Selling a house sounds like an easy thing, especially when you see a "For sale by owner" sign on your neighbor's front lawn. You may feel a little excited when you think about how you can save commission by selling by yourself. But before you make the decision, there are five common pitfalls when selling a home for the first time you should know.
The first mistake is not thinking about it's a business. This is human nature. Your own house is carefully selected by you, especially your own home. You spend time and energy decorating it to look the way you like the most. And you lived there with your favorite people and spent every moment of your life. Every minute and every second is worth remembering. Therefore, when you want to sell a house, emotional factors can easily dominate. Reluctance, unwillingness, and intolerance will prevent you from considering the market environment and rational profits. At this time, you will fall into the second pit.
The second mistake is that the listing price of your house may be unreasonable. Because there are many emotional elements involved, you may feel that your house is of high value and should be able to sell for the highest price in the neighborhood. But research shows that overpricing is the number one mistake 70% of home sellers make. Pricing that is too high will cause the house to stay on the market for too long, and eventually remain uninterested. Then, whether it is taken off the market or the price is reduced, it may not be the outcome you want most.
Now let's talk about the third pitfall, which should attract the most attention of first-time home sellers, is the unwillingness to truthfully disclose the problems in the house. For example, a corner of the roof will leak when it rains heavily or there is a crack in the foundation. Some sellers are not willing to disclose these problems, because they're afraid that the house will not be able to sell at a good price. But in fact, theses problems will eventually be exposed in the home inspection report. Aafter signed the contract, if the buyer asks you to pay high repair costs because you did not disclose it in advance, it will put you at a disadvantage in the negotiation; at the same time, some disclosures are mandatory by law, such as someone passing away in the house within three years. , or if paint contained lead, etc.. Failure to disclose truthfully in advance may put you at risk of legal proceedings.
The fourth mistake is that there the listing is not well prepared for the market. For example, you don't t hire professional cleaning staff to do the deep cleaning. You may think it will be pretty clean just by cleaning it yourself. Another example is that you do not hire a staging company to decorate the house. it is likely that the visual marketing effect will not be exerted, and the value of the house will not be fully displayed, let alone effectively increase the value.
Finally, let's talk about the fifth mistake, which is signing a contract with an unqualified buyer. Before signing a contract with the buyer, you did not verify the buyer's financial ability, did not review the pre-approval letter and bank statement provided by the buyer, and did not clearly read the several contingencies listed in the buyer's offer which will cause the transaction to be extremely unsmooth. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement, arbitration and mediation may be required. Not only is it a waste of time and energy, but it is also very expensive to hire a lawyer.
The above are the five mistakes that I has listed for you when selling a home for the first time. However, you will encounter various things when selling a house. You may encounter the sixth, seventh, or eighth pitfalls, so it's wise to choose a reliable agent. My help and guidance will greatly enhance your home selling experience. If you have plans to sell your house, please feel free to contact me, and I will help you to have a smooth transaction.
