We’ve seen it all when it comes to selling a home. Sometimes, an investor or a home seller just makes it harder for us to move a property. If you want to sell, PLEASE avoid these total real estate FAILS:

10. NOT DISCLOSING FAULTS
You should have a complete, detailed disclosure of everything you know about your house. Include everything that materially affects the house (history of tenants and what happened in the house is immaterial.) The disclosure should reveal defects and history of the structure, land, systems, and all things related to the actual real estate. Don’t leave anything out! You’ll look deceptive and become untrustworthy if a buyer discovers you were hiding something. Don’t forget: most lenders require a home inspection. So whatever you think you need to hide will probably be discovered.

9. FAILING TO NEGOTIATE
We don’t understand a stubborn home seller. If you want to sell, you’ll negotiate a good deal. Sellers who don’t talk to buyers, are rude, or don’t return phone calls jeopardize the entire deal. This is no market to be demanding, rude and uncooperative. Work with all involved parties to get to a good deal. Buyers in this market have no problem walking away from a property to find another.

8. SMELLY HOMES
PLEASE make your house smell nice. You may REALLY enjoy garlic-fried anchovies. But when your prospective buyers walk in the door and gets hit with major stink, they’re already prone to leave. Get a nice, not-overpowering air freshener and make your home smell nice. Use the same scent in your kitchen and bathrooms.

7. EXPENSIVE UPGRADES THE BUYER CAN’T SEE
We can’t sell 2×6 studs. We can’t sell extra-reinforced floor joists. If you rehab a house, don’t bother with the extra cost you put into these hidden items. These things appeal to carpenters and structural engineers. The majority of home-sales are decided by the gal–the wife and mother. She’s looking at where the furniture goes, not the thickness of the wall studs.

6. CHEAP UPGRADES THE BUYER **CAN** SEE
What’s up with sellers installing the cheap crayola-colored ceiling fan from 1976 they found at Goodwill?! That’s NOT an upgrade! That’s just plain hideous! In the visible upgrades, put in nice, attractive items. Get the contemporary styled ceiling fan, the good shades and drapes, the window trim made out of WOOD rather than foam.

5. SKIPPING THE DETAILS
You want an inexpensive way to improve your home’s appeal? Update the kitchen cabinet handles. Replace your outlet covers and switch-plates with new, NEUTRAL colored covers. Make them all nice throughout the house. And while you’re at it, replace those screens your cat clawed to death! Oh, and pull the weeds in the cracks of your driveway, too….

4. CLUTTERED WALLS, COUNTERS, FLOORS, ETC…
Take down that series of great-grandma’s prize chihuahua pics. Put away all those bills and coupons on the kitchen counter. Throw away those newspapers from 1992. Clean out the clutter. The more junk you have laying around, the smaller and more confusing your house gets. Pack it up, store it away. And for goodness sake, fill in the holes you left in the wall when you pulled down all those 1980′s brat-pack posters!

3. EXPECTING AN OPEN HOUSE TO SELL YOUR HOME
Look, when you see someone sell their house at the first open-house on tv, don’t buy into it. According to National Association of Realtor Statistics, less than 10% of home sales are the result of open houses. The truth is, your agent is either (1) doing an open house to humor you and/or (2) trying to get potential buyer clients who will probably buy something else. Open houses bring the neighbors, who are looking to see how much their own home is worth. It’s not worth it. Stay home on Sunday and relax. Get a good agent who knows how to market and pre-qualify potential buyers. Throwing your house open to anybody and everybody is a waste of time and a security risk.

2. FAILING TO FOLLOW CODE
Seriously, guys, that bicycle inner-tube you wrapped around the crack in the drain stack and then painted white…that’s a major FAIL! Have a professional do your repairs. Your buyer is going to have an inspection done. If you have stupid repairs in your house, the inspector is going to find them. Then the buyer is going to request THOUSANDS in price-reductions because of the repairs they have to fix, or else they’re going to walk away. At that point, your house has been aging on the market and you’re looking at a substantial loss. Fix it right the first time. You’ll save money in the long run.

1. OVERPRICING YOUR HOME
DON’T test the market. EVER!!! Regardless of the economy and market trends, don’t EVER EVER EVER overprice your home. Find out what it’s really worth and price it right from the get-go. There is nothing worse than your property sitting on the market longer and longer and longer. It makes people think that something is wrong with your house. Get a good broker (LIKE ME!) and ask him/her to provide you with a current Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). He or she should do this for free for you. That CMA should tell you what your house is worth and also give you an idea of the broker’s character and whether or not you can work with ‘em.

Alright, you got all that? Great so it’s time to sell.  See that little “contact” button over there on the left?  Click it, fill it out, and one of our professionals will be in touch with you ASAP.  Let’s sell that house already!

The PropSource Team

PS: Want to see a great renovation by one of our investors?  check out 7416 Wise