While buying a home can be an emotional experience, selling a home can be just as fraught. The circumstances of why you are selling your home play into the emotions, too. Sometimes major life changes can dictate the sale. Those changes can often be good things, but sometimes negative changes mean you need to part with a home that you love. No matter what’s causing you to put a “for sale” sign up in the yard, though, the end goal for the seller should be to get the most money out of their initial investment as possible. That’s how working with a professional to sell a house in Germantown can help; a professional can help you overcome your emotions and get the best price from a qualified buyer.

If you are getting ready to sell your home, there are a number of mistakes you need to avoid! Here are some of the biggest and worst mistakes that we’ve seen happen over the years. We’ll also give you some advice on how to avoid making them yourself.

The Worst Mistakes Home Sellers Can Make

Setting the wrong price.

Your personal feelings about your home can cloud your judgment about what its worth. You want to get top dollar, but you might think that your granite countertops and big back deck are worth a lot more than they really are. Sellers are just as likely to undervalue their home, too. The issues that you know exist in your home are something that a new buyer will have to address, but that doesn’t mean you should deeply discount the selling price of your home. Setting the price too low means you are missing out on valuable money from your investment. Setting the selling price too high means you run the risk of leaving your house on the market for months.

What to do instead: Let a professional set the price. Doing a home valuation and comparing the costs of other, similar homes in the area can help you determine a reasonable asking price. An unbiased, professional third party is the best person to set the price because their emotions won’t cloud their decision.

Not doing repair work.

One of the worst parts of selling a house is all the work you have to do before you put it on the market. Minor repair work that you’ve been putting off for years is now a priority. A lot of sellers feel like they put so much work into their home before they list it that it’s nicer now than it ever had been. Because of the time and effort involved, a lot of homeowners choose not to do the repairs. The problem with this is the fact that neglecting repairs lowers the resale value and means you aren’t going to get as much out of the sale.

What to do instead: Most repairs that need to be done to a home before it’s listed take minimal time and money. Doing them can net you a huge return on your investment. If you absolutely don’t have the time, hire someone to do the work for you. Chances are it will pay off in the long run.

Failing to stage the home.

Staging a home means getting it ready for potential buyers to view. When you live in a place, especially if you’ve been there for years, you personalize it and make it your own. That’s a great thing; until it comes to selling. That personalization that you love so much can actually turn off potential buyers and make them less likely to purchase the property. It can drive down your selling price and leave you with less money from the sale of the property.

What to do instead: We’ve put together 30 tips for staging your home, and that’s a great place to start. You might want to bring in a professional to help you stage your home, but you’ll pay for their services (which may be worth the investment). Otherwise, be prepared to make some big changes to the space after you get feedback from your first open house. The key is not to take it personally; you are trying to sell a home, not sell someone on your personal decorating style.

Not marketing the home correctly.

Getting the most money out of the sale of your home means making sure the right people see it. A lot of homeowners assume that word of mouth and a sign in the front yard will be enough to sell their home in a hot market. That’s not always true. If you aren’t listing your home on the MLS and don’t have the right printed materials, there is a good chance that the only people who know your home is for sale are you and your neighbors. That’s unlikely to help you find a qualified buyer willing to pay you top dollar for your property.

What to do instead: At the very least, you need to make sure that your property is listed on the MLS. These are the local real estate listings and are used by real estate brokers and other home-finding services. Next, a sign in the yard isn’t enough. Directional signage helps guide potential buyers through your neighborhood to your property. And finally, printed materials are needed to give potential buyers something to take with them. It helps eliminate the risk of them forgetting about your home at the end of a long day of viewings.

Paying too much to sell the home.

Sellers are the ones who are going to end up with the bulk of the fees from the sale transaction. In most cases, the seller will pay up to 6% of the sale price in real estate agent fees. While 6% doesn’t seem like a lot at first glance, on a $300,000 home, that’s $18,000 that you are taking out of your pocket. The money adds up quickly, and it means you’ll be walking away from your hard-earned investment with less.

What to do instead: It’s okay to shop around! Don’t assume that you have to pay 6% in fees just to sell your home. One option is to look for a flat-fee real estate broker who can help you sell your home for a flat rate, so you know exactly what you’ll need to pay. In some circumstances, you may still need to pay a few percentage points to the agent who finds the buyer. However, this can still save you thousands of dollars as compared to the traditional method. It’s worth looking around at your options.

We Can Help You Avoid Mistakes When Selling Your Home

Whether you are sad to sell your home or can’t wait to walk out the door for the final time, you need to work with a real estate broker who you can trust. When it’s time to sell your house in Germantown, it’s time to call on Exsell Real Estate Experts. Our team can help you take the emotion out of the home selling process and get the best possible price from the sale. We’ll also make sure that you keep more of your investment with a flat-rate fee that means you could save thousands of dollars as compared to traditional estate agents. Want to learn more about how we can help you sell your home fast? Get in touch with us today by giving us a call or contacting us through our website now.