Proper planning is vital in selling your property!

You decide that it’s time to sell your home. Selling your property can be a complex and tiring process. Hence proper planning is vital. Right now, some of these questions may flood through your mind:

• Should I sell or buy first?
• What is the right price?
• How long will it take?
• Do I really need to engage an agent or sell should I sell myself?
• What is the selling process?

 Selling your property is more than getting putting up an advertisement, showing your house to many prospective buyers and signing on the dotted line.

10 painful mistakes you can avoid.

Here’s a quick guide on what many home owners went through, and you definitely want to learn from their mistakes.

Mistake #1 : “I want to sell my house at a high price.”

Setting the ‘right price’ is important. This affects how long your house is going to take to sell. There is always a ‘market price’ a house can sell. A very common mistake is for the owner to ask for a selling price way above the market price. Think about this: If houses in the same area are selling for $500,000, will you pay $580,000 for a house? Most likely not.

If you overprice your house, buyers will be put off by the price. As a result your house may take longer to sell, and end up being sold at a lower price.

 

Mistake #2 : “I’ve spent $100,000 on my renovations, hence my house should be worth a lot more.”

Another expensive mistake is to base the pricing on how much you paid for or invested in your home. Remember, if your home is not priced competitively, buyers will reject it. Buyers who should be looking at your house may not see it because it is overpriced. This will increase the time its takes to sell your house. Even if you eventually lower your price, buyers are cautious as nobody likes to buy something that no one else wants. Every seller wants to make as much money as possible from the sale, but a high listing price eventually sells for less than market value. Hence you MUST HAVE AN accurate market evaluation to determine a competitive listing price.

 

Mistake #3 : “I just want to sell my house first. I’ll worry about the rest later.”

Another common mistake made by home seller is lack of planning. It is important to plan ahead even before you start selling your house. You need to know:

• The profits you can make from the sales of your house
• The cost and financing for your new house
• The legal and contractual aspect of the selling/ buying
• Timing for moving in the new house and moving out of your sold property

 

We’ve met many home sellers who are frustrated when things do not go their way. With planning, it should minimize the unexpected. This is where an experience real estate agent with the right expertise will be helpful in planning of the sale of your home.

 

Mistake #4 : Not showing your home

This is one of the most common mistake. When a buyer view your house, make your home look as pleasant as possible. Walking to a house with wall paint worn off, kitchen floor oily and house in a mess is an unpleasant experience. Any buyer will not have a good impression of such a house. Buyers pay attention to your home conditions. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars renovating your house, but you can present your house in a clean, neat and pleasant manner. You could ensure that your house is neat, get rid of unpleasant smells, do some repairing and apply fresh coats of paint to all walls and doors etc. Make sure everything functions and looks presentable. You want your house to feel warm and welcoming. A poorly kept home in need of repairs will definitely lower the selling price of your property and will even turn away buyers.

 

Mistake #5 : Trying to “Hard Sell” While Showing

Buying a house is always an emotional and difficult decision. You should try to allow prospective buyers to comfortably examine your property. Be friendly and hospitable. All buyers make decision on what they like/need and not what we think they like/need. Everyone is subjected to have their own opinion of what they like when they are looking for in a house. Though you think a house near the road is convenient, some buyers may think that it will be noisy. Therefore during the buyers viewing let your agent show the house for you.

 

Mistake #6 : Choosing the wrong real estate agent or choosing for the wrong reasons.

Many homeowners choose a real estate agent who tells them the highest price, or one who charged the lowest commission. Stay away from an agent who promise you that your house can fetch more than the market price. That agent just wants your business. You will end up not being able to sell your house for a few months, then the agent will convince you to lower your asking price.

What about an agent who can charge you the lowest commission? Do you trust your home to be marketed by an agent who can’t even negotiate for his fees? What makes you think the agent will be able to negotiate for the best price for your home? Hence when selecting an agent, you must choose a reliable agent with the best marketing plan to price your home right. This could mean higher price at the negotiating table, selling in less time, and with a minimum amount of hassles.

 

Mistake #7 : “Isn’t it better to let a few agents handle the sale of my house?”

Some home owners think that engaging many agents may increase the chance of the sale of their house. You need to consider these when engaging many agents:

• The competition between the agents may lead to the undercutting of your selling price.
• Different agents may bring the same buyer to view your house a second time, leading to confusion.
• Buyers may think that you are desperate in selling (so you engage multiple agents to sell it off fast). Since they think you are desperate, they may not give you a good price.
• Agents who do not have exclusive rights to a listing may be less willing to work for that listing.

 

Mistake #8 : Poor Communication with your housing agent

It is important to understand that the seller and the agent are working together to sell the house at the best possible price. The partnership between the agent and the owner is a key factor to a smooth and enjoyable sales process. Home sellers should as far as possible give accurate and full information about the house. This will help the agent in analysing the strength and weakness of your house and present it in a positive light to a potential buyer. If there should be any slight misunderstanding, it should be resolved with the agent as soon as possible. Home owners have to place trust into their agent. Therefore get a responsible agent and one that you can work well with.

 

Mistake #9 : Failing to take the first offer seriously

Sellers hope that there will be many offers to come by. Thus, there is a tendency not to take the first offer seriously, and to wait for a higher price. This is especially true if the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market. Experienced real estate agents know that more often than not the first buyer ends up being the best buyer, and many, many sellers have had to accept far less money than the initial offer later in the selling process. A house is most saleable early in the marketing period, and the amount buyers are willing to pay reduces with the length of time a property has been on the market. So, don’t ignore the first offer, which may be the best offer.

 

Mistake #10 : Missing out on a genuine offer

It takes experience to identify a genuine buyer. Sellers often missed out on a genuine offer and not selling their home. Imagine this: you receive 2 offers for your house. The first offer $700,000 (but the offer is not genuine, buyer just paying lip service). The second offer is $680,000 (genuine offer). You may turn down the second offer due to the lower price and finally find that the first buyer did not want to buy from you. Then you lost out a genuine offer. Hence, it will be important to assess your buyers (an experienced agent will be of great assistance) to determine if the buyers are genuine. A best way to identify a genuine buyer is one who is willing to put in a deposit for your house.

 

Hope that the above pointers assists you in making better decision and aids in your selling property.

Feel free to contact us (aboutsingaporeproperty@gmail.com) for a non-obligatory discussion on any of your property queries.