3 Biggest Home Selling Mistakes You Must Avoid
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I want to highlight three crucial mistakes that you must avoid when selling your home.
Don’t rush into anything unless you’re comfortable with how the selling process will work for your specific situation.
Do. Your. Homework.
Underestimating the costs of selling
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to selling your home. There’s so much that you need to accomplish in a short amount of time. You have to account for closing costs, repairs, concessions to the buyer, home showings, making sure your home is in good shape for home showings, and more.
Here’s the big one that you have to be mindful of: moving into your new home before selling your old one. So that could mean two mortgages at once, other carrying costs (HOA fees, taxes, storage).
I recommend sitting down and writing out everything that COULD be a future payment when selling. It’s best to be prepared than not.
Ignoring major repairs
This one is self-explanatory. For example, hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions that have vacant homes legally owned by them, and all of them require major repairs for the most part.
There are also many people looking to sell the home that they bought ten years ago that needs major repairs. Maybe you need a new roof, the furnace is breaking down, the plumbing needs to be fixed, there’s termite damage, the list goes on and on.
You have to decide if you want to sell as-is (sell to the buyer without fixing these issues) or fix these issues with your money and be able to sell for more money in the end.
After you crunch the numbers, it could make more sense to sell as-is. The repairs could cost $50,000 for all you know.
Do your homework on your own home, do the math, and figure out what makes the most sense.
Choosing the wrong agent/Realtor
This could make or break the sale. If you’re not careful vetting your agent/Realtor beforehand, you could be putting yourself in a big hole before you even get started.
This is why you need to interview agents/Realtors before bringing them onboard. Let them know your exact situation and see if their ideas for selling your home are the best strategy possible.
Take your time during this process. I know this can be hard, considering you want to sell your home ASAP. But believe me, you would rather sell two weeks after your target date than have multiple issues arising because of your agent/Realtor.
Jake Boucher is a licensed Realtor in Massachusetts working at US Realty Consultants LLC.
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