10 5 Mistakes Most Sellers (and Realtors®) Make When "Trying" to Sell Their Home

10.5 Mistakes Most Sellers (and Realtors) Make When “Trying� to Sell Their Home

Resort Real Estate Experts

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www.thesmitsteam.com

#1 Pricing it wrong or like a special at Walmart The number one problem with most homes listed for sale (that don’t sell) is the price the seller and the agent agree on isn’t based in logic. Usually it is a price the seller “wants” without any supporting information and the agent wanting to “get” the listing acquiesces.

Most real estate agents provide a CMA as a tool to show the current value of your home. It is very impressive looking as it averages 70+ pages, includes a lot of pictures and is usually in a binder of some type. If that is all they brought…kick them out!

DANGER: A CMA only provides value in declining price markets. You may know it as a buyer’s market.

To get a true picture of the price of your home in any market a CMA is only one of the tools needed. In addition, you need to look at the competition currently on the market.

There may be a gap where inventory is lower (which means less competition) or even non-existent. Why try to sell in a crowded space if there is no competition in a slightly different price point?

Another consideration is the speed of the market in your price point. In real estate terms we call this absorption rate. It is a relatively simple formula that looks at how many homes have sold in a price range over a set number of months. This shows us how many homes the market “absorbs” over a set period of time. Example: 6 homes sold in the last 3 months in your price range so the absorption rate would be 2 per month. If there are 10 homes on the market, there is 5 months worth of inventory.

Utilizing all 3 tools will give a great starting point for a pricing discussion. Strategy is the next piece to analyze in pricing a home correctly. There are 3 options in pricing: price above market rate, price at market or price below market. Ask one of our professionals which strategy would work best for the sale of your home.

Pricing your home is all about the number of zero’s you use.

The last thing one wants to do is exclude 50% of the possible buyers for their home yet we see pricing that does exactly that every single day! Most people start their search for a new home on the internet on a site like www.thesmitsteam.com. They put in number of beds/baths and choose a price range. Let’s say your home is worth around $1,000,000. Many real estate agents will tell you to price it at $999,999. Welcome to Walmart! Seems logical since the one dollar makes it seem like a smaller number, right? WRONG! People looking for a home may search from $800,000-1,000,000 and they would find your home. However, what about the people looking from $1,000,000$1,500,000? That’s right! They never even see your home! Throw out the oddball, discount thinking numbers and set a price that the most people will see.

Resort Real Estate Experts

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www.thesmitsteam.com

#2 They don’t create a “Red Carpet” experience Imagine showing up at the Academy Awards in a sweatsuit, no makeup and a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse tennis shoes walking on the red carpet. It wouldn’t matter who you were (for the most part) not many of the paparazzi would even notice you existed.

The same can be said for the announcement of the sale of your property. When your home is “presented” to the market, it is imperative to show it in the best light immediately. I can’t tell you how many times we will see a new home listing come to market with a note saying “Photos coming soon” or worse yet a couple photos taken with the agent’s cell phone. Professional, light balanced photos will give the potential buyer a pleasing, easy to view vision of your home.

The “Technology Age” has turned into the “Information Age” and most buyers are hungry for as much information about your home as they can get. Again, this is where most sellers and unfortunately agents fail. Going back to photos for a minute, many listings will only have 8-15 photos of the property. Nearly all MLS’s (the service Realtors use to share your listing) allow 25 photos to be inserted. At 8 photos you are losing 2/3 of your opportunity to showcase your home!

DANGER: Most agents hide what they put in the MLS from their clients. Ask to see the listing sheet, photos and the text they write about your home.

There are new tools available to showcase your home even further. 3D virtual walk thru software, drones, full motion video and floor plans are all readily available to provide remote access to your home, regardless of how far away someone lives.

Rental income, property disclosures, HOA (homeowner association) documents and any other documents that you can share about your home can be attached to your listing to further assist the buyer make a decision about viewing your home.

Lastly, the text written about your home should tell a story about why the potential buyer would want to live in your home. As an example, our office provides a questionnaire about all the things you have loved about your home. It is our belief what you loved about your home, the new buyer is going to love too! Look out for text that repeats those things already on the listing sheet. Example: This lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo unit in the middle of town has an open floor plan with vaulted ceilings and granite countertops… If my pictures were half decent you would know about the vaulted ceilings and granite countertops. The rest of the information is already on every listing sheet, website and flyer so why waste the precious 520 characters allowed.

Worst one I ever saw was on a $3.5 million home and they shared 6 words. “Nice home in a nice neighborhood.” You’d think the agent had to pay for every word!

When you are ready to place your home on the market, make sure you don’t rush it.

Your home will have a much better chance of selling if you get it “Red Carpet” ready, first.

Resort Real Estate Experts

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#3 They make it too hard to see No one will buy something they can’t see! Make seeing your property EASY. If your property is in a rental program, instruct them you will only take 7+ day rentals. Many rental property companies will book your unit every single weekend for a 2-3 night rental which will destroy your opportunity to have your property seen by potential buyers and only make you a few shekels. Is that couple of hundred dollars worth your home not selling? I didn’t think so.

Requiring 24 or 48 hours to show the property is too long to wait for most people.

Once your home is placed on the market, people are going to want to see it. Making them wait for an extended time is just going to push them to another property. Another issue we see is “I need to go and remove my pet”. If you have a pet and you can’t take them to work with you, think about putting them in a crate. You don’t want to turn down showings because your furry friend is at home.

Bonus tip: If you are overly concerned about the safety of your home during showings, there are a number of inexpensive wireless cameras and door locks which allow you to remotely view (and listen) when people are in your home.

“Listing agent or owner must accompany all showings” is one of the hardest requests a seller can make. Not only does it task the resources of the real estate agent, but it typically makes both the buyer and the buyer agent nervous. The listing agent can certainly go and open the home, turn on the lights and ensure the property is show ready, but then they should leave. If you are using a Realtor®, they are going to verify the license status of the person requesting a showing. It is their responsibility to protect your home against theft.

Last but certainly not least is “Pre-qualification letter required prior to showing”. This is just plain insulting. No one wants to tour your home who doesn’t qualify and their agent certainly isn’t going to show them properties they can’t afford. What would be the point? Once an offer is made, that is when we will ask the buyer to provide a qualification letter. If your home is expensive, then the people qualified to buy it more than likely have a money manager or financial person who will handle this. Either way, it is too early in the dance to decline showings.

Resort Real Estate Experts

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www.thesmitsteam.com

#4 They ignore the problems in their home I’m not sure procrastination is the right term here, so why don’t we just call it an “unwillingness” to face reality. Perhaps you know there is a drip under the sink, or the water heater is on its last leg, yet you just don’t want to go thru the hassle of calling a repairman. Don’t worry…when you do get a contract and the buyer hires an inspector they will ask for the repair anyway, but now they are going to want a licensed, bonded and insured repairman to do the work in a short period of time. That’s right! What you could have handled easily just cost you 2-3 times more!

Inspectors are paid to find faults in your home. The more damaging part of this is the psychological impact this is going to have on the buyers. You see they are already nervous having made the offer and any little issue is going to grow inside their head.

They will start doubting whether they made a sound decision and the worst part is it could have been prevented.

DANGER: Some states and lenders require licensed, bonded and insured tradesman once a buyer’s inspection is performed.

A pre-listing inspection is highly recommended prior to placing your home on the market. It will uncover most of what the buyer’s inspector would find anyway and you then have the ability to either repair, replace or adjust your price and acknowledge the issue. The best part is you can choose who does the work and in what timeframe.

Example: Some older homes don’t have a GFCI protected outlet in wet areas like kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors. If you aren’t afraid of electricity, your not color blind and you can handle a screwdriver it is something you can do yourself for around $20 per outlet. Alternately, you can hire a handyman who will do it for around $50 per outlet or hire a licensed electrician for $150 an outlet. Since the average home has 10 of these the cost is between $200 and $1500. If you wait until the other inspector discovers the problem the electrician you hire to get it done quickly may charge you $250 an outlet!

PRO TIP: A home warranty can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. The beauty of the home warranty is two-fold. One, the home is covered while it is listed and 13 months after the new buyer purchases. If something fails while it is listed, there is a small deductible to be paid and the item is covered. Two, the buyer is more willing to forgo some of the inspection items if they understand there is a warranty on the home.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

#5 They call it Realtor Beige for a reason No matter how much money you spent on an interior decorator and how wonderful a job they did, they decorated to your tastes and not the buyers. The goal is to get your home to appeal to the largest number of buyers possible. Every year Benjamin Moore comes out with the new color for the year, so the paint you used on that accent wall 10 years ago probably isn’t popular again…at least not yet. Whenever possible we also suggest bringing in a stager who specializes in making the space in your home as functional looking as possible.

The great pictures of your relatives and friends that adorn your walls need to be packed away and put in storage and the holes from the hooks repaired. I’m not sure why but this always seems to be a sticking point in many homes we sell. Here is a real world example: A local bank president asked us to visit his home and suggest things that would help his home sell since it had been on the market over a year. My wife and I walked in and as we toured the home, my wife noticed a picture of his daughter at her wedding. The daughter’s dress and my wife’s dress from our wedding were nearly identical. We left the house and when we got in the car to discuss the next steps he should take, neither one of us remembered a thing about the house! The photo was so distracting that two professional real estate agents couldn’t remember…imagine what your photos are doing to non-professionals.

Your favorite piece of art. The rocker that has been handed down for generations. Your son’s favorite saddle. Anything that has value to you that you don’t or won’t convey to the buyer of your home should be removed. Many of the homes that sell in our area sell either fully or partially furnished and the second you don’t pack something away, guess what they are going to ask? Exactly, they are going to want that piece of art, the rocker and the saddle. If it is something bolted to the home, it is going to stay. This includes TV mounts, in wall/in ceiling speakers and fireplace mantels. Ask me later about a fireplace mantel that cost another agent their entire commission.

Once you’ve whitewashed your home and removed evidence of your family having ever lived there, the next task is to do a deep clean. This isn’t the casual dusting and vacuuming before your friends come over for a drink, clean. This is the type of clean you do before your mother-in-law comes for a visit. If there are any stains in the carpet or the carpet needs a re-stretch get a professional in. Make sure the oven, sink and counters are cleared of everything other than 1 or 2 items. Sure it is a pain to put away the coffee maker or the toaster every morning, but it is amazing how much bigger your kitchen will look.

Bottomline, a clean and neutral home will not only sell faster, but it will sell for more money and that is what you want.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

#6 We love you, but just stay away One of the worst things you can do is be present for showings or open houses. There are a plethora of reasons why this is a bad idea, but one of the biggest is you love your house and you want to tell them everything about it. Although full disclosure is usually an admirable thing, the more you talk the more opportunity there is to beat you up on price down the road. You may disclose your reason for selling or something that shouldn’t be shared about the home, or new projects that may impact the value of your property.

On top of that, people just don’t feel like they can truly look at your home if you are parading them around the property. They want to look at their pace and spend time looking at areas of your home that interest them. Psychology plays a role in this as well since if the current owner is present, it makes it 10x harder for the buyer to envision the home as their own. When a showing is requested, leave and take your dog or cat for a walk.

#7 Not paying out a full commission There is no “standard” commission in real estate. However, there is an expectation by buyer’s agents to be paid. We recommend a commission offer of at least 3% paid to the agent who brings the buyer to the table. 90% of the homes we see perpetually on the market (or expiring) pay out less than 3%. Sellers often ask what difference it makes, shouldn’t it be “enough” money what we are offering? The short answer is no.

The average real estate agent in the mountains sells between zero and two homes per year. 1.69 is the average if you really want a number. That means if you pay out 2.5% for instance and they split half with their broker, their take-home pay is only 1.25%. The government is going to take some of that and they have to pay for marketing and other expenses. Doesn’t leave much at the end of the day, so they are going to avoid showing your property for one that pays a bit more. It is why we will often suggest a 3.5% payout, especially if you are pushing the market a bit on price.

The other miscue when it comes to commission is penalizing the listing agent if they bring a buyer. In other words, if I as the listing agent find a buyer for the property, often the seller will ask to reduce the commission in that scenario mistakenly thinking one person is getting paid WAY too much! Quite honestly, the person most likely to sell your home is the agent you hired to list it. Why would you want to dis-incentivize that person? If anything, you should bonus them!

PRO TIP: Remember you get what you pay for. In choosing a Realtor® don’t go cheap. A good agent will more than pay for themselves.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

#8 Popcorn, Wallpaper, Avocado and Brass There are times when a little bit of construction can go a long way toward making your home even more appealing. If you were blessed with construction in the 60’s and 70’s and have attractive popcorn ceilings, there are ways to cover them with a skip trowel method that doesn’t disrupt the potential asbestos fibers from being released to the atmosphere. There isn’t the big mess that comes with scraping the ceilings, dealing with hazmat suits and disposal and it will make your home look 30 years younger.

Wallpaper and its brother, vinyl borders, also date your home. Wallpaper is a deeply personal choice and even if you spent hours digging thru those books, the new buyer is going to look at removing them as another thing they have to do to make it their own.

Avocado, Harvest Gold and any other appliance that looks tired and rundown should be donated and a new set installed. This is an inexpensive way to update your kitchen and it is one less thing the buyer is going to add to their to-do board. Nice mid-range appliances can be purchased as a package for a couple thousand dollars and it will make an immediate impact to the price you can fetch and how long your home will be on the market.

Bright brass, polished brass, antique brass or any other variant whether on a faucet, knob or shower surround should probably be swapped out. Although in some magazines they say brass is trending again, I can tell you it is just making your home look old.

Anything Southwest should also hit a box somewhere deep in your storage unit or let it rejoin its siblings at Habitat for Humanity where all the other Southwest style furniture resides. Native American blankets, Kokopelli wall art and anything faded from the sun needs to be boxed and stored.

Basically, if it is frayed, faded, broken, scratched, chipped or beyond its useful life, it is best removed.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

#9 They get stubborn in the end A great offer comes in and the seller picks it apart! What the heck? This is super common and has its roots in psychology. No matter how businesslike a person is and how much they insist the sale of this “property” isn’t emotional, the reaction above is an indicator of an emotional tie. That’s okay, this isn’t our first rodeo. This is just one of many emotional triggers we navigate from the time you decide on an agent to represent you to the moment you hand over the keys.

Yes, you heard right, we anticipate you getting emotional! For most people the sale of a home is one of the biggest transactions they will ever participate in. Your home was a place where you grew up, your kids grew up or enjoyed great times with friends. Why shouldn’t this be emotional? Before these triggers occur, we increase our communication and education with you. Consider them a gentle sanity check.

Your First Offer is Your Best Offer!

I put that one in bold so it would stand out. Often a seller will get offended by the potential buyer’s offer. This is another place where we want to put our head down and shake it back and forth slowly. Someone liked your home enough to begin the negotiating process…be thankful. This is a negotiation so if you don’t like the offer, counter it. In our office we never reject an offer no matter how low. It is just the beginning of a process. Left to their own devices both buyers and sellers would ride an emotional roller coaster in unison with each thinking the other is out to screw them. Our job is part negotiator and part psychologist.

PRO TIP: Ask the listing agent to explain their process and communication schedule when they are asking for your business. If they don’t have one, thank them for their time and look elsewhere.

Another place we see both buyer and seller get stubborn is at the inspection. The seller believes their home, regardless of condition is perfectly fine as they have lived there for X number of years and it was great. The buyer on the other hand starts to question what they have offered on because the inspection report makes it look like the place should have fallen down last week. What happens? If the agent hasn’t addressed the emotional triggers, the buyer is going to ask for every little thing on the report to be fixed or a credit to be offered. The seller is going to get angry, the hackles go up and may refuse to do anything. Wow! All of this could have been avoided with a little coaching and a little education ahead of time.

Moral of the story? Stay loose. Fight the urge as the seller to go down these rabbit holes. Make sure the agent you choose has a process for keeping everyone relaxed including the agent representing the buyer as sometimes they are worse than the buyer.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

#10 They fail to communicate!

At our agency we feel communication is the basis for our success. A lack of communication therefore is where most agents fail. Sometimes it may have a bit to do with the seller as well. In order for you to sell your house quickly and for top dollar, you must become part of the team. A good agent won’t call because they just want to talk, they have something they need to communicate, like an offer.

Scheduled meetings of 15 minutes every other week to discuss the exposure, marketing and pricing of your property are a wonderful idea. This allows the agent to share in the success (or failure) of how their marketing is working and the number of people viewing the property both online and in person. It also creates an opportunity to discuss what is happening in the market and if your home’s position in the market has changed.

Murphy’s Law dictates you will receive an offer as soon as you board a plane, train or cruise ship. Make sure you have cellular data access if you are going to be out of the country. In our big connected world (that seems to get smaller every day) there aren’t many places you can go where you can’t be reached. Make it easy on your agent and notify your cell carrier where you are traveling so they can tell you if they have service in that area/country. Check your email once a day. I know its vacation, but do you want to miss an offer? Lastly, let your Realtor® know the dates of your trip and the best way to communicate with you.

#10.5 They don’t research their agent.

You can hire the company that says they are the biggest or the agent who has 100 years experience, and that is how some people pick. Or they get bamboozled with a fancy book full of homes that aren’t selling. I would challenge you and ask who has more satisfied clients? Fortunately this is one place where Zillow provides a good comparison, but also look to see if the reviews are for their entire office, their team or an individual. There are often entire corporations that call them self a “team” even though they don’t truly work as a team, just so their numbers look better.

Do they have video testimonials? This one is really hard to fake. Real clients telling of their experience with the agent requires effort and fully satisfied client as they are typically camera shy.

What were their numbers in the last 12 months? You don’t want to hire someone with little to no experience. This is also a place where you have to ask a very specific question and that is, “Are these your numbers, your teams or for your office?”

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com

In the end…

You want to look for someone willing to represent you, the seller. You want someone willing to tell you what you need to hear and not be a doormat. You need someone with a plan and a process to actually get your home sold.

The Smits Team provides all this and more. We don’t pull punches because we believe if we do, we aren’t giving you the best service possible. In fact, you might find our business-like approach a bit off-putting at first. You see, we feel your home sale is a business transaction and not a popularity contest. Our offices are small, but efficient and we don’t spend money on high cost locations. This allows us to concentrate our marketing dollars on attracting buyers for your property and maximizing the exposure your home receives on the internet.

Perhaps you have experienced one or two or all 10.5 mistakes in your last home sale.

Your house may not have sold (if you had it on the market) due to one of these very common mistakes. Allow me to apply for the job of getting your home sold.

Resort Real Estate Experts

970-668-2121

www.thesmitsteam.com