Making it Difficult to Show Your Home
Many buyers will pick the homes they want to see and schedule a day or two to see them with their Realtor. If your home is one they’ve picked, make sure they can see it! It would be fantastic if all buyers gave you 24 hours notice to show your home but that’s just not the case. In fact, you’ll often get showing requests that are only a few hours before the buyers want to see it!
Keep your home ready for showings. Each night, take 15-20 minutes to straighten up your home. If you’re diligent about this habit, it won’t take long at all each night to have your home in tip-top shape and ready for showings on short notice.
Not Paying Attention to Small Details
Do you have scuff marks on your walls that haven’t been touched up? Are there any stains on your carpet? Do you have a bathroom that could use a thorough cleaning (hint: kid’s bathrooms)? It is so important that you notice the same things your buyers will notice as they walk through and you fix those issues before the buyer has a chance to see them.
Not Paying Attention to Market Conditions
Other homes in your neighborhood are going to be bought and sold while your home is on the market. Did they sell at a big discount? Those sales are important because they could affect your home’s value. A home in your neighborhood that sold low could certainly affect your appraisal so be sure your price is in line with what the market is doing.
Getting Antsy About Selling
We know that our sellers can get antsy as their home is on the market. We will sometimes have customers ask us why their home isn’t selling when it’s only been on the market weeks or a month. Currently, homes in Naples are taking 98 days on average to sell. When your home has only been on the market a month, it likely has another two months before your offer comes in! Don’t panic!
Not Treating all Offers With Respect
Buyers want a bargain—that’s just the way it goes. We’ll see low offers come in from time to time and we’ve seen sellers not want to respond. The fact is, the buyers are certainly offering much lower than they’re willing to spend and hoping you will accept it. We will routinely get “lowball” offers up to fair market value just by countering. We negotiate for a living and this is simply par for the course. Don’t be afraid to counter high on a low offer—you may be surprised at what happens!
Spilling the Beans on Social Media
We all have Google and this is especially true for buyers. Our buyers will often tell us facts about the seller that they learned by doing a search for the seller’s names. If you’re on social media talking about how soon you need to be in your next home, that’s going to affect your offers! Don’t put information out there that we don’t want your buyers to see!
Being Home for Showings or Asking the Realtor to be There
There are few things worse for a showing than the sellers being there. It makes for a very quiet and rushed showing. Buyers need to be able to walk through and discuss the pros and cons amongst themselves as they see them. If you’re in your home, don’t expect to hear a word from the buyers. If you’re worried about your belongings, pack them away. After all, you’re moving! Get a head start on packing.
Allowing Your Realtor® to be Cheap and Lazy
There’s nothing worse than a Realtor® that puts a home on the MLS, sits back, and waits for an offer. You’re paying your Realtor® to sell your home—make her do her job! When my wife and I list a home, we are working every single day to sell it. We have constant, targeted online advertisements running. We are calling or emailing agents that may have a buyer. We’re doing open houses. In other words—we work! Don’t settle for an agent that is lazy. You deserve the best.
What did we Miss?
What have you seen sellers do to impede the sale of their home? Let us know!