April Hartmann
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7 Real Estate Pitfalls That Could Cost You A Sale

Written By: Jaymi Naciri
Thursday, August 18, 2016

Selling a home has its typical challenges. Maybe the couple across the street just listed their house, which you know has an amazing kitchen while yours is just slightly less so. Maybe values have started to drop a tad. Or maybe youre getting transferred and you have to sell - and find something new in your future city - in what seems like an impossibly short amount of time.

Whatever the circumstances, you want the sale to go as smoothly, and take place as quickly, as possible. So dont do this stuff. Really. Just dont.

1. Dont take your own photos

How important are house photos? Many buyers wont even look at a listing that doesnt have them. Ditto for poorly taken photos that dont adequately show the home. Weve talked before about the National Association of REALTORS NAR survey that showed that homebuyers rate photos as the feature they use most when searching for a home online.

"Home sellers used to count on curb appeal to make a good first impression on potential buyers," said HGTV. "Now, with 80 percent of homebuyers starting their house hunt online, a homes pix appeal, or how good it looks in photos posted on the Internet, is taking over as the top way to impress buyers off the bat."

To put it another way: "Heres a shocker: Most of the listings with bad photos also have wording like price lowered Marked down and Priced to sell in the listingall signs that the phone isnt exactly ringing off the hook," said Adorama. "Could it be that the lousy photos of these properties are turning away potential clients?"


Ugly House Photos

The easy answer: yes.

If you insist on taking pictures yourself, and we really, really recommend you dont unless youre a professional photographer, at least heed some tips. But again, not a good idea. Trust us.

2. Dont try to sell your home by yourself

According to the National Association of REALTORS, 87 of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or brokera number that has been rising consistently since 2001 when it was just 69 percent.

The reason: Homes sold with a Realtor get a higher sales price: "The typical for sale by owner FSBO home sold for 210,000 compared to 249,000 for agent-assisted home sales," said the NAR. Homes listed with a real estate agent also sell weeks earlier than FSBOs.

3. Dont argue with your agent about price

What you feel like you should be able to get for your home. What your neighbors across the street with the updated kitchen and the oversized lot got for their home. These are two things that are ir>


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Its your agents job to research the area, the market, recent sales and new listings, and come up with a smart pricing strategy to get your home sold.

If you disagree with the listing price your agent recommends without a legitimate reason like youve found real comparables that werent part of your agents research or listing presentation, there might be trouble brewing.

4. Dont trust Zillow as the word of god

In a nutshell, using Zillow as well as Redfin and Trulia to determine your homes value, is dangerous, because their price estimates are off. And not by a little.

Zillow has copped to being off by 8 on their Zestimates, but that doesnt come close to the L.A. Times report that found Zestimates can be wrong by as much as 61 depending on the house and the location. A recent study found that their average Zestimate is off by 14,000.

5. Dont follow prospective buyers around while theyre touring your house

Buyers hate this, plain and simple. If they have questions, they will ask. Shadowing them will only make them feel uncomfortable, which isnt likely to result in a sale.

6. Dont refuse to negotiate

If theres one thing you can count on during a home sale, its that theres going to be something to negotiate. Even if both parties immediately agree on the sales price, there could be issues that are uncovered during the inspection, or conflict surrounding the close of escrow and move-in dates. Your inflexibility could end up in a cancelled escrow.


Ugly House Photos

7. Dont ignore your agents request to fix up or at least clean your house

Staged homes sell faster and for more money. So do updated homes. But that doesnt mean you have to shell out a bunch of money. Depending on the condition of your home, it could take as little as a good scrub down and a little decluttering to make your house shine.

Your agent will undoubtedly have suggestions to make your house more saleable. Listen to them. Even if its uncomfortable to hear that your house isnt as tidy as it should be or that your dcor >



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