9 Biggest Home Selling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them When Selling YOUR home

If you are thinking about selling your home in Toronto or the GTA and want to get the most money possible which I’m sure you do, I'm going to show you the nine biggest home selling mistakes and how you can avoid them. By avoiding these home selling mistakes, it will help you to sell your home for a higher price, sell quickly and make the home selling process much smoother. Selling your home in Toronto, Mississauga or Oakville can be a stressful time but eliminating these mistakes it will make it a much more enjoyable experience.

#1 Not Preparing Your Home Properly

The first mistake that many homebuyers make is not preparing the home properly. You want to impress buyers as soon as they see the house so that's really looking at your curb appeal as people are approaching the home and driving into your driveway. The buyers are already judging your home. Make sure that the grass is mowed, the bushes and trees are trimmed, fix any cracks in the pavements, touch up any exterior paint that’s needed, clean the windows etc. Get rid of any weeds, dead flowers, or plants. First impressions count!  The second part is to focus on the interior of the home. Step one is to declutter, depersonalize and clean the home from top to bottom. Get rid of the old junk snd things that you're not going to need until you get into your next property. Depersonalize the home by removing any family pictures, awards, trophies, or any drawings your kids have done from the fridge. Once you have declutters and depersonalized the home make sure the house is cleaned thoroughly.

​#2 Fix, Repair and Replace

Do this for any items that need attention in your house, for example, if you have cracked floor tiles, a leaky faucet, blown out lightbulbs or you need a new coat of paint to freshen things up or make it more neutral. You want to eliminate any potential objections from buyers as possible as most buyers want to fix and update too many items. The more work that needs to be done may also affect the offer price you receive. Pay special attention to your kitchen and bathrooms as these are rooms buyers scrutinize the most. It could sway them in terms of being interested or not interested in your homes for sale. 

#3 Overpricing Your Home
 

Overpricing your home is a huge mistake that a few sellers make unfortunately and then you see the property relisted several times at a lower price until it eventually sells. It takes longer to sell and then they end up selling for less than what they could have sold for if they listed at the right price the first time. Look at the comparable sales that recently sold in your neighbourhood but do not compare your home’s price to other listings currently for sale. The sold prices tell you what the market is willing to pay. You can also see if homes are selling above, at, or below their list price.

Negative factors of overpricing include:

•    Other properties sell faster

•    Your property will sit on the market longer

•    Puts off real buyers thinking you are unrealistic

•    Loss of interest and loss of qualified buyers

•    Reducing the price too late—you’re old news

•    May end up selling for less than market value

#4 Make your house available to view

I see this happen all the time when I'm trying to organize my schedule and organize my client’s schedule to book a viewing and for some reason, we can’t get in at that time. When realtors and buyers are viewing homes they will usually book several appointments at once, and not just see one home at a time. So if you can’t let the buyers view your property then they are going to see the competition and may not even try again to see your home. Make it as easy as possible for other agents and buyers to book a viewing. I know it's not the most convenient sometimes with everything else going on in your life, but it will go a long way in terms of helping you find that serious buyer that will make an offer. 

#5 Hire a pro real estate agent

Do not hire just a family friend or your cousin or niece or somebody who just got their real estate license. You should hire somebody that's going to do the best job for you, get the best price and handle the whole sales process. Hire somebody's that is very knowledgeable, understands the marketplace, has the experience, and can market, advertise and negotiate the offer. 

#5 Get amazing photos and videos

Most realtors nowadays hire a professional photographer/ videographer but there are good and bad like in every business. You want the best photos and video of your home as buyers decide online if there are interested in coming to see the house in person. It can be the difference between selling your property and not selling it if the media doesn’t look good. 

#7 Not disclosing what you need to disclose

For example, if you live in an older home and you have the old knob and tube electrical wiring you need to disclose that to the potential buyer or if you have mold or foundation issues or cracks. If you knowingly hide any facts it could come back to haunt you in the form of a lawsuit. I would highly suggest that you get a home inspection done even before you go to market. Do this for a few reasons. You want to be aware of any things that you maybe did not know and the inspector can also recommend in the cost of anything that may need fixing or replacing. The inspection may also uncover the remaining expected life cycle of items such as your roof, boiler, and the furnace for example. By doing this you give you a clearer picture of the condition of your house and items that may need your attention before putting your home up for sale.

#8  Try and keep your emotions out of it

Try not to take any personal offense come offer negotiation or get too emotionally involved when it comes to selling your home I know this could be really tough to do sometimes especially when you have lived there for a long time or have a lot of memories. If you do get a low offer, try not to get too personally offended. Sometimes buyers will try and get a deal or see how you react to test the situation if it’s not currently a hot seller's market. Remove your emotions, stay cool and keep your poker ace.

#9 Trying to save the commission by hiring a discount real estate agent or brokerage

I see this happen all the time, yet seller’s still expected top results and full-service but not pay for it? You are going to get what you pay for. There's no point saving 1% commission with real estate fees if you sell your house before 5% less than what you should have sold for. A home seller needs to understand it’s not about what you pay in commission, it’s better to focus on what you will net in your pocket after commissions. 

For example, let's say your home is worth around $3,000,000. Would you rather sell your home for $3,000,000 at 4% commission or $3,050,000 at 5% commission?

If a  discount agent is able to sell your house but $3000000 at 4% commission, the commission is $120,000 (not including HST), the net to the seller is $2,880,000 

If a full-service real estate agent is able to sell your house at $3,050,000 at 5% commission, the commission is $152,500. The net to the seller is $2,897,500 which is $17,500 more for the seller net. Some people may say will $50,000 is a lot of money and it is but in terms of a $3,000,000 price point but $50,000 is not a huge amount of money at that level, in fact, it's only about 1.67% of the overall price. 

So what was your favourite mistake or maybe a mistake that you made when you sold your home in the list that I gave you today?

if you're interested in checking out the latest homes for sale in Toronto and the GTA visit  Alex Maloney homes.com 

If you have any questions about buying or selling real estate in Toronto and the GTA get in touch with me, give me a call send me an email or shoot me a text.