From start to finish, a real estate transaction can be a tricky process. From the time you decide to list a home to the home stage process and finally to the moment the final paper is signed, there is a lot of room for mistakes, and many people make them. Some homes sit on the market for months while others are snapped up in a matter of days. Why? It might be the marketing. Some sellers can get through the process with no problem, while others fall apart before they can hand the keys over. What is the difference maker? It’s more than likely a lack of preparation.
When you are ready to home stage and sell your home, you have to take the time to research all of the potential problems in advance so that you are ready to face them. The only thing worse than dealing with a home selling problem is not seeing it coming. This blog is intended to introduce you to the number of costly mistakes that can be made in the home selling process. Take the time to think about how YOU would handle each of these situations.
Mistake #1: Setting an Unrealistic Price
When buyers have a lot of options, they don’t have to buy what you’re selling. When you are ready to determine your asking price, it’s important to remember that fact. Yes, you want to take into account how much you actually paid for the house and the cost of the remodel, if any, but that doesn’t directly correlate to what someone else is going to pay for the house. The biggest factor is going to be the market. What else is out there? You have your supply and you have your demand; it’s simple economics.
If you have to sell in a market with a lot of supply and not a lot of demand, you better not set your expectations too high. At the end of the day, if your home is priced too high, most buyers won’t give it a second thought. You don’t want to discourage interested parties from making an offer. Even when there is low inventory like there is right now February 2021 in Phoenix Arizona, if you set your price to high people still won’t look and if you drop your price dramatically or several times it could make buyers question if there is something wrong with the house, or make you seem desperate.
Mistake #2: Limiting Your Marketing
The idea of marketing or advertising sounds fairly simple. You can put a sign here, post an ad there and it will sell – right? Wrong. There are so many ways to advertise your home, and if you aren’t taking advantage of all of them, you may find yourself sitting in your house much longer than you’d like. There are many different options you can use, and you should take full advantage of every one of them.
The first thing you want to remember when creating ads is that you have to use a number of different mediums. You should use snail mail and email. You can post an ad in the local paper, or on your Facebook page. Within each of these mediums, make sure you deliver a strong clear message, and great pictures which play a crucial role in displaying the interior design of a home, especially when it comes to marketing the property for sale or showcasing it to potential buyers or renters.
If you are using a real estate agent to list your house make sure to ask about their marketing strategies, just adding the listing to the MLS doesn’t always suffice. Some realtors have a very strategic plan including online advertisements, websites and local paper advertisements. Talk through their marketing plan and make sure you are getting the exposure you need to get top value for your house.
Mistake #3: Letting Emotions Take Over
One of the biggest challenges homeowners face when selling their home is getting emotionally involved with the sale. Emotions cloud judgment. When trying to sell your home, letting emotions take over can lead to regrets. Here are some emotional states you want to avoid:
- Being Stubborn– Emotions run the highest at the negotiation table. There are sellers out there who will be ready to hand the keys over, but they lose the sale over wanting to take the mantle instead of leaving it over the fireplace. If there is anything in the home that you are not willing to part with, take it out before you show the home. Remember, the home is now a house. You have to think of it as a business entity.
- Getting Offended– You are more than likely going to receive a few lowball offers. Just because you do, doesn’t mean you need to take it personal. Yes, you probably think your house is worth more, however that doesn’t matter anymore. Start to think like a business person and not a homeowner. Business people make logical decisions not emotional ones.
- Refusing Help– Some sellers won’t even entertain the thought of working with a home staging company to prepare the home for a potential buyer and a real estate agent. Having an “I can do it better” attitude will get you nowhere.
If you are going to do it alone, you better know what you’re doing. Depending on the laws in your state, you are not only risking the sale of your home, but you are also accepting a good amount of liability. So if you are going to refuse the help of a Realtor, at least keep an attorney close by. In Phoenix, Arizona if you plan on selling your home on your own you should contact a local title company and make sure you have the necessary paperwork for a standard purchase and sales agreement. An offer on the back of a napkin is NOT how you should handle a real estate transaction.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sounds like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do. Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later it will take care of itself. It always does.
Common Marketing Mistakes
- Not Marketing At All: The biggest mistake you can make is skipping the marketing all together. You may think that all you really need to do is take a picture, post an ad, and the buyers come pouring through, but that doesn’t necessarily happen.
- Not Marketing Online: We live in an age when buyers start their searches online. Counting only on a newspaper ad and a sign in front of your house will not get you anywhere fast.
- Taking Bad Pictures: Or not enough pictures! Pictures mean everything in marketing. Home stage and highlight the best features of your house interior, be it the kitchen remodel, fireplace, pool design, hot tub, water features, stunning bathroom renovations, or built-in shelves.
Also, showcase the natural lighting of your home interior, which is a highly sought-after feature in homes. Great pictures can effectively capture how natural light illuminates the interiors at different times of the day, showcasing the brightness and warmth of the spaces. Think about your favorite features of your Phoenix Arizona home and make sure those features shine in your photos. Lots of natural light is helpful…open your blinds and curtains!
Finally, professional decluttering and home staging services play a crucial role in enhancing the appeal and increasing the sale potential of homes on the real estate market. The process of selling a home involves creating a home interior that resonates with potential buyers, allowing them to envision themselves living in the space. A cluttered and disorganized home can hinder this visualization, making it difficult for buyers to see the true potential of the property.
When potential buyers walk into a home, their first impression is often a lasting one. A clutter-free and well-organized home interior creates an immediate positive impact, making the home more inviting and appealing. Professional decluttering services have the expertise to systematically assess and eliminate clutter, creating a clean and aesthetically pleasing house interior that leaves a memorable impression.
To home stage or discover professional decluttering services, you can easily locate them by searching for “professional organizing and decluttering services near me or home staging services near me” on a search engine. This will help you find the service provider nearest to your location.
GQ Staging and Interior offers amazing decluttering, interior design and staging services to help you sell your home at the fastest possible time, contact us today.
