If buying that home was filled with a never-ending series of tasks creating an emotional roller coaster ride, don’t think that selling the home is any less complicated. Sure, you have the experience of going through escrow behind you but many homeowners leave money on the table when selling. They don’t get the profits they hoped for because they made one of these 5 home selling mistakes. A Oklahoma City real estate agent will help you avoid these so be sure to get the right help!
Doing It On Their Own
It might seem like a good option to sell your house as “for sale by owner” to save on commissions. After all, how hard can it be to set up an open house? There’s a lot more to selling the house than just hosting open houses. In fact, home sellers doing it on their own often get tens of thousands less in the final sale price than if they used a professional. Take the time to talk to a Oklahoma City professional real estate agent and ask them to give you an overview of how they can help. You’ll realize that the agent ends up paying for himself in both sale price and stress reduction.
Waiting To Donate and Dump Junk
With everything going on during the sales process, packing, dumping and donating things from your home get put on a to-do list without top priority. Make them a top priority. Clutter and junk are one of the fastest ways to reduce a sale price and one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to get the best price possible. Hold a yard sale, call the donation center for a pickup. If you just have too much stuff, get a storage unit for the duration of the sale. You want to keep even the garage as clutter-free as possible.
Not Staging The Home
On the flip side of having too much stuff is having an empty home. If you’ve already moved to another home you are lucky. The clutter is gone. But don’t leave the house empty with foot echoes and an eerie breeze. Every home whether it is empty or still being lived in should be staged. This doesn’t always mean bringing in designer furniture. Talk to your realtor about using some of your existing furniture or renting specific items to help potential buyers envision themselves walking into their home.
Making Simple or Needed Repairs
Some repairs are directly related to curb appeal. Clean those screens and replace old torn ones. It doesn’t cost a lot yet adds to the overall picture when a buyer is considering value. While a repair like this or changing bathroom fixtures has more to do with vision and not function, there are repairs you should make if you know they need to be done. Make sure faucets aren’t dripping and even have a plumber flush the pipes to clean out the gunk. Fix a leaky roof – while you might not replace the roof, at least stop any existing leaks. Take the time to fix these things so you don’t get low offers or nickeled-and-dimed in the negotiation period after inspections.
Not Providing Full Disclosures
It’s simple; if you know something is wrong, disclose it. You are required to by law to inform potential buyers about existing and potential issues with the home. Your real estate agent will help you with the many public disclosures like living near an airport or railroad, but you are the only person who can tell the people about the house. While it is easy to say what you upgraded, many sellers don’t want to talk about the negatives. Your real estate agent will be the first to tell you that the more upfront you are, the easier the offer and negotiation process is. In fact, some agents recommend a pre-sale inspection to provide potential buyers with an inspection report before they do their own. This goes a long way in expediting sales.