Columbia SC home sellers are all looking for an edge on the market. After all, it is summertime and the prime selling season, right?
It may be time to do a reality check about the state of your Columbia SC home and make necessary changes to get it sold.
Columbia SC Home Sellers Need To Be Critical
Now that summer is here, make sure you’ve washed all the windows. Remove any heavy drapes that may be obscuring a good view and replace them with something lighter.
Be sure to spruce up the landscaping. Add some flowering ornamentals, trim the shrubbery.
Consider having someone who doesn’t live in your home come in and give you a brutally honest opinion, as if they were a prospective home buyer.
You could have something simple turning off would-be home buyers, like an odor. When you live in a home, sometimes you don’t smell an odor you’ve gotten used to, but an outsider (like a prospective home buyer) may smell it right off the bat. It could be something as simple as the odor coming from your vacuum cleaner bag, or the trash can in the kitchen.
Columbia SC Home Sellers May Need Stagers
Home stagers are usually brought in before a home is ever listed for sale, but they may also be able to help with a home that isn’t getting much interest. There are different levels of home staging services available, from simple verbal consultation and suggestions, to complete staging services where rooms are rearranged.
If a home stager makes significant changes, ask your listing agent to take new pictures of your home, since the bulk of home buyers start their search on the Internet these days.
Columbia SC home sellers need to keep one important thing in mind. Even though the market is recovering, the recovery is not going to return home prices to where they were during the boom years for quite some time. If nothing else works and you’re desperate to sell, you may need to lower the price.
Price recovery is not going to be V-shaped. It’s going to be more of a straight line, and Columbia SC home sellers need to keep this in mind when pricing their home to sell quickly.
Selling a Columbia SC home is hard enough in today’s market without you making killer mistakes right up front.
Unfortunately, many sellers continue making the same mistakes that end up costing them money on the sale of their home, or even costing them the entire sale.
Frequent Mistakes When Selling a Columbia SC Home:
Not prepping the home for sale – Buyers want to see a house as flawless as possible, so sellers need to take care of every repair, declutter their home and add some curb appeal.
Buyers want to know their stuff will fit in the home without cramming, so moving everything to the garage or stuffing it into a closet won’t cut it.
Sellers need to keep their home “near-perfect” with landscaping trimmed, dishes done and beds made every day.
It takes about a minute for potential buyers to form an opinion about a house. Everything after that becomes positive or negative reinforcement of that early opinion.
Overpricing your Columbia SC home – a seller should price the home according to its condition and the local market, realizing it must appraise for at least the sales price. Home improvements don’t always return the dollars spent, so sellers need to be realistic and understand that the value of their property is based on the local market.
Permitting non-qualified buyers to see your home – These days, with tightened credit, a pre-approval should always be a prerequisite for a home showing to make sure buyers are shopping in the right price range. Many sellers make the mistake of showing their home to anyone who wants to look.
Dishonesty about flaws in the home – Disclosure laws vary, but sellers blow their deals when they don’t tell anyone about something they know is wrong with their house.
Limiting house showings – Never turn a prospective buyer with an agent away or let them know you are unhappy. This will only influence how the buyers think of your home. Sellers need to realize that even if it’s not convenient, buyers must be allowed to see the home on evenings and weekends. Sellers should always leave the home during a showing so buyers will be comfortable opening closets and looking in cabinets.
Taking an offer personally – Sellers should look at a sale strictly as a business transaction and not take low offers personally. Sellers often assume the highest price is the one they should accept, or they may become insulted and walk away from a low offer. Sellers need to be realistic about the current market in their area and look at the whole package, not just price. You don’t want a buyer who may ultimately be unable to close the deal.
Arguing over minor inspection requests – Some sellers get angry over requests made after an inspection. Sellers need to understand that their home isn’t perfect. They can negotiate, but they need to have supporting evidence if they choose to reject responsibility.
Not fixing items as required by the contract could delay or derail a closing and could end up costing a seller far more than the repair bill because of extra days of paying interest or having to put their home on the market again.
Not being ready for an appraisal – Once you have an accepted offer, you may be tempted to relax your housekeeping standards a bit. That could cost you. When the appraiser arrives, you need to make sure your home reflects the same condition as the day it went under contract.
Appraisals lower than the sales price cause friction between buyers and sellers and can cause new negotiations to start. Take care of your property and stay calm in the face of chaos. These are the best ways a seller can avoid a derailed sale.
Columbia SC home buyers are looking for certain things in a home these days. If you’re selling a Columbia SC home, don’t make these mistakes when sprucing up to get your home ready to put on the market…
There are a lot more mistakes to avoid when getting your Columbia SC home ready to sell and we can help you avoid them. Contact us for more information and a free, no-obligation consultation about the current Columbia SC real estate market.
Selling a Columbia SC home? Sellers need to be aware, with real estate prices continuing to tread along the bottom, it’s a tough time to sell.
It’s even more important not to make some of these dumb mistakes when trying to sell your Columbia SC home
These are just a few of the mistakes you could make when selling a Columbia SC home. If you’d like more home selling tips, we have those for you at this site under the “Home Selling Tips” category.
As always, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or post them using our comment form.
Whether you’re trying to sell your Columbia SC home because you’re moving or if you’re just trying to flip a property for profit, you need to know about how the real estate market works and what you can do to sell your Columbia SC home easily.
Paint Your Columbia SC Home
Paint your house in neutral colors; this will allow potential buyers to more easily picture themselves living in it. Light candles or bake cookies, so potential home buyers are greeted with an aroma they can relate to. An atmosphere they feel welcome in may determine whether they choose to buy your Columbia SC home.
Get a Mechanical Checkup
Have someone check your air conditioner and heating before listing your house. Buyers generally don’t want a home that needs large investments, like a new furnace, so if the AC and heating are fine, it can appeal to more buyers.
Get a Columbia SC Real Estate Agent
You may not always want to listen to what they say, using the services of a trained real estate agent will save you money in the long run. They do know what they’re talking about. You may not like some of the things your real estate agent tells you, following his or her advice will help you sell your Columbia SC home faster and for more money.
While you may think that selling your home yourself will save you a commission, statistics show that using the services of a real estate professional will get your Columbia SC home sold quicker and with much less hassle than selling it yourself.
Check Your Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is a major factor in whether or not buyers will stop to look at your home. Your house and yard will look better maintained if you mow the lawn and trim the shrubbery. Keep in mind that the first impression is a lasting one, so present the exterior of your house in its best light.
A home that looks inviting is far more appealing to buyers than one that looks neglected. It will definitely impact how many people coming to view your home.
Get Rid of Pets
If you have a pet, your home will have an odor to potential buyers who enter. You get used to your home’s scent from your pet and may not think this is an issue, but be aware that others can sniff out your pet’s smell as soon as they walk in the door. Take measures to eliminate the odors, so buyers won’t be put off.
At the same time, don’t overwhelm potential buyers with air fresheners, candles or other fragrances. You may offend the buyer, set off their allergies and even drive them to leave your home without seeing it in full! Why compromise a sale by making the potential buyer feel like they have to rush through the viewing? Put potpourri inside of a bowl if you want a nice-smelling home.
There is a lot to consider when selling a Columbia SC home, but the time you spend learning what is important and sprucing up before your home goes on the market will certainly pay off!
Find more tips for helping you sell your Columbia SC home here.