Whoa! Before rushing into selling your home take a moment to avoid these common home selling mistakes. It sounds easy enough to want to sell your home yourself without working with a REALTOR® but are you really prepared for:

·        Preparing your home and listing it

·        Making any necessary repairs

·        Finding buyers

·        Making your way through the closing process and home inspections

·        Getting everything ready to move to your new home

 Avoid Going It Alone

I wouldn’t encourage any home seller to try this alone like Courtney and Kevin did. It’s a lot to manage and coordinate.

Courtney and Kevin did some Internet research and decided to place a For Sale By Owner sign in the front yard. Weeks passed before they got a phone call from someone interested. When the couple walked through the home, the husband pointed out a long list of repairs and improvements he wanted made.

Courtney just wanted to sell and move quickly. Her new job in another city was set to begin in less than two weeks. Courtney and Kevin thought if they lowered the asking price, this would entice the prospective buyer to say “yes” to signing a contract. And they were right. It worked.

The problem was Courtney and Kevin never did their homework to know how much their home was worth. Plus, Kevin never attempted to negotiate the repairs. From the start, they set a price too low compared to other homes in the neighborhood and when they lowered the price even more to account for the improvements the buyer wanted, it got worse for them. In the end, Courtney and Kevin lost out on thousands of dollars if only the couple had consulted and worked with a REALTOR®.

Ignoring the Repairs

When Maury decided he was ready to relocate to a smaller home he scheduled a call with a nearby real estate agent. During the walk-through with the agent, things were pointed out which were in need of repair. The agent, additionally, made some suggestions for paint colors and explained which improvements could increase the home’s value.

Maury wasn’t sure about any of this. None of the repairs were related to safety issues. The colors of the rooms didn’t seem important. Maury lived years with the dining room being the 1970s popular Harvest Gold. Surely, this color would come back into trend, right?

While the agent did her best to show the home, the facts were the home wasn’t showing well. Several buyers mentioned not wanting to take on extra projects soon after moving in or not having the budget to tackle the improvements or needed repairs.

With some additional time passing and interest being low, Maury decided to do what was needed. After a fresh coat of paint to change the dining room and other rooms to a soft gray plus making some fixes around the home, he gave his agent a call. She was excited because she had two buyers lined up to view the home in the coming days. Within three days the agent presented Maury with not one, but two offers. Relying on the knowledge and experience of your REALTOR® can fast-track a home towards selling, compared to ignoring the repairs. It’s rare for a home to not need any preparations to get it ready to sell.

Offers, Prices, & Your Options

They say “hindsight is 2020 vision” and this couldn’t be truer, as it was for Stella and Duane—the Taylors. Stella had her eye on a larger home for their growing family. When their agent found the ideal home, the next task was to get their current home on the market.

The agent had been working with several prospective buyers and thought the Taylors home would be a great fit for either the Dixons or the Coopers. Much to the agent’s delight both wanted to submit an offer but each offer was very different.  

The Dixons met the asking price and had no contingencies. The sale was exactly what the Taylors were asking for and wanted. The Coopers offered a higher price but had a list of repairs and improvements they wanted the sellers to make plus they were asking the sellers to cover some of the closing expenses.

The agent presented the offers, explained the benefits and disadvantages of each, then provided some thoughtful suggestions for the homeowners to consider. The Taylors accepted the higher bid with the list of repairs.

Unfortunately, when one repair was in progress it uncovered a much larger and costly problem which the homeowner was required to absorb. Suddenly, the higher offer didn’t yield as much profit because of expensive repair. Stella and Duane would have benefitted more by accepting the other offer.

There are numerous home-selling mistakes to beware of. One way to head these mistakes off is by working with real estate agent and leaning on this person’s experience and expertise each step of the transaction. I’m happy to be your guide and work with you to get the best deal for your home—whether you’re planning to sell or buy. Let’s talk soon.

Since 2004 Sara Lyn Nguyen continues to bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and selling real estate around the Houston area to those she serves. Sara is a multi-year award winning REALTOR® and relocation specialist where her clients trust her to have up-to-date information on the real estate market. She has been one of Gary Greene’s Multi-Million Dollar Top Producers every year and was the #1 Top Producing agent in 2019 citywide. Sara is an American Dream TV Power Player who shares Houston real estate news with television viewers. When it’s time to buy, sell, invest, or relocate speak with a trusted professional knowledgeable in the homes and neighborhoods of Fort Bend/Sugar Land and the surrounding region.