Ready To Sell Your Own House?

I know you’ve been told you are dim-witted by real estate agents for trying to sell your own home. If you think this blog is just another one of those, think again.

There are common mistakes made and some assumptions that you shouldn’t make when trying to sell your own home. Both will end up costing you money.

If you work with an agent, will you sell your own home for more money? According to a Stanford University Economics Department study, maybe not. Saying otherwise is a National Association of REALTORS study.

Will it sell faster? One of the many benefits of using an agent is that studies show it will sell considerably faster than if you try to sell your own home.

So, there are enormous benefits to listing your house with an agent rather than trying to sell your own home. But I get that most for sale by owners are trying to save a chunk of money and who am I to poo-poo that thought?

So, if you insist on trying to sell your own home, at least be aware of some of these commonly made mistakes by folks in your position.

Setting An Incorrect Price When Selling Your Own Home

This is the number one problem I see if you’re trying to figure out how to sell your own home. I scratch my head wondering how homeowners came up with those numbers and I’ve seen some crazy prices out there.

Figuring out what willing and able buyers will pay, at any particular time is what determines the market value for your home. The only way to get an accurate idea of that price is to actually look at the sales prices of the homes in your area. You’ll have to be very honest with yourself when comparing these prices as you try to sell your own home.

Is your home in worse condition, older, smaller or in a less desirable area? If that is the case, then your home is worth less than the ones you are comparing it to. If the opposite is the case, your home is larger, newer or has better amenities then it may be worth quite a bit more.

How much less or how much more? I wish I could give you a simple answer to that one. When you are comparing it takes a lot of research and there isn’t a set dollar amount for any aspect of it.

Unfortunately, we see this often and putting the wrong price on your house can be the most expensive mistake you’ll make in trying to sell your own home.

Selling Your Own House? How’s The Curb Appeal?

rundown house with no curb appeal Have you watched any of those home DIY TV shows? I know you have, we all have. If you’re trying to sell your own home hey make you think that you must bring in truckloads of plants and trees and hire a team of landscape architects just to give it the right appeal. This is a misconception and could be a costly one.

The truth is you’ll need to do some cleaning up, depending on the condition of the landscaping and the house that you’re going to sell on your own, but you certainly don’t need do a full-on costly makeover.

Understand of course that even though we’ve all been told since we were tiny little humans, not to judge a book by its cover, we all still do it. Well, as you work on how to sell your own home, it is no different and real estate agents all across the country have those stories of driving up to a prospective house with a buyer and not even getting out of the car because of the way the place looked from the street

We all know that you can’t sell your own home if the buyers won’t even look at it. Give the exterior a fresh coat of paint or pressure washing that vinyl siding will do a lot for that curb appeal. At the very least, neaten up the plant beds with some new mulch and green up the lawn as best you can. These steps will go a long way in giving your home the appeal from the street that isn’t going to make those buyers run for the hills.

Interior Appeal Lacking When Selling That House?

Buyers want to walk into a home and feel like it is move-in ready. So remember when you sell your own home, if it’s dirty and smells like a wet dog they will be turned off. Not only that, they will wonder what other types of maintenance items you’ve let slide also and the offers may not come in or they may be low.

One of the first things to do once you’ve decided to sell your own home is to clean it up till it sparkles, let in as much natural light as you possibly can and get rid of any odors. Paying particular attention to the bathrooms and kitchen. Make sure the countertops are neat and as bare as you can make them. You want them to be able to envision their own things in all that counter space you have.

How Are You Marketing Your Home For Sale?

newspaper real estate ads Do you know where you are going to market your home? Newspapers still take those real estate classifieds but unfortunately, not many homebuyers are reading papers these days. If you thought internet, then you are right! Finding the right place is crucial but how you market to sell your own home is also as important.

Buyers want to see photos and lots of them. They also love videos. They want to see it all, the backyard, bathrooms, bedrooms and the kitchen. It’s not rocket science to sell your own home but it’s not something that you do every day, so you must arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. We are happy to help you sell your own home if this is too much to think about. We are excellent at getting you top dollar and not losing out on valuable money at the closing table.