Common Selling Mistakes

Here's some very useful advice: don't treat your real estate agent as Mr. or Ms. Know it All.  They are not infallible! 

Believe it or not, they don't know everything there is to know about real estate.  They make mistakes, just like everyone.  When an agent tells you to wait because your property will probably not sell these days, take her/his word with a grain of salt.  Question motives! 

• Is she/he trying to get you to lower your price so she/he can sell it much quicker, thus pocketing the commission quicker?  
• Is she/he concentrating on other higher priced homes in the area and hence has no time for you?  

Sellers often make the mistake of believing their agents.  One such seller was so disgusted because she/he allowed the agent to let her take her house off the listing.  The agent kept telling her to wait some more.  Three years later, her property was still unsold, and in her frustration, decided to go with another agent.

Investigate Credentials

Once you've signed a contract with an agent that the house is exclusively hers to sell, you could be stuck with an inefficient agent for a long time.  Before you sign on the dotted line, investigate your agent's credentials. 

Ask for the names of other sellers she's worked for, and where possible, speak to these past clients and ask them whether or not they were satisfied with her service.  Check out qualifications, licence and board certifications.  Some sellers make the mistake of engaging the services of an agent in a hurry because they're eager to sell. 

As Gregory Lerch stressed, hire a real estate like you would an attorney or accountant.  Try to distinguish the full time professionals from the part-timers - those who occasionally dabble in real estate, who get into the business of selling homes only when they need quick cash.

Have Reports In-Hand

Another mistake sellers make is not having written inspection reports to show to prospective buyers.  The regulations about asbestos, radon and lead are fairly stringent and must follow governmental guidelines.  Ensure that professional house inspectors have the capability - and certification - to do these tests.

Know the Rules…

Sellers often decide to go solo without enlisting the help of an agent for the sole purpose of being able to save thousands of thousands in agent's commissions.  This is a legitimate reason. 

If you do decide to sell your house on your own, make sure you know the rules of the game like the back of your hand.  Have it down pat. 

The second, even bigger mistake, is that some sellers don't have the ability and understanding to know when to quit as independent sellers!

If your house is still in the market for a year, even if other homes are selling like hotcakes in the neighbourhood, then it's time to take a step back and see what you're doing wrong.  A real estate agent may be your alternative. 

According to Lerch...

"Market studies have shown that you can actually lose money when your home sits on the market for an extended period. Knowing that, your goal should be either to learn how to extend your optimum selling period or market your home so it sells within the time limits the market has dictated".

Be Zone Conscious

If you don't keep up with your city hall urban planners and engineers, you could be selling your house just before zoning adjustments are being implemented.  These zoning adjustments could considerably increase the value of your property.  Haste makes waste, they say.  So keep your eyes and ears tuned to municipal changes that could enhance (or affect) your position as a seller.

Pricing Too High? Too Low?

High and low pricing:  sellers who like to make a killing price their property way too high, making it out of reach to buyers who are looking at similar properties in the same location.  Don't be priced out.  Going to the other end of the spectrum, you'll know that you priced your house too low when it's bought the same or next day after you or your agent advertised it.  It was "snatched" by someone else because it was way below market price.

Obviously, you as seller will try to get the highest price you can get for your property so you start with a high price. 

The buyer, on the other hand, will offer the lowest possible price he can negotiate.  So you start high and he starts low.  This creates plenty of room to negotiate - the gray area that lies between the highest and lowest prices. 

This is where sellers can make the mistake of not demonstrating sufficient flexibility to the buyer! 

This is the reason there are high and low prices in real estate - what Albert Lowry called practising the give-and-take principle.  "Such give-and-take is part of the bargaining process…It gives you both room to negotiate…As you and the buyer make proposals and counterproposals, you are inching closer to agreement…Then at some point one of you will yield no further."   Develop the extra sense to know when to stop negotiating.

Some More Common Selling Mistakes

Ilyce Glink names a few more mistakes sellers make:

• Undefined motivation: Are you selling your house because you want to or have to?  Honesty in answering this question will affect your negotiation abilities.  You might be sending the wrong messages to your agent or buyer.  If you and your husband have mixed feelings, be sure you iron out your differences and reasons for selling before putting your house in the market. 

• Hanging around during open houses:  If you have an agent, let her do the work.  Don't make buyers uncomfortable by your presence.  They may want to ask the agent certain questions that they don't necessarily want you to hear. 

• Pets and Odours: Some buyers may not exactly be animal lovers; other buyers are turned off by cooking smells.  Keep the pets invisible, and the smells at bay with air freshener. 

• Letting the house go stale: If your house has been on the ads too long, know when to pull it out.  Don't give buyers the chance to "suspect" something is wrong with your house.  Take out the for sale sign and come back another time. 

• Timing:  When sellers sell their house in hopes to buy another, they fail to recognize proper timing as an essential component of the real estate process.  When their offer on the new house is accepted but there are no firm buyers for their old house, they are forced to apply for a bridge loan which can make them out of pocket for a few years.  Wait until your house is sold, or at least wait before a firm offer is in your hands. 

• Mortgage payments: Just because your house is sold does not mean you can skip mortgage payments.  Make sure your mortgage payments are up to date until closing.  When closing documents are drawn up, the lender will take any unpaid amounts and deduct them from any monies due to you.  Check with your lawyer, escrow or title company officer.
   
• Deposit money:  There is no fixed standard practice regarding deposit money - sometimes called "earnest" money.  Requiring a deposit from the buyer is simply the seller's need for assurance that the buyer will buy the property and has the financing required to buy the property.  When time and money are spent in the showing, negotiation and contract preparation procedures, the seller has to be compensated for lost opportunities to sell to someone else if the original committed buyer suddenly backs out of the deal.  Don't omit discussing this with your agent or settlement agent.  It's added protection for you as seller.

On the next page we will talk about all the different ways you can go about Securing Financing for successful Real Estate deals.