Sometimes, home sellers can be their own worst enemy. Through small and unintentional errors, they can easily – and effectively – sabotage their own listing, creating more challenges for themselves and making it tougher to sell their home in an expedient manner.
To avoid falling into that category, beware the following missteps when listing a home.
1. Too much personalization
Your home is supposed to feel like, well, you. Except when you’re listing. When preparing to list and sell a house, it becomes important to make a home feel more neutral. This allows buyers to more easily picture themselves and their families living there. That doesn’t mean all décor has to be removed, but as a general rule, avoid displaying family photos and personal knickknacks, or anything else that might seem unusual to potential buyers.
2. Unconventional color schemes
Maybe at one time, you really loved lime green and wanted to adorn your kitchen with this loud, bright color. When it comes time to sell a home, consider first impressions and the fact that potential buyers may not feel the same way. The best route to take is to neutralize, even if it means investing in hiring a painter. While this may be an unanticipated cost, it will be a worthwhile one.
3. Allowing odors to linger
While the smell of a pet’s litter box may be second nature for a family who lives with it each day, that will not be the case for prospective buyers coming to tour the home. Any strange or pungent aroma like this is ultimately a turn-off to potential buyers. First impressions are critical, so deodorize the home however possible.
4. Turning down showings
While showing a home can be inconvenient, it’s necessary to garner interest and secure a seller. While a call from someone wanting to see your home is not welcome as you’re sitting down to family dinner, any given showing could result in an amazing offer on a home. Don’t turn down showings because they could result in missed opportunities. Remember, the inconvenience is just temporary.
5. Not working with the right information
To make sound choices about a home sale, it’s important to understand the data. For example, pricing effectively requires doing research on the market and potential buyers. Most importantly, do not choose a route for selling a home without understanding and weighing all of the options, including, but not limited to full-service agents, For Sale By Owner, discount brokers, i-Buyers, etc.
To determine the best route for personalized needs, resources like SOLD.com are available to provide unbiased, individualized recommendations based on market characteristics and personal preferences. Be informed and void these acts of self-sabotage to position yourself to sell quickly and for the maximum value.
Deanna Haas is Director of Customer Experience at SOLD.com, a first-of-its-kind educational resource and proprietary recommendation engine for homeowners researching and evaluating the many ways to sell a home.
