For example, in order to get the highest price possible when you sell a car, it is wise to have it detailed to look its shiny best. The same concept applies to selling homes. Buyers pay a premium for homes that are in move-in condition.