Common Home Selling Mistakes

Even in an economy that does not provide the best real estate market, your neighbor sold his house. You have a friend who sold his house. Someone at work sold his house, yet you have had your house on the market for months and have not been able to sell. You wonder why. According to experts, there are a variety of mistakes the typical homeowner makes when trying to sell his house, and if you have made any of them you can correct them--it's not too late.

It doesn't matter if you are offering a good deal to potential buyers; one mistake homeowners make in trying to sell their house is not making sure a picture of it looks good in print or in an online picture. These days, it is especially important that you have a picture of your house that looks attractive, and you must advertise online. Most home buyers look for deals online.

To make certain the picture of your house will look attractive you can make sure your bushes and trees have been professionally trimmed by hiring a landscaper. The landscaper can also help you plan fall colors, aerate your grass, and edge your flower beds. Using a landscaper may be a very smart use of your cash. Your picture may also be better if you repaint the trim on your house and power wash the exterior before you take it.

Many homeowners trying to sell their house also make the mistake of charging more than similar houses in the neighborhood. If a potential buyer can buy a similar house for a lot less, why would he buy yours? If other homes in your area are priced at $150,000 to $200,000 and your house is $225,000, why would you expect people to be interested? If your house looks nice and is priced right, you can expect people to be interested.

If you can't afford to sell at the price level other houses are priced at in your neighborhood, could you rent it? Would you maybe rather sell it when the housing market improves? Beware; however, there are many people who want to sell their homes are convinced they are worth more than they really may be. If you want to wait for a better time to sell the house, you may wait a long time.

Some homeowners trying to sell their home may be more impressed with it than a stranger is. They may not realize that a potential home buyer may not see anything that stands out in the house, that makes him think, "wow." Paying a professional home stager can provide an expert who can make your home interior look sleek. You are competing against others in your area and also against an image provided by homes on Bravo and HGTV.

If you can't afford to pay a stager, watch staging videos online. You can learn how it's done. You may learn the importance of cleaning out closets, removing clutter, cleaning off the countertops, and getting rid of things you don't need.

Another reason a stager can help is that some people have made their homes so unusual, so esoteric, that people aren't interested, even though sellers personally can't understand why. A stager can point these reasons out to them. Removing all the things about your house that make it seem so personal to you may actually help it sell.

Whether you are trying to see the house yourself or an agent has listed it for you, it may not be promoted adequately. In this day and time, it should be posted on Zillow and Craig's List. It should be on online search engines. It should be online with a web address that as the property's address as the URL.

The commission offered may not be generous enough, and some may not push the sale enough. Make sure your agent spits the commission 50/50 with whoever sells the house, instead of keeping 60% of it for himself.

If your house won't pass inspection because the windows won't lock, the faucets leak, there are water stains on the ceiling or for some other reason, it won't sell. Take care of the problems.

If your home is an undesirable neighborhood, whether that is because of high crime or for whatever reason, you may have to lower the price for it to sell.

If you are in a neighborhood where the neighbors aren't neighborly, you might have a harder time selling. Are there any steps you can take to improve the neighborhood?

Some sellers make the mistake of trying to sell their homes themselves instead of hiring an expert.

Others just expect the home to sell too quickly. Selling can take six months or longer, in today's economy.

If you correct these mistakes, you may find that your home will sell much more quickly.

Citations: Six Reasons Why Your House Won't Sell, by Llyce R. Glink, Thinkglink.com

Why Your House Won't Sell And What To Do About It, by SiliconeValley Blogger, Thedigeratlife.com