10 Things to Avoid when Selling your Home

Maureen Francis of miOakland County wrote an excellent list of things to avoid when selling your home.  In a buyer’s market competing sellers needs to be realistic and cooperative to both agents and buyers to facilitate the sale of their home.  The list outlines simple but effective recommendations to help sell your home.

1) Try to "Sell by Owner" 

She explained that most buyers go to realtors to look for homes, thus you should go to where the buyers are.

2) Defer maintenance items.

Buyers don’t want your problems, specially if they have plenty of choices.

3) Leave updates

Older homes compete with newer style homes.  If you need to update something, do it! Presentation matters specially when your competing with newer developments.

4) Listen to your neighbors when they tell you to price your home a little higher.

You’re the one selling your home, not them.  You need to be realistic with your selling price even if it means the value of your home has fallen.

5) Hire your mom’s best friend Sally to represent you.

Hire your local realtors who are more familiar with your local market.  Hiring a good realtor from another area with no knowledge or access to local buyers won’t help you more.

6) Leave your Star Trek action figure collection set up in the den

Don’t let your highly personal items distract your buyers from the features of your home.

7) Ask your real estate agent to cut his commission

Real estate agents need to work harder and advertise more in the prevailing market.  They need proper credit to motivate them to sell your home and negotiate a good price for it.

8 ) Make showings inconvenient for the buyer

Grab every opportunity for the buyer to see your home, that buyer may only see it once.  Selling a home is inconvenient, the faster you sell your home, the more convenient things will be for you.

9) Hire an agent without a strong marketing plan

Look for agents who has access to more marketing channels such as the web, print and buyer’s database.

10) "Test the Market"  "Tell them to Bring Offers"

Position your home successfully against the competition by pricing it right.  Overpriced properties tend to sell longer, eventually you have to correct the price. You may have missed out on previous buyers that considered your house beyond their price range.

You can read about Maureen Francis’ list in more detail, in her blog.