Selling home
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Selling faux pas’: What not to do when selling your home

It’s probably going to be the most expensive thing you ever sell and for that reason alone, you need to keep mistakes to an absolute minimum. This isn’t about forgetting to add the eBay fees onto a transaction; any mistake when selling your home can set you back tens of thousands of dollars, or even more, in some cases.

You will always look back and see things that you “might have done differently”. Today is about outlining some of the big moments that you must get right, to avoid any expensive regrets.

Mistake #1 – You get too emotional with your home

Like it or not, this is a financial transaction. As we have already covered, it’s a major one at that. Ultimately, you need to extract as much emotion from the process as possible.

What does this mean? Here are a couple of the key points:

  • You might have to depersonalize your space. Takedown photos, or any decorations that might breach the famous neutral guidelines. Instead, turn to classic house staging options. Avas Flowers is a brand that specializes in this, and the products showcased on this Avas Flowers page should highlight the point in question. You need to make your home feel lived in, but play on the scents and vibrant visual appeal like Avas Flowers products can bring. Flowers aren’t the only way you can do this, but in terms of an example, it should highlight the type of decoration you should be targeting.
  • You might have to ‘redo’ your renovations. Remember that bedroom wall you knocked down to create a giant open-plan, upstairs living space? It was great for your needs, but not for everybody else’s. Again, this is an extreme example, but try and look at your home objectively. Try and imagine other people living in your property, and what they need if they are going to make the most of it.

Mistake #2 – You don’t take the listing photographs seriously

Arguably an even bigger mistake arrives with the listing photographs. Once upon a time, you may have gotten away with below-average shots. After all, they were merely printed in the newspaper, which was never going to paint your home in its best glory anyway.

Now, with the rise of the internet, there are no such excuses. Your listing photographs are key to getting people in through the door. You might have the best property in the area, but if your photos are taking with a phone, you’re on hiding to nothing.

Even if you have opted to not use a real estate agent (as many people are starting to do), at least consider a professional real estate photographer. This will unquestionably be money well-spent.

Mistake #3 – You don’t set the right price

This final mistake sounds so simple, right? Unfortunately, so many of us get it wrong.

It can also go wrong in multiple ways. Some people set a price too low and immediately find that they have lost tens of thousands.

Alternatively, someplace it too high. Not only does this mean that they don’t get many people looking at the property, but it also means that a sense of desperation starts to emerge as time ticks by. Buyers in the market see the price tumbling every month, and this immediately shows red flags (or suggests that you’re keen to sell and will eventually accept a knock-down price).

The internet means that you should be able to set your own price reasonably accurately. If you are using professionals, try and get several quotes. Some agents are renowned for setting prices on the high end of the spectrum, and vice-versa.

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