Which Are the Top 4 Mistakes Made by Home Sellers?

There is absolutely no escaping it: buying or selling a home induces stress.

You can’t avoid and you most certainly cannot find a shortcut around it.

For many people, a real estate deal can become the single largest transaction they will ever make, so it’s no surprise that they become emotional during this process.

Many homeowners succumb to the stress of the selling process and they forget to enjoy the exciting journey that comes with buying a home. Even though emotions are human and part of who we are, that does not mean that you can’t enjoy a new adventure.

As long as these emotions and stress levels are kept in place, then you won’t have as many problems. The root of the stress and concern lies with simple mistakes that can be easily avoided.

Too many people let the emotions of selling their home take over and this causes them to think unclearly. Poor decisions are made – decisions that they end up regretting for the remainder of their time in their new house.

So how exactly do you avoid these home seller mistakes?

Here are a few tips that you can use:

#1 – Overpricing the home

Of course, you want the best price for your home. After all, it was the best place for you to live all these years; you should get a decent price for it.

However, the features that you think are the bee’s knees might not even tickle the fancy of potential home buyers. It doesn’t mean if it is special to the seller, it will be special to the buyer. And this is something sellers need to realize sooner rather than later.

Prices are detached from emotions and memories. Sellers who bought the home at the top of the market years ago can’t expect the same thing to happen in today’s climate.

#2 – Deciding to stay for a buyer viewing

The truth is that buyers don’t feel comfortable looking at their potential new home with the old homeowner lurking in the background.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone, right?

Any observations that might be made by the buyer might be taken negatively by the seller or they might see it as complaints. This discourages buyers to discuss the house honestly with the real estate agent.

Agents should ensure that the homeowners are kept away from the home during a showing and only introduce the two parties to each other when the deal has been signed, sealed & delivered!

#3 – Rejecting offers early on in the process

There is more than enough data that will prove that the longer your house sits on the market, the fewer buyers will be interested in having a look at it.

Once the initial attention has wavered, people are going to be less excited about it and low offers will start to come in.

If the property is brand-new on the market and receives a lot of offers, then it means that the property is correctly priced. Many home sellers regard this as a sign of underpriced real estate and will reject offers early in the process.

#4 – Every offer gets taken personally

Try to avoid taking every offer personally. Keep in mind that this is a business transaction.

It is a fact that sellers want top dollar for their homes whilst buyers want to pay the lowest price possible. Any incoming offers that might deviate from the initial amount, might be seen as criticism against the property itself. One should rather see it as a negotiating tool during the process.

It is very easy to get emotional about a house that you have lived in for several years, but it is best to keep the sentiments at bay. Make sure that you keep a cool head and make the right decisions the first time.

About the author: The above article “Which Are The Top 4 Mistakes Made By Home Sellers?” was written by Xavier De Buck, your top-producing Johannesburg real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty. Xavier has been nationally recognized and awarded for providing service excellence, exceptional property sales, whilst exhibiting the highest level of professionalism. With over 17 years combined experience as a real estate agent, real estate investor and landlord, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Johannesburg, Xavier would love to share his property knowledge and expertise.

Make sure to connect with him via these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

© 2020, Xavier De Buck. All Rights Reserved.