Are you a home owner contemplating the Selling your Home?
Before you take the plunge, make sure you read the following common mistakes of ordinary
FSBO/Private home sellers. If you're not (FSBO home seller), MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS too - it
could still help you sell your home. These mistakes are a result of observations and feedback
from customers and clients using the online private sale method. Knowing what not to do, can save
you present and future heartache and dollars. I hope you can learn from them.
Common Mistake #1:Lack of a genuine Reason, a Plan, Strategy & lack of Research
It is important before selling your home that you know exactly why you want to sell your home.
Your why will help determine your level of motivation and the consequent outcome of your
actions. If you are just testing the waters, and you lack a genuine commitment to the task, you
may be disappointed that the results are not as good as you wish them to be (it is sometimes called
a 'self fulfilling prophecy?).
Once you know your reason, you believe it's genuine, and you're committed to selling your
home, then it's time to determine an overall plan, with a strategy and varying tactics you'll employ
to carry out that plan. Firstly, you need to work out what method you'll use to sell your home, i.e. real estate agent or private sale. Your choice should primarily be based around your overall
lifestyle demands and reasons for selling. Once you've decided that private sale is for you, your
plan should include such details as: a realistic deadline to achieve a sale based on the current
market; a schedule based on your overall time frame, 'chunked down' with achievable goals and
deadlines at which to review your current plan/strategy; optional plans/scenarios in the event
things don't go exactly to plan and how you need to handle the situation accordingly; research on
current and historical sales which may be gained through agent appraisals and/or valuations; and a marketing plan and budget to fulfil your plan. These are just a few considerations to keep in mind.
Common Mistake #2:Setting your Sale Price too High
This can partly be due to a 'lack of research?. Because a home owner has an emotional
attachment to their home, they will sometimes justify their reasons for setting the price before
doing their market research. You may have heard these justifications before or even contemplated using them yourself. You know, things like 'well the neighbour up the road sold their house for this price and my house is much better so I know I can get a better price?, or 'the paper says there's been a 25% growth in this area and the median price is this, so my house must be worth this' or ?I?ve spent a lot of money on all these renovations, so I should get this much for it?, etc, etc. Don't fall into this trap! Start your research first and gather information from as many sources as possible (that does not include your family or friends' opinions), such as appraisals, valuations, information you've collected from papers and the internet, open for inspections you've attended of similar style properties. You then need to sit down and make a comparison of the information you've gathered. Look at the statistics and base your price on factual information, rather than emotional justifications. This will save you much time, money and stress if you do this from the outset.
The other danger of setting your price too high is that you'll turn off potential buyers before
they even set foot in your door. Remember, buyers are not stupid. They will have done their
homework too and will have compared other properties in the same price range with yours to
determine whether you're asking price is realistic. The objective of your marketing is to generate
buyer enquiry ? that's it! Once you have people calling you and viewing your home, it's no longer
about marketing, it then becomes about communicating and negotiating, to achieve a WIN/WIN
outcome for both you and the buyer. So part of your overall marketing strategy should be to set
the right price taking into consideration the then current real estate climate.
Common Mistake #3: Lack of Commitment and Confidence in your Abilities
Selling your home is not rocket science. I can attest to that because I don't consider myself a
brilliant salesperson, had never sold my home privately, yet I was able to sell my own home without complications or stress. Sometimes it's not about how smart you are. What it does take is a positive attitude to tackle the challenges (because you will get them), the confidence and firm belief in your abilities to deal with people in a friendly, courteous manner, and 100% commitment to carry out your plan. It's also about separating yourself from the process so that when things don't happen exactly as you'd like or you get a response you don't like, you don't take these events personally. Remember it's not about you (unless you're downright rude and obnoxious, then I would not recommend trying private sales).
Lack of commitment to the process can also mean sitting on the fence. It's quite natural to
want to hedge your bets, and use an agent to sell your property while trying private sale, however be aware you may just be setting yourself up for failure. Think about it for a moment'by using an agent while trying private sale, what are you really saying about yourself? Don't you think you have the ability to pull it off? Maybe, if things don't go according to plan, at least you can blame the agent, right, and no one will ever know you didn't really give it a your best shot? There's always two sides of the coin. An agent is human and can make mistakes too, and sometimes there can be a point at which even an agent can't sell your home regardless of how good a salesperson or negotiator they are. Do you then blame the agent? Or even if you used the services of an agent, are you committing to that agent 100% for whatever time you've agreed to? If you're not, then you're still sitting on the fence and you're not going to get as good an outcome as if you just committed totally for a period of time. Of course, if things don't work at the end of that timeframe, you still need to objectively look at the reasons why.
So I would recommend to you commit 100% to the process for a realistic period of time before
using an agent, if at all.
Common Mistake #4:Putting yourself under unnecessary pressure to sell your home
This would have to be one of the worst things to do when selling your home. Private home
sellers may unduly place themselves under pressure by signing a contract to buy a home before
they've sold, or making plans which leave them with only one way out ? selling by a specific date!
That's okay while it's early days, but as the deadline date looms, doubts, uncertainties and worry
start to build until the tension reaches boiling point. What then happens if a home seller does not
sell by that deadline date is they become desperate and make silly, rash decisions to relieve that
tension. The decision can often be a source of regret. The trick is not to apply a deadline leaving you more vulnerable to circumstances which are beyond your control.
Common Mistake #5:Placing your home on the market before it's ready
Before it's ready can mean before you've completed renovations, maintenance and repairs, or
given your home an overall clean to ensure your home is one that people will feel enticed to
inspect. The first 30 days your home is marketed, statistically is when you'll receive the most
volume of enquiry - while it's fresh and new. If you've failed to complete tasks which will adversely affect a buyers' impression of your home, you may lose that buyer forever. Remember, your home is not the only one around and the buyer may find something else. Unless you're marketing your home as a renovator, it pays to ensure your home is looking spic and span. A good idea is to approach your home from the street, steadily progressing through it, and look at it with a fresh pair eyes. Look for what pleases you and what, if anything, raises doubts in your mind or makes you feel uncomfortable. If you get distinct feelings as you progress through your home, observe those feelings, work out what's causing them, and whether they're positive or negative. Once this is done, rectify any niggling feelings you have which you think may hinder the sale of your home.
Something which can also happen which you should try to avoid, is setting a price based on a
finished renovation, then placing it on the market before you've completed the renovation, at the
price as if it had been completed. What this basically means, is your asking for an unrealistic price on the basis of what you're going to do down the track. Buyers only see what is currently in front of them, and will assess your price accordingly. They won't make an assessment based on your future plans or intentions. So if you can't avoid placing your home on the market before the
completion of particular tasks or renovations, just make sure you make the necessary price
adjustments.
Common Mistake #6:Not studying your competition and being unaware of your basic rights
and obligations
In private sale, your main competition is your local real estate agent. You need to know how
they work, their basic processes and procedures and look at why they complete tasks in a
particular way. The first thing you need to understand is their major motivating factor ? to get a
listing! Without listings, there can be no sales ? no sales means no commission ? which means no
pay. When you understand their motivation, you can then begin to understand why they might go to some interesting extremes to get your listing. It does not mean justifying any unethical methods.
What it does mean is that by understanding their common tricks of the trade, you can avoid being
a victim of their psychological tactics. When you know these basic tricks to secure your listing,
you can then work out possible answers or responses in order to avoid being a victim. You can
also maintain control of the situation and avoid being intimidated into making decisions which are not part of your overall plan or you feel uncomfortable with.
It's not only knowing what standard tricks or ploys agents use, it's also knowing your basic
rights as a seller and familiarising yourself with things such as: Appointment to Act form and
what's in the form; the difference between Exclusive Agent and Open agreements and how they
affect you as a private seller; the contract and cooling off periods, termination penalties, etc, etc.
The more basic stuff you know about how these things work, the less likely you'll get caught out
by an agent, or even an experienced buyer for that matter. This information can be easily
obtained through organisations such as Government departments legislating trade practices, your state/territory real estate body, and also your solicitor or lawyer
through a simple phone call. Remember you don't need to know everything, otherwise you'll never
get started, as long as you're aware of the basics and where to go to if you need any more
information.
Common Mistake #7:Knowing your Bottom Line
Once you've done your due diligence and completed all the necessary research, made your plans
and feel confident that you're ready to go, one last thing I recommend you do is work out your
point of no return. It's the point where you draw the line in the sand and say ?I won't budge any
further?. It's the point at which you either walk away or you proceed with negotiations (as long as you've been objective and looked at all the angles of course). By the way, being firm does not
mean saying 'no' vehemently (unless the offer is absolutely ridiculous). You can still be flexible and compromising yet still achieve your outcome. I suppose what I am trying to say is: don't be
wishy-washy, divided or inconsistent when it comes to decisions on price. Make a decision, remain flexible and open to suggestions to reach a compromise, remain strong and firm when negotiations reach a certain point and then have the courage to carry out that decision whatever that may be.
