Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home

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March 17, 2009, by Kathy Opolski in Tips for Sellers

As a seller in the Salt Lake City Utah area, it can be tough to make all the right choices when selling your home. In this article, we’ll go over five common mistakes sellers make when selling their Salt Lake City Utah home so you can ensure that you avoid these mistakes. By the end of this article, you’ll have a good idea of what to do and what not to do when you’re selling your home.

Mistake #1 – Bad Pricing Strategy
Most sellers are aware they shouldn’t price their house too low. However, it’s all too common that sellers overestimate what their house can sell for and price too high.
The logic they often go by is that they can always “accept a lower offer” if the price they’re suggesting doesn’t work. However, what usually happens is buyers are just scared off by the higher price and don’t even come to look at your property. By this point the house has been on the market for a while and buyers are wondering what is wrong with it. The most important period of marketing your home is the first two weeks.

Mistake #2 – House is Cluttered
This may seem like common sense, but it’s an all too common mistake. The buyer comes to look at the house and it’s still cluttered with belongings from the seller’s family. A cluttered house is unappealing to buyers. Make sure you move all your stuff out of your house, even if it means renting a storage unit for a few months. It makes the rooms look bigger and allows a potential buyer to visulize their things in it.

Mistake #3 - First Impressions
The front and back yards are often the first impression your buyer gets of your house. Beyond just physical looks, this tells the buyer how well your house is kept. Make sure your front yard and back yard are in tip top condition. The entry to the home, walking up to the front door and the front facade of the house needs to look perfect. Paint the front steps, clean the front porch or stoop, put new hardware on the front door.

Mistake #4 - House is not Staged
Staging is the process of making your house as appealing as it can possibly get. Clean the house thoroughly inside and out. Make sure the lighting is great and that there’s either fresh air or a light scent throughout the house. Make any repairs that are necessary. Have furniture that showcases the house and have empty rooms when appropriate.

Mistake #5 - Not Hiring a Real Estate Agent
Hiring a real estate agent will almost always save you time and money. Statistics have repeatedly shown that working with a real estate agent results in higher sale prices and faster sales. Many owners who list FSBOs end up wishing they had listed with a real estate agent instead.
A real estate agent can help you sell your house quickly and for the best price. They’ve spent hundreds of hours training to do so and a great real estate agent will already have tons of experience selling homes just like yours.
To speak with an experienced real estate agent who can help you sell your home, please give me a call at 801-518-4599 or send me an email at kathyo@kathyohomes.com

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Salt Lake City Utah real estate. For complete information about the Salt Lake City Utah real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Salt Lake City Utah real estate at www.KathyOHomes.com. So please feel free to contact me with any of your mortgage questions and I will me more than glad to answer you queries. Call me on my cell at 801-518-4599 or email me at kathyo@kathyohomes.com.