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3 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Real Estate

Frank DeFazio
2 min read
3 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Real Estate

Selling your home in the post-housing crash world can be more challenging than in previous times and any real estate investor should do as much as possible to avoid making mistakes that can prevent the home from selling or seriously affect the final home sale price.   While no home sale will go off without a hitch, there are some frequently seen home sale mistakes that can and should be avoided if possible.   Here are three avoidable mistakes frequently made when selling real estate that all sellers should try to avoid.

Don’t Get Emotionally Attached To The Property

One common mistake a property owner makes is being too emotionally attached to a property.  This can be especially true for the novice investor who recently purchased a dilapidated old home and, like raising a child, spent several months babying and renovating it into a beautifully rehabbed property.  Excessive emotional attachment to the home can lead to seller’s remorse or overly emotional responses to feedback and offers.   Home sellers must keep in mind that putting a home up for sale invites feedback and criticism and that buyers in the HGTV era can be extremely critical and  high maintenance.  While you might love the finishes you’ve selected, future owners may have different taste and may want to renovate or change the entire home (you just renovated…it happens).   Don’t be too emotional about the home sale process and try to see things from the buyer’s perspective if at all possible.

Related: One Surefire Way to Lose Money Flipping Houses

Don’t List The Home Before It’s Ready to Be Shown

Another common mistake is putting a home on the market before the home is ready to be shown.   Often a real estate agents or sellers eager to market and advertise the property to the public list the property for sale before pre-listing items are addressed.  Listing pre-construction or during renovation can be a positive only if and only if the owner provides a marketing package complete with floor plans, renderings and anything else a potential buyer will need to envision the finished product.  Have model homes previously built by the investor or developer also can help a buyer envision the final product. Most buyers are not creative enough and are too fearful to purchase a home in the middle of renovation or construction so if you don’t have the tools mentioned above just wait until the project is complete before inviting the public in.

Related: Real Estate Agent or No Real Estate Agent??

Don’t Overprice The Property

Another common home sale mistake is over pricing the property.  Everyone is in this to make money and every seller wants to sell for the highest possible price but overpricing a home will dramatically reduce showings which will in turn will lengthen the amount of time before offers are obtained.  Over pricing also leads to increased days on market, low ball offers and inevitably to price reductions.  In today’s market where inventory is ultra low, Seller’s may want to consider pricing the property low to create a feeding frenzy that will drive the price up over asking to the desired sale price.  It’s a bit of a gamble but it’s happening right now in most major cities.  Supply and demand always has and always will drive the real estate market.

Let me know if you think there are any other common home sale mistakes you’ve seen that I missed? 

Photo: Homini:)

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.