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Top Home Seller Mistakes – Part 1

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This 2-part series looks at the 11 Worst Mistakes Sellers make when selling their home . . .

So you’ve decided to sell your home. Selling a home is stressful enough. There is a lot of “behind the scenes” action taking place that you may not know about. Contrary to public perception, your listing agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to individual home buyers. That wouldn’t be a very efficient process.

Your listing agent markets and promotes your home to the other local agents who work directly with home buyers. This dramatically increases your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home should be a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home so they can sell it to their clients…

Unless these mistakes are being made.

1. You overprice your home in an attempt to get the best price and by doing so actually end up selling for less.

If you and/or your agent have overpriced your home, fewer agents will preview your home. They are Realtors, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, they will not waste their time, preferring to preview homes that are priced realistically. If you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last few months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise. You deal falls apart. You can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could be forced “back on the market” at a lower price. Price it right the first time.

2. Hire the wrong agent believing every agent is created equal and they all do the same things.

The real estate profession is constantly changing and the best real estate professionals stay on top of those changes by continuing their education. Look at more than one agent’s presentation and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. Inquire about “professional designations” that show they have taken additional specialized courses. Making an impulsive decision when caught up “in the moment” could be difficult to correct later. You will normally contract to list your house with the agent for a specific period of time. If you find yourself unhappy with the service you receive, you may find yourself unable to “switch” to another.

3. They wait to sell thinking the market will be better if they wait.

There is no “single” answer to this predicament but there are certainly things to consider. The housing “market” is really a series of hundreds of local “markets” made up of thousands of neighborhoods, so current market conditions vary widely from place to place. A good real estate agent will be able to tell you honestly if inventory is rising faster than buyers are appearing in your area. Consider that other would-be sellers may be holding off as well, waiting for an upturn in the market. This delayed selling may introduce still more inventory on an already sluggish market. Keep in mind that in any housing market there is always a buyer — if the price is right. One reason houses aren’t selling well in some areas is that some sellers are waiting for prices to recover and are unwilling to acknowledge that they may have to settle for a little less.

4. Don’t get the home in showing condition.

A potential buyer has made up their mind ten seconds after they step in the front door.  They were already forming an opinion as they pulled into your driveway! That really doesn’t leave too much room for fault. To achieve the greatest possible outcome, a home should always be presented at its best the first time around. Properties in prime condition are a pleasure for real estate agents to show, so they get shown more often. The more exposure a property gets, the better the chance of selling it quicker and for a higher price. Buyers pay a premium for a home that is in top-notch, move-in condition, so once you decided to sell, make sure the home is ready to be sold.

5. Do the wrong updates or upgrades to ready a house for sale.

You have to discover what needs to be done to your home. A thorough property inspection up front will help to identify problem areas. Any buyer will have a property inspection done before closing the sale. Most often, this is when they will re-negotiate the price because of any problems that may turn up in the inspection. Having your own inspection done and making all necessary repairs first removes this opportunity for the buyer to try and re-negotiate. This also reassures potential buyers that you are conscientious homeowners and will relieve some of their anxiety about buying a home.

6. Hire agents for the wrong reason.

A snap judgement isn’t good. You must do your homework! Determine if the agent is competent and the best way to do that is to check up on references. Ask for references on recent sales — check up on references of recent customers. Find out how an agent’s customers feel about their selling experience. Some agents tell you what

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you want to hear to get your listing but then fail to deliver. Use tough standards when selecting an agent, just as you would when hiring an attorney, a doctor, or an accountant to handle your taxes. The wrong agent will ultimately cost you in time, money and a lot of stress.

Stay tuned for Part 2, on February 3rd, 2010 . . .

Teddy Stoddard

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As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard…..
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then putting a big ‘F’ at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, ‘Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners…. he is a joy to be around.’His second grade teacher wrote, ‘Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.’His third grade teacher wrote, ‘His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.’Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, ‘Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.’
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy’s… His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.
Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, ‘Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.’After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children..
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her ‘teacher’s pets.’
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further.. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer…. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did.
And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, ‘Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me.

Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.’Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, ‘Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.’

(For you that don’t know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

 

 

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