3 Things To Avoid When Selling Your Home
By Piotr Golinski
While it’s true that the changes in the market are not one hundred percent predictable, there are some things within your control that can make a substantial difference when getting your home priced better and sold faster. Whether you’re looking to sell your home now or later, keep reading to find out how you might be obstructing that goal.
Let Your Emotions Rule Your Decisions
Remember that selling your home is a process and during this process it’s easy to get stressed or overwhelmed with emotion and indecision. That’s why it’s important to re-wire your thoughts and detach yourself emotionally from your home. Easier said than done, but by reminding yourself every time you start to feel upset, angry or overwhelmed, that this is now a place of business and your home is a product for the marketplace. This will help later when you inevitably encounter criticisms and feedback about the house and it’s appearance to strangers. By reminding yourself that these judgements are not about you but about the product you are selling will keep you level headed and confident. Everyone has a different point of view and this is totally fine.
It’s also helpful to practise empathy and imagine you are a potential buyer looking at the place for the first time. You may see your home as a priceless structure of memories, but for the objective person, they’re just wondering how they can make this house fit into their own lifestyle. Ask yourself how critical were you when you were first looking to buy the place and how were you feeling during that process? By empathizing, you are creating a personal connections to the potential buyers and ultimately gaining their trust in purchasing your home.
Hide Major Problems
There is a difference between choosing not to use unattractive photos of a stained carpet and not making any mention of uneven or warped flooring. If there’s any deficiencies in the home, make it clear as to what they are and how they may affect the structure and future of the place. Is there a safety issue or suspicious damage that can lead to future problems such as broken bannister or a basement leak? Any problems will likely be discovered by a home inspector once there’s a deal on the table anyways, so it’s best to make sure everyone is aware right at the beginning and compensate for the problem by either:
Fixing it professionally
Lowering the price, or
Keep list price the same but offer credits
Using Poor Quality Or No Photos At All
This is akin to stepping into a job interview in a hoodie and sweat pants; you just don’t do it. It’s the first impression someone will have upon finding out about your property and will be noticed before reading any information about it. The photos should be clean, bright and taken during a nice day to highlight the house at its best. If you have a good camera and an eye for staging, then let your creativity loose! However if you feel a little stuck, use other listings or home furniture/decor catalogues as inspiration to help you decide how to show off your home.
You don’t need to break the bank the buy decor, but if you think the walls look a little yellow when they should be white, then definitely get out your paint roller and a add a fresh coat. Remember again what you would look for if you were a buyer and what would be important for you to see. Things like how much counter space there is in the bathroom, if the basement is finished, how big are the windows in the bedrooms (if any) and what’s the kitchen layout? If it’s in the budget, it’ll save a lot of time and stress to hire a professional staging and photography company which also often offers three hundred sixty degree photos and video virtual tours. This kind of media will be the hook to grab people in and start reading more about the property and mentioning it to their agents to view. Just don’t show off every little corner as you want to make sure that the buyer is curious enough to book a showing and see the place with their own eyes.
In summary, real estate can be a real rollercoaster ride and it’s important to manage your emotions, stay honest, and start with your best foot forward. The process to sell can be made tricky or straightforward depending on how you handle the things that you can control and how you compromise with the things you can’t. Most importantly is not to let yourself get in the way of your own successful closing. Hiring an agent can help immensely to relieve the stress of a lot of these things so if all else fails, just call us and let us sort your life for you!
Until next time!
