6 Home Selling Mistakes That Can Sink Your Sale

When you sell your house, there are six mistakes that can sink your sale. Here’s how to avoid them:

1. Don’t go it alone: Use a Realtor to help you because 90% of home sales in 2016 took place with one. The National Association of Realtors found last year that homes sold by their owner fetched an average of $210,000 while homes sold with a Realtor sold for $249,000. They sold faster, too.

2. Don’t decide on an agent based on the price they tell you they’ll sell your house for: Instead, ask them their strategy for marketing your home.

3. Don’t trust automated values: They’re easy to find on Zillow or Trulia, but since Utah is a non-disclosure state, it’s impossible for them to see comparable home sales. We often find these values are much higher or lower than your home’s true market value, so make sure you get a complete equity evaluation.

“Buyers are sensitive to a home’s presentation.”

4. Have professional photos of your home taken: 100% of buyers will decide whether they want to see your home in person based on what they see online, and they gravitate toward great photos. Don’t try to take listing photos with an iPhone! Waiting an extra week for a professional photographer is well worth it.

5. Don’t ignore your agent’s request for some fixes around the home: You might want to consider staging as well, or at a minimum, a deep clean. Buyers are sensitive to a home’s presentation and they have no imagination.

6. Don’t refuse to negotiate: You might receive low offers and it’s easy to get offended, but always send a counteroffer, even if it’s just $100 off of your list price. You always want to keep things moving forward. Drawing a line in the sand sends a message to the buyer that you’re not really interested in selling. Instead, say something like, “I really appreciate you taking the time to put an offer together, but unfortunately, it doesn’t allow us to exit the property with what we need. So, we’d like to give you a counteroffer back at XX.”

As always, give me a call or send me an email if you have any questions or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Salt Lake County. I look forward to helping you!