When Sellers Make Mistakes, the Agent is Making a Mistake if They Don’t Point it Out.

Some homes are easier to sell than others. And sometimes a great house, for whatever reason, has a hard time getting an offer. But if any of these top mistakes make it past the signing of a listing agreement without at least a discussion of the matter, then the real estate agent is not serving the best interest of his clients.

In fact, if overpricing a home is the number 1 seller mistake, number 1b might be that the seller chose the agent who said they can sell the home for the highest price. That agent might be figuring once they get the listing, they can lower the price later. Playing catch-up with pricing is usually a losing strategy since you have missed the psychological impact benefitting the seller during the first few weeks of a new listing. Gather the right data, make necessary comparison adjustments, figure out how quickly the seller wants to sell, and price it right.

Cluttered space can sometimes be an easier mistake to avoid but there are still emotions involved. Here in California, we use our garages for storage. So go ahead and start packing and get as much of your stuff out of the living area and put it in the garage. You’d be surprised how many buyers don’t even look in the garage, so if it is a disaster area, you just might be able to get away with it.

I don’t know if I would call it a home seller mistake, but as an agent working with buyers, pet smells can be one of the biggest obstacles and will prevent buyers from writing offers. And if the property is still occupied with pets, there may not be much which can be done until after the sale. A buyer will end up taking responsibility and as such has to have some idea of cost and a bit of faith that after spending money the smell can be eliminated. However, if a home being sold is vacant, the agent should do whatever they can to convince the seller to make some attempts to remove the smell of pets.

I might add one more seller mistake which agents should tal about and that is having all the blinds closed so a house is really dark. First impressions are important and even after an agent may go through the whole house to open up the blinds, it may be too late to erase the buyer’s first impression.

Robert J Russell can help you sell your home in ANY city, state or country – if you want WORLDWIDE exposure (not just throwing it up on MLS) then call 972.292.8967.