Three Biggest Seller Mistakes

Selling a home is one of the major decisions in life, and you want to avoid costly mistakes. The biggest mistakes sellers make tend to fall into three categories: price, condition, and marketing. With the assistance of a good Grand Rapids real estate agent, you should be able to avoid these blunders, and smaller ones as well.

Price

For many sellers, there’s a difference between what they think their home is worth and what it will actually sell for. It’s easy to err on the side of either over-or under-pricing your own home. Anyone’s judgement can be skewed by emotions, awareness of how much you paid or the current mortgage balance, or how much has been invested in home improvements.

The best way to avoid pricing pitfalls is to make sure you have a competitive market analysis (comps) for your home. Comps allow you to make sure your home’s price is in line with other homes in your area that are similar in square footage, construction, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, age, and condition. When you’re thinking of selling your home, contact The Sprich Group for a free home valuation to get you started in the right direction.

Condition

Another common mistake is failure to make necessary repairs. Sellers lose money or time, and sometimes both, when they don’t take care of repairs before the house goes on the market. If a potential buyer spots a few items that need immediate repair, they’ll probably wonder how well you’ve maintained the things they can’t see. It generally will cost you less out of pocket to fix things ahead of time, rather than have potential buyers see your house in disrepair. Otherwise buyers will offer less or ask for a credit back for the work that needs to be done before the deal closes.

Small repairs like a loose hand rail on the steps, sagging screen door, or a dripping faucet are easy enough to fix. Clear your gutters, address chipped or peeling paint, and consider what minor upgrades need to be made as well. If your home does have serious flaws that can’t be addressed before the home goes on the market, it’s in your best interest to disclose them.

Marketing

The way buyers find homes today is very different from 10 years ago. It’s important to start off with a marketing plan tailored to your home and your potential buyers.

If you can, notify a real estate agent at least a month in advance that your house will be for sale. This will allow time to come up with the best strategy for marketing your home, and to take high quality pictures on a day when the sun is shining. Work with your agent to determine the optimal time to put the home on the market – ideally while the home is still occupied, or when it can be staged to be shown to its best advantage.

There is one more mistake to avoid, although it’s less common. Most people find it a mistake to sell a home without an agent, which statistically leads to lower home sale prices and longer time on the market. Wherever you are in the process, your Grand Rapids real estate agent should help give you peace of mind in the process of selling your home. When you’re ready to sell your home, contact The Sprich Group for a home valuation.

Photo: Andrew Kraker ( some rights reserved )