Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home - I Buy Homes

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home

The housing market in America has blown up in the last few years.

If you’re looking to sell your home, there’s a lot of money to be made. There’s also a lot of money to be lost through mistakes made by home sellers.

A hot housing market creates a lot of competition, so you need to know what you’re doing when selling a home. In this post, we’re going to discuss the most common mistakes to avoid when selling a house.

If you’re overwhelmed by the prospect of jumping into the house selling market, keep reading and you’ll have all of the information you need to do it the right way.

Pricing Your Home Too High

One of the most crucial mistakes that homeowners tend to make when selling is overpricing their homes. You have to be objective and well-researched when selling a home because people aren’t going to pay above market value for a home that doesn’t deserve it.

By pricing it too high, you’re going to be waiting a long, long time for a buyer. The longer a home stays on the market, the harder it is to sell. If you’re dealing with a probate or foreclosure, time is likely a factor.

If you want to make a quick sale, you need to know what other similar homes are going for in your neighborhood. With this in mind, you can set a competitive price on your home and sell it efficiently. The best way to sell your home quickly is to deal exclusively with property investors.

Not Considering Timing

Timing is important when selling a home. Another of the most common real estate sale mistakes is choosing the wrong time to sell.

According to most sources, the best time to sell a home in America is in the late spring or early summer. Doing so may get you as much as $10,000 more for your home.

If you get the timing of your local real estate market wrong, you could end up selling for a lot less than you’d like. The other option is that your house stays on the market for longer, which as we discussed, is unattractive to buyers.

Do a bit of research to see when the best time to sell in your local area is and get your home ready to sell by then. Not every part of the country abides by this spring/summer rule.

Not Considering the Costs of Selling a Home

Of all the mistakes home sellers make, not considering the costs of selling a home is the one people are most taken aback by. Closing costs can add up to a whopping 10% of the price tag of your home when all is said and done.

If you aren’t familiar with the many different costs involved with selling a home, here are a few of the most prominent:

  • Land transfer tax/title fee: a state tax that varies based on where you live and the sale price
  • Escrow fees: an Escrow service holds the money and pays it out at the end of the process – these fees are split between buyer and seller
  • Title insurance: typically paid by the seller, this protects the buyer from any disputes over the ownership of the home
  • Prorated property taxes: the seller has to pay property taxes until the closing of the sale with a prorated charge at the end
  • Commissions and legal fees: realtors typically take a 5-6% commission on the sale of the home and, if you live in one of the states that require a lawyer for a real estate transaction, you’ll have to pay these fees as well

Only Doing It the “Normal Way”

For some homeowners, the traditional way of selling a house works because it’s easier and hands-off for the seller. You pay for a realtor, have them control the way the home is listed, and how to find prospective buyers. They work to sell the home and take their money at the end – it’s certainly simpler.

If you want a bit more control over how everything works out, however, you might consider selling the home yourself. There’s a perception out there that you can’t get as much money for your home by selling on your own, but when you think about the fees discussed above, it’s clear that this is false.

Take selling to a property investor, for example. There are no escrow fees, no commissions or legal fees, and no title insurance. Not only will this save you thousands of dollars, but the actual cash price you get from a good investor can be in line with market value.

Choosing Renovations Over Repairs

Plenty of homebuyers make the mistake of deciding to do big renovations in an effort to get more for their home. When you dump tens of thousands of dollars into your home only to turn around and sell, it’s rare that you actually recoup this investment.

The better move is to make the smaller repairs that make your house sturdier and more attractive. Attempting to cover up or hide problems with the house creates problems. As soon as the buyer hires a home inspector, you’re bound to be found out.

When you sell your home to a reputable property investor, like ibuyhouses.com, you don’t have to worry about renovations or repairs. We’ll take your house as-is and give you cash for it.

Being Unwilling to Negotiate

Whether you’re selling your home on your own or with a realtor, you have to come to the table ready to negotiate. Too many sellers make the mistake of getting too emotional about their homes. You can’t get offended when you receive an offer you don’t like because negotiation is part of the process.

View this whole situation as a business deal and you’ll find success in selling your home. A good business deal is beneficial for the buyer and the seller, so use your knowledge of the real estate market to properly value your home and get ready to negotiate.

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling a House

Now that you understand some of the major mistakes to avoid when selling a house, you can make a lucrative sale on your home. There’s no denying that selling a home can be stressful, but when you let the stress get to you is when you start to see mistakes made by home sellers.

One great way to keep the home selling process simple is to sell your home to a property investor. At ibuyhouses.com, the process of selling your home couldn’t be any simpler. You go to our website and fill out a secure online form, we contact you to get details about the home, then we send you an offer.

If you accept our offer, we can close on your house within a week. You get cash in hand and none of the headache or fear of making real estate mistakes. Contact us today to get the process started.

 

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