Before I became a prefessional real estate agent, I once had the experience of selling a house by myself. I originally thought it would be as simple as opening an open house, accepting offers and waiting for it to close. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a terrible experience that lasted for half a year. Not only did I have to pay double rent and mortgage for most of the year, but I almost had to go to the court. In this article, I will share with you my three major mistakes I sold my home by myself.

First of all, let's talk about the most fatal mistake. As a seller, I was about to sell a house by myself. Of course, I would have the final say as to what price to set. I was very reluctant to sell the house at that time. Becasause when I bought the house, I chose carefully. After buying it, I spent money to upgrade it carefully. I felt that I could live in it for 20 to 30 years, and I had a deep feeling for the house, so when I sold the house, I felt that my house is very valuable, and I added in the cost of various renovations and my own expectations. The fatal mistake is that I didn't set the price from the perspective of market transactions. As you can imagine, the unrealistic pricing made my house became inventory on the market for a long time.

The second mistake is not knowing how to present your home to the market in the best possible condition. I hired a professional cleaner to deep clean the house, and the results were good. Then, there were no more I did to my property. I didn't know what staging is, and I didn't finding anyone to take professional photos and 3D tour picuture. It wasn't until I became a real estate agent that I realized how powerful the staging can be. I mentioned in my previous article "Before selling your house, this preparation work can bring you great returns."，You can check out the logic behind staging.

The third major mistake is not knowing how to respond to unexpected crises after entering into the contract. The contract at that time stated that we could close within thirty days. Unexpectedly, on the 28th or 29th day, a notice was suddenly sent to us to sign a two-week extension. I'm a very friendly person and I didn’t even ask a single question at this point. I just wanted to make it easier for others and I signed and agreed. And during this period, someone wanted to see the house, but I told them it was pending and didn't give them a chance. Unexpectedly, two weeks later, another extension notice came, and it was to be postponed for another two weeks.

Now I was anxious. Two weeks have passed and another two weeks have passed. Thirty days have passed and what was going on? No one explained it clearly to me. I asked the buyer agent to explain and then she reluctantly told me that there was a problem with the buyer's loan, and that they would have to start over again if they changed the lender. I got a headache when I heard this, what should I do? What if it still didn't work after another two weeks and it still needed to be postponed? Can I withdraw from the contract now? What should I do with my pending losses for forty or fifty days? Can I use my deposit as compensation?

Selling a house by yourself is the most fearful of sudden crises like this, and you may not know how to deal with it. I had no choice but to find a lawyer. I went online to find a lawyer with experience in real estate. This was the first time for me to find a lawyer in my life. Following the lawyer’s advice, I came up with supplementary terms for the buyer to negotiate and sign. However, the buyer ignored them at all. The buyers didn't want to do anything but still want their deposite back; what should I do? Then I found a second lawyer, consulted with the lawyer, negotiated with the buyer, and then negotiated with the lawyer again. The legal fees also cost a lot. In the end, I was really exhausted. I didn’t care how much the compensation was, so I settled the matter quickly.

So selling the house at that time was really a nightmare for me as a seller. If after reading this, you still want to try selling your own house, you must do your homework first and try not to step into the three pitfalls I just mentioned. If you have any questions during the house selling process, please feel free to contact me.