If you are thinking of selling your home, even in this hot market where supply is just not meeting the demand, there are ways that you can still sell your home for a lot less than what it is worth.
Why would you want to do that? Maybe you are in the Christmas Spirit year round and you like giving things away. Or maybe you have just run out of space in your bank account to put more of your hard earned money in.
Whatever the case, here are sure ways to sell your home for a lot less than what it is worth.
Don’t put your home on MLS
The Multiple Listing Service, known as MLS, is one of the most powerful and known tools for marketing your home. It is a database where almost all REALTORS® put their home up for sale, and where they and most buyers look for homes that are on the market. Not putting your home on MLS is one of the biggest reasons why homes sell for a lot less then what they are worth because they are not getting the exposure and attraction from other agents and qualified buyers that is needed.
Time and time again I see sales that close and are reported to MLS as a comparable, but not on MLS to showcase the home and get more activity which leads to more interest and more offers. In fact, just this past week I was asked by a homeowner to give them an estimate of value on their home and one of the most recent homes that I saw which compared to their home was a property that was on the market for 0 days, which means they probably sold it before they put it on MLS, and it sold for about $80,000 less than what it was worth in the open market in my opinion, and maybe more. One can’t rush to judgment however, and I certainly am not without knowing all the facts. There are logical reasons sometimes like a family sale that is made so there is no need to market the home because it’s a personal sale. There are also property conditions that could exist which would cause a home to sell for less than normal. But in general, I still think it is always wise to put your home on MLS. You owe it to yourself to see what the market will pay, unless it’s a family or personal sale where price and maximum profit does not matter to you.
Some people say that having the home on MLS is an inconvenience because buyers come to see the home at all times of the day and night. But it does not have to be that way. If you are sensitive as to days and times of showings, set some guidelines which most agents and buyers will follow and only show the home at those times. A few days of inconvenience is worth $80,000 or more in my opinion. Unless of course, as I stated, money or maximum profit is not an issue for you.
Don’t market it and give it exposure
It does not matter how wonderful your home is and how well it is priced, if nobody knows about it. Make sure that your agent has a detailed and written Action Plan that will outline a step-by-step plan as to what they will do for you to market and sell your home. Maximum exposure equals maximum dollars in any market.
Consider downloading and reading my free Home Seller MegaPack that outlines and details every single thing an agent should do for you to sell your home. It also comes with many reports on how to prepare your home to sell and what to look for in offers. Get it free by clicking here.
Don’t pick things up and don’t make your home look nice
You never get a second chance for a first impression. This goes for showcasing your home, your car or anything else that you want to sell.
When you go to car dealerships, all cars are washed, vacuumed and shown in their best possible condition. Why? Because we like nice things, especially if we are paying big dollars for it. Homes are no different.
Consider picking things up and be as clutter-free as possible. Consider reading and learning more about how to get your home ready to sell because presentation is so important when it comes to selling your home. There is a section in my Home Seller MegaPack that goes over tips and steps to getting your home ready to sell.
Don’t make it easy to show your home
Even though you say you want to sell your home, you need to let people show it so that it can sell. Most home buyers want to see a home before they decide to write an offer on it and making your home hard to show and making people jump through hoops just to see it, could and more than likely will hurt your chances of selling your home.
Listing with an out of area agent who does not understand your market
Many people know someone who is in real estate and choose to list with them even though they are way out of the area and don’t understand the market in which the property is located. An agent who lists a home far away from their target area is probably not as familiar with the local market, and it could hurt your chances of selling your home because it may be over-priced or underpriced. Make sure that the agent that you choose knows and understands the area that you want to sell your home in. They do not need to have an office in that particular town, but they must know and understand the local market.
Selling it the first day it hits the market
If you put your home on the market and you have an offer the first day or two, what do you think would happen if you waited about a week to make sure that everyone had a chance to see the home? If it is that hot of a market, make sure everyone gets a chance to see it so that you have more people interested in buying it. The more buyers and the more offers, the better your chances are of selling it for more money.
Over pricing your home
It never fails, a seller says, “Let’s price it high and people can always negotiate and we can come down, but we can’t come up if we list too low.”
Wrong strategy. Over-pricing your home will end up costing you more money because it will sit on the market longer, and the longer that it sits, the less it will sell for. When buyers see that your home has been on the market longer, they start questioning why it has not sold and agents actually advise buyers to write a lower offer on a home that has been sitting on the market because the sellers are probably desperate. Whether there is nothing wrong with your home and whether you are desperate or not, that is what buyers will think and it will hurt you.
Another thing people do not think about is the fact that if your home is priced too high, in a range where bigger or newer homes are selling for, your home will be the last home that sells in that price bracket, if it sells.
Price it right from the beginning and you will come to see that yes, less is more.
The above are some of the main contributors to underselling a home that I have seen as a full time REALTOR® for 28 years. Any one, or worse yet all of the above will leave you scratching your head and walking with a lighter wallet.
Before you do anything, read my updated Home Seller MagePack which has reports and strategies such as:
- The 31 Don’ts of home selling
- You can help sell your home – Checklist of to-do’s
- How to sell your home at the highest possible price
- The 5 other clauses all home sellers should know about
- The 25 step guaranteed action plan, what every agent should do to sell your home
Get the FREE MegaPack by clicking here. This link will download it as a PDF.
Robert Aldana
REALTOR® since 1986
BRE # 00921165
American Dream Realty in SV
5522 Scotts Valley Drive
Scotts Valley, CA. 95066
831-252-3959 Direct Line
[email protected]
www.RobertAldana.com
Robert Aldana is a 29+ year licensed real estate veteran with American Dream Realty in Scotts Valley, and also a long-term resident and homeowner here in town. He is the founder of MyScottsValley.com and the popular local news and events page at Facebook.com/MyScottsValley.
He was voted as the “Rave” winner in the category of “Favorite Real Estate Agent” in the Scotts Valley Press Banner’s contest for 2014, and also awarded the Scotts Valley Man of the Year in 2014 for his contributions to the community.
Robert was also a nationally syndicated real estate journalist and was a highly sought after interviewee on the topic of real estate by local, national and even international media, in addition to appearing on HGTV and local NBC’s “Best of the Bay”. Many of his articles and interviews can still be read at RobertAldana.com, DeadlineNews.com, RealtyTimes.com, Forbes.com, among many other real estate and finance news sites and publications.
*Click here to read Testimonials from local families who have worked with Robert