You’ve decided that your home is finally ready to show to prospective buyers. The hard part is over, right?
Sorry, but there is still work to be done.
Before anyone steps foot in your house, you want to make sure you are 100% prepared to interact with potential buyers. While you may be eager to turn every person who walks through that door into a sale, you must avoid one major pitfall: coming off as desperate.
Your mind may be set on how to sell your house quickly, but you don’t want to fall victim to this classic mistake. Buyers can tell when a home seller is desperate, and once they know this crucial bit of information, the odds are in their favor. Here are the most common signs of a desperate seller so you can avoid them.
Warning Signs of a Desperate Home Seller
- Multiple price reductions. Be conservative when it comes to reducing the sale price of your home. A listing that shows a home marked down several times within a short span of time indicates that the seller is desperate to unload their home even if it means they are taking a loss or profit. At this point, buyers will feel more comfortable asking for further reductions because they know the seller is willing to go lower. Flexibility is fine, but know your home’s worth.
- The listing says, “As is.” If you are going to list your home as “as is” or as a fixer-upper, make sure there aren’t glaring issues that need to be resolved right away. Selling your home as is might indicate to buyers that you are so eager to leave that you aren’t willing to invest time or money into fixing potential problems.
- The seller is going through a divorce. Sellers going through a divorce may want to sell their home quickly in order to expedite what could be an emotionally distressing process. You should always be honest when selling your own property, but you do not have to reveal deeply personal details.
Visit SOLD.com and get your free, personalized seller report to see if you’re ready for the next part of the process of selling a house.
- The house is empty. You may have found a new home and have already settled in. But you still have an empty home that needs to be sold. For buyers, this is like hitting the jackpot. They know that the seller is currently paying for two homes and wants to unload one of them. Try to avoid completely moving your personal belongings out until you’ve closed the sale for good. Stage your home properly so it still has that “lived in” feel, even if you don’t spend any time there.
The best way to sell your house is to do it in a way where you, as the seller, are in control. Once the buyer senses any desperation, they have taken that control from you. No matter how long it takes, you must remember to be patient. Soon enough, you will find a buyer.
Learn more about selling a house without a realtor and other house selling tips by contacting SOLD.com today.
