5 Big No-No’s When Selling a Home

Every home seller wishes for nothing short of a smooth home-selling process. But sometimes, things just wouldn’t go as planned. But instead of blaming the stars for your home selling misfortune, it might be a good idea to do some reflection and make sure that you, the home seller, aren’t part of the problem. We bring you horror stories from Realtors® top agents wherein the home sellers committed home selling faux pas. We’re sure you won’t be silly enough to idolize these home sellers, right? Here are 5 no-no’s every home seller should avoid doing:

1. The seller refuses to sell you their home because they hate you (but they’d love to keep your EMD). Aside from showing bad character, refusing to sell a home to a buyer on the grounds of simply “not liking them at all” is irrational. What’s worse though is when the seller decides to keep their earnest money deposit even if they refused to push through with the deal. That’s rude and litigious. Do this and you will risk getting sued, bad-mouthed, and avoided by both agents and prospective buyers alike.
2. The seller refuses to clear personal memorabilia and forces their personal tastes on the prospective buyer. Home buyers don’t look for homes to live in because they want to live the way you live. So, when selling a home, it’s best to “neutralize” it by removing your gothic, eclectic, or rock star-inspired personal effects to help the buyer envision himself in the home with his things. TIP: If you are having problems envisioning your home without your décor, ask for your agent’s help. They are good at preparing homes for a showing, so be sure to listen to their advice.
3. The seller hires a seller’s agent AND peddles the home himself. Since you’re paying for the services of a hardworking pro, why not leave it in the hands of the agent to sell your home to a qualified buyer? Getting in the way of your agent means you doing double work, paying extra for a professional that you seem not to trust to begin with, and you risking to waste your precious time with buyers who might just back out on you because they aren’t committed and you have no way of knowing that to begin with because you aren’t a real estate agent. Whew. Hire a pro and sit back and relax. We got this.
4. The seller refuses to budge to close the deal; NOT EVEN FOR ONE CENTIMETER OR FOR $5. Buying a home is probably one of the biggest financial transactions we will ever undergo in our lifetime. Don’t you just love it when you seem to be in control of your finances when you get to buy items at a discount or haggle for a service and your provider concedes? This is the same thing when selling your home. You have to be ready for offers, repair requests, and other arrangements that the buyer might ask of you in order to push through with the deal. Of course, you still own the home and have the final say on things, but if you don’t want to concede with a $500 repair to ensure a sale of $500,000, then there’s something wrong with you.
5. The seller refuses to clean up for a showing and puts their agent in a bad light. A family member left the full-to-the-brim ashtray in plain sight. The grass wasn’t cut; it’s nearly 2 storeys high. The dogs (or cats) are everywhere and there’s poop all over the floor. And the worst thing is you refuse to leave the home during the scheduled showing and not appear apologetic about the appearance of the home at all. Do you seriously believe you can win the heart of a buyer when you don’t even want to bother with prepping up for a showing?

To access the original article and the complete stories featured in this post, you may visit the original publication of Realtor® here.