Mistakes Real Estate Sellers Make

Top 5 Mistakes Home Sellers Make
Top 5 Mistakes Home Sellers Make

Selling a home should be like any other business transaction, but all too often real estate sellers make emotional or impulsive decisions that cost them money and time. Choosing the right Realtor to market a property and negotiate the sale is the most important step in the process. These are the top 5 mistakes home sellers make when they decide to put their home on the market. If you’re thinking about selling real estate, you can avoid them.

“My friend (or family member) sells real estate.”

Friendship alone isn’t enough to establish a professional’s credentials. Use tough standards when selecting an agent, just as you would when hiring an attorney, a doctor, or an accountant to handle your taxes. A true friend will understand and appreciate that this is a business decision and will offer their credentials and expect to compete for the listing. Besides, if a problem or challenge develops while selling your home, do you want to risk damaging a friendship or family relationship?

“Your presentation sounds good. I’ll list right now”

Look at more than one presentation and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. Making an impulsive decision when caught up “in the moment” could be difficult to correct later. Since you normally contract to list your house with the agent for a specific period of time, you may find yourself unable to “switch” to another if you find yourself unhappy with the service you receive.

“You’re the only agent who agrees with my selling price.”

Some agents tell you what you want to hear. In the real estate profession, this is known as “buying a listing” and is employed by shortsighted agents who are more interested in themselves than they are in you. However good it works as a short-term “real estate sales tactic” in getting your listing, it is an extremely poor strategy in selling a home at the highest possible price.

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You see, your house gets the most attention from other agents when it is a “new” real estate listing. If priced properly, lots of agents will show it to their buyers. If you price it too high, no one will show the house and it will sit on the market for some time. When you finally drop your price to reflect its real value, your house is “old news” and buyers may think you are growing desperate. Therefore, the prices you are offered will come in lower and lower – and you may find yourself accepting a price that is below what you could have received had the house been priced properly to begin with.

“This agent will hold an open house every week.”

Open houses can and do sell homes, but usually not in the Beverly Hills real estate marketplace. Only a small fraction of the homes held open are sold as a direct result of the open house. More often, “open houses” are a way that real estate agents “prospect” for potential clients. If they develop a rapport with those visitors to your open house, they can find out about their housing needs and sell them the home that most closely matches those needs. Meanwhile, the person who eventually buys your home may be visiting someone else’s open house.

Good agents know better than to pin all their selling efforts on an open house. They use their time in more effective marketing methods. The most effective marketing is not directly to the public, but to other agents. By getting other agents interested in your home, your listing agent multiplies your sales force beyond just one individual. Besides, pricing your home too high will only make similar houses for sale look that much better.

“I want an agent who lives in my neighborhood.”

Knowledge of the local market isn’t only acquired by living in the immediate neighborhood. Your agent should have intimate knowledge of recent sales, models, schools, and businesses,  but that is easily achieved through extensive research. Convenience shouldn’t be the primary reason for choosing an agent. (Image courtesy of TheMls.com)

Buying a home is probably the most important investments you’ll ever make. Don’t leave it to chance. Contact a real estate expert now for a better understanding of the local market and homes for sale in Beverly HillsContact LeMark Realty for ALL your real estate needs. Call 877-773-7331 today!

By Crissie Cudd

Jacqueline Maddison
Jacqueline Maddison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Beverly Hills Magazine. She believes in shining light on the best of the best in life. She welcomes you into the world of the rich and famous with the ultimate luxury lifestyle.
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