It’s not hard to make home selling mistakes. After all, selling a home isn’t something you do every day. So, learn from others’ mistakes. Take a look at three of the biggies we see in our real estate practice.
1. Don’t disregard the value of curb appeal
There aren’t a lot of studies on just how much or how little value “curb appeal” adds to a home. The most widely-read is a decade old, published by professor Alex X. Niemiera with the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech.
What his study found is that landscaping can boost the value of home in various ways. The sophistication of the design gives the most bang for the homeowner’s buck–up to 42 percent in additional value.
Larger plants add up to 36 percent to the value and a diversity of “plant material type” is worth 22 percent.
Another study during that time period found that large plants were the hot button with homebuyers, rather than sophisticated landscaping.
The fact is, curb appeal does add perceived value to the home. Not only that, it is the sole determining factor to getting people out of their cars and into the home.
So, in that way, it may determine how quickly the home sells as well. If your landscaping can use a makeover, go online for inspiration. HGTV.com offers amazing before and after photos and we can always rely on Pinterest for inspirational photos. Go to pinterest.com and enter “curb appeal” in the search box.
2. Don’t make expensive improvements for the wrong reason
Naturally you’ll want to make the repairs necessary to get top dollar for your home. The mistake we frequently see, however, is homeowners who feel they need to make expensive cosmetic upgrades to justify a higher selling price.
“A good rule of thumb for improvements is if it costs you $2,500 to update your bathroom, you should see a market gain of $10,000 to justify the improvement,” claims Michelle LeBow at FamilyHandyman.com.
You simply will not see that large of a market gain from an updated bathroom. Let the new owners do the updates and price the home accordingly.
3. Don’t hire the first real estate agent you speak with
According to National Association of REALTORS studies, most real estate consumers employ the services of the first real estate agent they speak with. Americans apparently spend more time researching their Amazon.com purchases or on Yelp.com deciding where to have dinner on date night.
It’s amazing when one considers that a home is many people’s largest financial asset.
Not all real estate agents are alike. Just as some hair stylists, attorneys and plumbers are more experienced, more skilled and offer better services, so do real estate agents.
It’s important that you interview at least three agents before hiring one to help you sell your home.
