Most homeowners are given advice from friends and family, real estate agents and also, at times, unsolicited voices on how one must sell a property, how one should go about marketing it or at what price the sale should be listed. While some of the recommendations will be immensely helpful, one should also focus on what not to do when selling a home.
- Do not try to sell your home without any professional help. Unless you are an expert evaluator of properties and a real estate agent yourself, you will need both expertise and you should hire an expert in real estate in your area. This, together with a proper and expert evaluation, will assist you in getting the right price set for your home.
- Do not remove all the furniture and fixtures from your home during staging or when you are taking photographs to put up online. You need a home to feel like a house. There should be the bare minimum furniture in place. From centre tables to couches, light fixtures to curtains, you need to present the property in a way that triggers the imagination of the homebuyers while helping them visualise what it is right now. Most buyers want to see themselves and their furniture in the space – and need your furniture to help visualise this.
- Do not stick around with the homebuyers and interfere their tour. Do not intervene with what you think, what the history of a room is or how you find the home fascinating. Buying a property is a once in a lifetime decision for most people and they don’t want to be nudged into feeling something or influenced to believe in something. Give the homebuyers a free hand. Stand back and only respond to questions or when asked for relevant information.
- Do not skip staging, inspection, evaluation and some upgrades. Upgrading a kitchen and bathroom, attending to minor aesthetic issues and ensuring everything is prim and proper regardless of its size or utility will help you sell your home, quickly and at a fair price.
