12 Common Home Seller Mistakes

1. Getting Emotionally Involved
Once you decide to sell your home, it can be helpful to start thinking of yourself as a businessperson and a home seller rather than as the home's owner. By looking at the transaction from a purely financial perspective, you'll distance yourself from the emotional aspects of selling the property that you've undoubtedly created many memories in. Also try to remember how you felt when you were shopping for that home. Most buyers will also be in an emotional state.

2. Setting The Price Too High
Setting the price too high is a classic seller mistake and unfortunately very common. This common mistake happens for a number of reasons. Sometimes the cause is pride of ownership, but more often the seller is setting a price based on what he or she needs out of the sale, as opposed to the market value of the home. If the price is set too high it will discourage offers and many times buyers won’t even take the time to look at an over price home. Moreover, in a down market, an inflated price on day one of the listing is even more inflated after a week or two have gone by. Not only is the asking price not tracking the market it's becoming more out of line as each day goes by. In sells your first goal is to get your foot in the door or in this case get the buyer’s foot in the door so a good strategy is to price the house slightly below market value.

3. Refusing To Lower The Asking Price On A Reasonable And Timely Basis
Sellers, who have set their asking price above the market value, will also invariably fail to adjust their price appropriately as the market declines if they get an offer. Instead of pricing to sell, these sellers will only grudgingly reduce their asking price and never by an amount large enough to make their home a worthwhile buy. As a result they find themselves chasing the market down - always priced too high and never getting a serious offer. In the end, this seller will loose more money than if they had simply priced their home correctly in the beginning. It may sound trite, but the market really does set the price.

4. Rejecting The First Offer
Too many times a seller will be suspicious of the first offer they receive. We've all heard statements like "I must have priced my home too cheaply" or "If I hold out I'll get more money." or "I just listed my property and I don't want to take the first offer." These reactions and others similar in nature, generally cause the first offer to be rejected. In down markets this is a clear mistake. Each day that passes the buyer's alternative choices are increasing and the seller's bargaining position becomes weaker. In times of rising interest rates the buyer's purchasing power is decreasing as times passes.

Assuming the home was priced correctly in the first place. The plain fact is the first offer is more often than not the best offer. Think about it this way. A home, which has just been listed, can more easily be perceived as a desirable "discovery" by a serious buyer than a home that's been on the market for weeks. The longer a property sits, the less desirable it appears. In fact, a buyer's first question usually is, "How much?" and the second question is "How long has it been on the market?" If you get a first offer, at or near your asking price, it's probably because you've priced your home correctly. If you feel the need, recheck the comparable sales, but don't reject the offer out of hand.

5. Becoming Offended By Low Offers - Refusing To Counter
It's surprising how many people will become so offended by a low offer they refuse to counter. There are a couple of good reasons why this is a mistake. If a seller has "an offer on the property" they are by definition in a stronger position with other potential buyers. The property is seeing action and there is the potential of getting a "buzz" started. Used properly, even "low ball" offers can instill a sense of urgency. Moreover, a low starting offer may be the buyer's way of testing the market and may not say anything about what the buyer is actually willing to pay. A seller is rarely hurt by responding to an offer.

6. Carelessly Selecting A Buyer
It's important to pay attention to the buyer's ability to make the purchase. The buyer should be pre-qualified by his lender, and should have a reasonable down payment. Between two otherwise equally qualified buyers, the buyer whose offer is contingent upon selling their own property represents more risk than the buyer without contingencies. This is especially true in a down market where the buyer may not be able to sell his home for the price he wants

7. Not Presenting The Home Effectively
A cluttered home or a home, which needs repairs or paint, fails to communicate desirability and in some instances can even signal to the buyer to reduce their offer. Fresh paint (neutral colors), clean windows and clean floors and carpets can work wonders. Cut the grass, and pull the weeds. A few flowers inside and out always seem to help.

When it comes to furniture, a little less may be better. Less furniture will cause a room to look and feel larger. That's a good thing. Using a home stager can do wonders so long as the stager has some talent and the cost is not too great.

8. Skimping on Listing Photos
So many buyers look for homes online these days and so many of those homes have photos that you'll be doing yourself a real disservice if you don't offer photos as well. At the same time there are so many poor photos of homes for sale that if you do a good job, it will set your listing apart and help generate extra interest. Good photos should be crisp and clear, should be taken during the day when there is plenty of natural light available, and should showcase your home's best assets. A good agent will take care of this for you and if you have a luxury home a professional photographer is recommended as they have cameras that can capture the different degrees of light.

9. Trying to Hide Significant Problems
Any problem with the property will be uncovered during the buyer's inspection so there's no use hiding it. Either fix the problem ahead of time, price the property below market value to account for the problem or list the property at a normal price but offer the buyer a credit to fix the problem. Realize that if you don't fix the problem in advance you may turn away a fair number of buyers who want a turnkey home. Having your home inspected before listing it is a good idea if you want to avoid costly surprises once the home is under contract. A qualified inspector only costs around $400 depending on the size of your home.

10. Not knowing your rights and obligations
The contract you sign to sell your property is a complex and legally binding document. An improperly written contract can allow the purchaser to void the sale, or cost you thousands of unnecessary dollars. Have an experienced Realtor who knows the "ins and outs" fully explain the contract you are about to sign to you, or have your lawyer review it before accepting it.

11. Not Hiring an Agent
Although real estate agents command commission (usually 5-6% of the sale price of your home), trying to sell your home on your own, especially if you haven't done it before, is probably ill advised. A good agent will help you set a fair and competitive selling price for your home that will increase your odds of a quick sale. An agent can also help take some of the high emotion out of the process by interacting directly with potential buyers so you don't have to and eliminating tire kickers who only want to look at your property but have no intention of putting in an offer.

An agent will also have more experience negotiating home sales than you do, potentially helping you get more money than you could on your own. And if any problems crop up during the process--and they commonly do--an experienced professional will be there to handle them for you. Finally, agents are familiar with all the paperwork and pitfalls involved in real estate transactions and can help make sure the process goes smoothly.

12. Letting the Selling Agent also represent the Buyer
The seller has little to gain by letting his agent represent the buyer. The selling agent will probably lower the overall commission but at what cost. There have been many instances when the selling agent never showed higher offers because a dual commission at a lower percentage is still higher than just half the commission.

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