Q: What Mistakes Should Sellers Avoid At All Costs?

Here are three more major mistakes you must avoid as a home seller.

Here are the final three of the six major mistakes home sellers must avoid if they want to sell quickly and for top dollar:

4. Failing to make simple repairs before putting your home on the market. Think of any area that’s been scratched up, needs some repainting, or something buyers would notice instantly. These repairs can go a long way for a reasonable amount of time and money. Buyers can perceive unmade repairs as a sign of neglect. If they think the home isn’t being maintained properly, they’ll wonder what other issues it might have, which is not something you want. 

5. Not depersonalizing your home. When a buyer walks into your home for the first time, the reality is that they’re a stranger entering another family’s private residence. Minimizing your presence in the home allows them to be comfortable and focus on everything the property has to offer, and ideally fall in love with it, and envision themselves living there with their family. The key is to eliminate distractions like family portraits, religious symbols, and anything else that’s highly personalized. 

You should also neutralize any personalized wall colors that may not appeal to a broad segment of the market. The goal should be for your home to appeal to as many buyers as possible. In summary, stage your home to be less about you and more about the property. 

6. Not allowing adequate access to the property. I’ve found that for every 10 times a seller says they can’t show their home on a certain day, roughly eight of those buyers won’t reschedule. Your home must be show-ready at all times and you allow agents to see it when they need to—not just when it’s convenient for you. The more people you’re able to get through the door, the greater your chances of securing an offer. 

It’s also essential that any pets be removed from the property if possible. Not only can they be distracting but nervous pets create nervous buyers. That’s another situation you don’t want to have to deal with. 

As always, if you have questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help.