Selling a home is seldom easy. And it only gets more difficult and takes longer if you make any mistakes along the way. The most common mistakes home sellers make typically cost them both in terms of time on the market and the final sale price. When you do things right, though, it’s usually just a matter of getting the right buyer through the door. So check out these 5 costly New Jersey home seller mistakes, and discover what you can do to avoid them.
1. Pricing Too High
One of the most common – and most costly with respect to time on the market – New Jersey home seller mistakes is pricing too high. Certainly, you want to get the most money possible for your home, but you have to be guided by market value and not what you think your home is worth.
The problem is that sellers’ “judgment and practicality get clouded by emotions and wishful thinking. The most important factor dictating what you should price your home at isn’t what you think it’s worth, but what comparable homes in your area have sold for. Secondary factors include location, market strength, local demand, and the home’s condition, but even those are less important than the comps,” the comparative market analysis.
“A home that’s priced correctly in terms of its market comps is a home that’s priced to sell. You’ll be more likely to get legitimate offers, and more likely to sell at what you’re asking for.” An experienced local agent can perform a comparative market analysis to determine exactly what market value is for your home so that you can price accordingly. To discover more about this, contact a [marekt_city] agent at (908) 320-7995.
2. Neglecting Needed Repairs
Another of the common costly home seller mistakes involves neglecting to make needed repairs, whether owing to lack of time or just oversight. Whatever the reason, failing to make repairs can make your home languish on the market and can result in a lower sale price.
These repairs don’t necessarily have to be big things like a major kitchen remodel. “Even small things, like an unhinged cabinet or a crack in the ceiling, can work against you because they suggest to buyers that the current owners haven’t taken good care of the property and that other things may be wrong with it. And while it may be expensive to take on these fixes, it’s usually more expensive not to, costing sellers in both time spent on the market and ultimate sale price.”
3. Failing to Declutter and Depersonalize
Although these things may seem minor to you, they matter to potential buyers. Be sure to take the time to declutter and depersonalize your home to avoid the costly results of committing this one of our home seller mistakes.
“Clutter, like personal effects, stands in the way of a potential buyer being able to view a property with an open mind. In addition to making your space feel smaller, clutter detracts from a home’s best assets and keeps it looking like its past, not its future. As soon as you know you’re going to list your home, get to work packing up things you know you won’t need and storing them outside of the house . . . [T]he less stuff you have around the property (and that includes closets), the better that buyers will be able to see the potential of the space.”
A critically important aspect of decluttering is depersonalizing. You want buyers not only to be able to see the potential of your home, but to be able to envision it as their own home. They need to be able to imagine living there with all their own belongings in place. But they can’t do that if your personality is imprinted all over the home.
According to industry pros, “[d]epersonalization is an important step, and one that sellers often neglect because they’re still living in the house and it can feel weird to take down all the little things that make it feel like home. But home selling is as much about psychology as it is about proper pricing and marketing. Failing to remove those things that suggest to buyers this is your home, not theirs, is one of the most common – and detrimental – home selling mistakes.”
4. Selling at the Wrong Time
Many sellers fail to take into account the time of the year when they list their home and by doing so commit another of the costly New Jersey home seller mistakes. There really is a best time of the year to sell.
Winter is typically the slow season in real estate, especially that period around the holidays. “People are busy with social engagements, and the cold weather across much of the country makes it more appealing just to stay home. Because fewer buyers are likely to be looking, it may take longer to sell your home, and you may not get as much money.”
If you can, you may be better off waiting till spring/early summer to list your home. This is the top season for real estate. There will be many more buyers out and about owing to the pleasant weather and the fact that school is out during the summer.
But then there’s the other side of the coin. Winter can be a great time to sell a home because there aren’t as many active buyers, and this means there won’t be as many sellers for you to compete against, which can definitely work in your favor.
Much of it depends on the local market. To find out about the best time to list your home, contact a New Jersey agent at (908) 320-7995.
5. Not Working With the Right Agent
The final and perhaps most disastrous of the common home seller mistakes is working with the wrong agent. Here’s why . . .
“The real estate agent you choose to work with can make or break your home selling experience. A good agent will be able to guide you through every step of optimizing your home for sale, and won’t let you get away with the other mistakes on this list. But if you’re working with someone who isn’t a good communicator or who doesn’t value your sale as much as you do, then you’re missing out on the chance to have a strong advocate in your court.”
Our experienced New Jersey agents can guide you through the sale process and help you avoid any costly mistakes. So if you’re ready to sell and want to avoid costly home seller mistakes, contact us today at (908) 320-7995.