A bad picture of a property can make potential buyers look somewhere else. Here we go through 12 classic things and mistakes when listing a house...!
1. A house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay. You may think all the time and effort you have put into your home before listing it, even what you paid for it previously, makes it worth a certain price. Even an appraiser may come in before you list and say it’s worth close to a price you like. But at the end of the day, it is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
2. Upgrades may not increase the value, but they'll increase the chances of getting it sold. Classic: we add a 200ft swimming pool, white african marble to the walls and an indoors cinema. We want that to increase the price of our house. That won't happen. It will only make the process of finding a buyer faster. Unfortunately, in most cases you really only receive back a percentage of what you spent. A property's value is mostly based on the location.
3. Keep the house clean and tidy for listing pictures and open houses. You want potential buyers to remember what they love about the home after they leave, not talking about how much of a mess your home was instead.
4. Image is the first -and biggest- impression. The first thing a potential buyer will see is VERY important. It's hard to change someone's mind after a bad first impression. Put yourself in the eyes of a stranger, and analyze "how's your neighbor’s home? Would you buy theirs instead of yours? Does your house look better than the neighbor's?" The house on sale should look the best among the other ones on the block or the area. Remove the kids’ toys from the front yard. Hide the trash cans and recycling bin. Mow the lawn and trim the bushes!
5. Pet smell. Who's got a dog that doesn't smell?? ... ... yeah, right. That does NOT exist! But dogs aren't the only smelly animals. Bunnies can be pretty bad too. But if it's our own pet, it doesn't bother us, or we don't even smell it. Remember that if you have a pet, you MUST clean and let air flow in the house before showing the property. Probably the potential buyer visiting the house will smell the odor right away.
6. Neutral colors are buyer friendly. Get rid of those fucsia/ pink walls you LOVED back in the 70s. That will call the attention in any of the pictures of the property, and not in the best way. The first thought going through a potential buyer's mind will be "How many coats of paint is it going to take to cover up that hideous color?!". Neutral colors always work. ALWAYS.
7. Cheap fixes will result in cheap offers. If you can’t afford to update the whole house, don’t. Trying to cover everything will result in cheap updates that the potential buyer will most likely want to have redone. If nothing else, as stated above, at least paint. A fresh coat of paint in the whole house, as long as is a neutral color, is never wasted money.
8. Everything is negotiable. EVERYTHING. Even the pet. While the refrigerator seems to be the biggest thing that buyers want or sellers note that it can convey with an acceptable offer, many other items have been negotiated. Blinds, curtain rods, curtains, furniture, even tractors. However, it is very important to make sure negotiations are done right and documented correctly in the contract.
9. Time is key. If you fell in love with a house, put an offer on it. That home might not be on the market tomorrow.
10. Location, location, LOCATION! The location is the most important characteristic of real estate. It's what it makes it unique. A house can't be moved. Moving includes being comfortable with the neighborhood. It's sometimes better to buy the cheapest house in a nice area, than a mansion in a bad area. In the first case, you can fix it and sell it fast, and make good profit. In the second case, if you decide to move again, it's going to be hard to sell it for a decent price.
11. Buyers notice things they want to change before noticing any updates. You can't please everyone. Even if you invested in new flooring, a potential buyer's first sentence after seeing the house can be "I've gotta change those floors". One fail-safe move you can make is to allow a flooring allowance or paint allowance, therefore you’re not wasting the money while getting the home ready to sell and they can pick out the details they like.
12. When priced right, it will sell. Set too high a price and you run the risk of turning off potential buyers. It also means your house will not compare favorably with other similarly priced homes. Even worse, buyers may not even see your listing when they search online since they will be using lower price points.
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