Get insider secrets to avoid costly blunders on the most important investment of your life
HGTV has brought together some of the top real estate experts to compile the definitive list of the biggest mistakes we all make when buying and selling our homes.
25. Buying a House for its Decor Remember that you are buying the house, not the stuff inside of it, so make sure you see beyond the decorations and look at the bones of the home. Focus on the floor plan and the square footage. You also might want to measure the dimensions and graph out how that's going to work with your current belongings. Picture your furniture in the house.
24. Not Providing Easy Access for Showings Make your house easily accessible to potential buyers. If there's nowhere to park or it's difficult to get into, buyers may just skip it and look at someone else's property instead. This is very important, properties that require too much notice to show, or have a list of restrictions are likely to get overlooked, agents or buyers don't have the patience for long prodedures.
23. Not Researching the Neighborhood It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check out the school system to be sure that your address corresponds with the correct school district. Also attend a community meeting, if possible. You're not just buying a house, you're buying a piece of that real estate and the land around it. Many times you hear of people buying, living in the home for a very short time, and then deciding they don't like the area, all research is very important.
22. Losing Money With Auctions While the starting bidding price for a house on auction might be a good deal, it doesn't mean the final price will be. Make sure that you are very strict with your budget when you are bidding — do not go over your final price because you got wrapped up in the excitement of a bidding war. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you buy a property at auction, you aren't able to get any of the warrantees or guarantees, and you are not able to do a home inspection. Find out if the auctioneer is going to put those charges on top of the sale price as well as if there are any liens on the property. You could be responsible for paying the property taxes on that house you just bought, which could make what looks like a good deal into a really bad deal. The research thing again.
21. Trying to Make the "Hard Sell" While Showing If you are selling your house, you really shouldn't be around at the open house. You might want to try and sell the place on all the reasons you think the house is great, but that might not translate to the buyer. If you leave, you allow the buyers to really give unbiased objective feedback to the agent, which is only going to help you in the end. Again another important part, that is why most For Sale by owners have a difficult time, most people don't want to hurt other peoples feelings, and while you think the pink carpeting is wonderful, the new owner might not.
20. Waiting Until Spring to Sell Your House Spring is the time of heaviest real estate activity, but that does not mean that people don't buy houses 365 days of the year. That doesn't mean you can't emphasize your home's seasonal amenities. Showcase the important features of your home, the river view, park-like backyard, three seasons sun room, winter wonderland.
19. Treating Real Estate Like the Stock Market When the real estate market is really hot and is appreciating really fast, people tend to look at it like it's the stock market. But playing real estate is nothing like the stock market — when you invest in real estate, you really need to take a long-term approach. Well said
18. Failing to Market Your Home in Different Ways Don't market your home with just a for-sale sign. Explore other marketing tools as well. Talk to your real estate agent about the marketing that they will do. It's something that should be set up from the initial signing of a contract with an agent. Some homes have virtual tours and photographs online. If you choose to go that route, don't forget to include the floor plans. That way, people can see the layout of your home and know that if it it's right for them. Again so important real estate is more than a sign in the ground, it is your listing agents job to attract buyers, and not just through other agents, yes any agent can sell your home, but it is the listings agent job to attract the buyers, I strongly believe we are a secondary and vacation home area, most of the people that own real estate here come from many parts of the world, and your home needs to be marketed world wide, when you list your home, ask yourself and your agent, where are my buyers going to come from, what market place are you going to target.
17. Not Thinking About Resale When you are decorating and renovating your home, you need to think about what is going to appeal to a broad section of buyers when it comes time to sell it. Buying houses and being in the real estate market is like chess, you always want to look two or three steps ahead in the game. The reason for my compaines name BUY AND SELL RIGHT, if you do not buy right you probably won't sell right, if you really weren't fussy on the kitchen because it was too small, and you didn't do anything to change it, chances are when you go to sell, you will hear that comment over and over again from potential buyers, we don't like the kitchen it is too small, and it will take sometime to find that buyer that is willing to overlook the kitchen just like you did, but sometimes you have to kiss alot of frogs before you meet your prince.
16. Buying Without Actually Seeing the Property It's really easy to buy a house without seeing it because of the Internet and virtual tours, but virtual tours can be deceiving. Plus, it's really hard to actually get a sense and feel of a home by only looking at it online. You need to actually walk through the place yourself. If that's just not possible, hire an inspector to go look at the property and provide you with an assessment. Again I agree, always try and view the property yourself, and that goes for all parties concerned, time and time again, people end up selling because one of the partners did not view the house, and they just don't want to live there.
15. Trusting Everything a Real Estate Advertisement Says Don't assume every ad is fact. Learn to decipher real estate lingo. For example, cozy means small, and as-is means it's a fixer-upper. If there are a lot of exclamation points in an ad, it means they are there just to take up room because there is so little to say about the place. Follow the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Well said
14. Picking the Wrong Agent Treat meetings with agents like a job interview because that's really how it works — that person is going to be working for you. Talk to your friends who've sold houses and had a good experience with their agent, and go to open houses and observe how that agent interacts with other people. It's also a good idea to meet with the agent in their office. It allows you to see how organized they are, what kind of environment they work in and whether that's conducive for them being able to do a good job for you. There are many reasons to choose a Realtor. because they are your cousin, or friend, are not sometimes the best reasons, buying or selling a house is one of the most stressful times in your life, right up their with death and divorce, also there is alot of money at risk, yet time and time again, people are not careful with whom they choose to represent them. Do yourself a favor, call and interview at least three Realtors, including the cousin or the friend, look at this as a business decision, and choose wisely with your head, not your heart.
13. Not Hiring an Agent There's a lot more to selling a house than just putting a sign on the front lawn. If you don't have an agent, you will not get on the multiple-listing service (MLS). That means that other agents are not going to know that your property is for sale. Another thing to consider is if you are willing to show the house each time someone wants to come by and look at it? If you do plan to sell your house on your own, always have a lawyer present at a closing. It's really important to have someone on your side who understands all the complexities. Real Estate is more than showing a house, you want an Realtor, because of what happens after they show the house, discussing and overcoming the buyers objections and concerns, all the forms, providng the comparables, answering all their many questions day and night, pointing them in the right direction, lenders, inspectors etc., that is why you are paying a Realtor, not just to open the door and let someone look inside.
12. Buying the Most Expensive Home on the Block The most expensive house will only depreciate in value over time, rather than appreciate, which is what you want. Also, those houses are often not the first house to sell because they are usually overbuilt to the neighborhood. It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy to find out what the price point should be. Again all research is a good thing.
11. Not Setting a Realistic Budget Just because the bank pre-qualifies you for a loan amount of $400,000 doesn't mean you can afford to make that payment every month. Before hitting the streets for a house hunt, you should sit down and make a monthly budget of what you spend every month. Come up with a number that you are comfortable spending on your mortgage payment, aside from those other expenditures. An easy way to do this is to take a third of your gross income and have that figure be the number you spend on the house. It is also a good idea to have six to nine months of mortgage payments in the bank, plus a little extra if you have any repairs that you might need to do. Makes good sense.
10. Visiting the House Only Once It's important to visit a house more than once because the neighborhood itself may be very different, depending on the day of the week and the time of day. It's also a good idea to go home and think about it, even sleep on it, before you go back again. View the house at different times of the day, what is the morning traffic like, what does it look like at night, again make your decsion using your head, not your heart.
9. Not Being Pro-Active at Closing The best thing to do when going into a closing is to get all the paperwork ahead of time. All that information should come from a mortgage broker or banker. They have what they call a HUD (Housing and Urban Development) One form that lists out all the charges, and you can legally get it in your hands 24 hours before closing. Schedule the closing for in the morning, so you have a fresh mind and plenty of time to go over everything and ask questions. The final walk-through is another imperative part of the process. You may want to have a home inspector accompany you. Again your Realtor should help you every step of the way, right up until you have the keys in hand and even after that.
8. Doing Major Renovations/Remodeling Before Selling Minor upgrades usually have a higher return on your money than tackling major renovations before placing a home on the market. The main reason? Huge construction projects always cost more than you think they will, and they also take longer than you expect. The best place to spend money is outside. Research shows that increasing the curb appeal often returns the most value on your money. It's what gets buyers inside the house, after all. Another good question for your Realtor, they should be able to tell you what return to expect on dollars spent.
7. Skipping the Loan Pre-Approval Step When you are pre-approved, the bank is saying, "we will give you a mortgage of up to this amount, so now all you have to do is find your home." Some sellers only allow realtors to show their house if someone has a pre-approved letter. That indicates that the shopper really is serious about buying a home. Do not skip the pre approval.
6. Falling in Love With the First Property You See Many homebuyers, particularly first time homebuyers, fall into the trap of falling in love with the very first house that they see. You need to at least look at three more houses in the area to get an idea of what the comparables are in that price range. You want your realtor now to show you homes comparable to what you saw. At the end of the day, re-evaluate. There is that number three again, just like you should look at three houses, you should interview three Realtors.
5. Buying a Home Without a Professional Inspection There are a lot of things a home inspection can reveal about a property that are not visible to the naked eye. Be sure to hire someone that comes with a good referral basis, that's been in the business a while and knows what to look for. Look up the American Society of Home Inspectors and get a list of qualified home inspectors in your area. Once you find an inspector, insist that they compile a written report, complete with photos. Photographs are important because there are areas a home inspector will go that you might not look at. Again, always hire a professional home inspector, no exceptions.
4. Overlooking the Extra and Hidden Costs Buying a home is not just about the money that you spend up front; it's about all the rest of the money you have to spend beyond that. Find out what the property taxes are, what your water bill might be and what a standard electric bill is in that home, especially if you have electric heat vs. gas heat. You also need to factor in furnishings you may need to purchase before you can move in. Your realtor should help you with this.
3. Buying What You Want, Not What You Need Look at the space that you are already living in. It will help you to realize what you have been missing and what you need in your next home. Make a list those of needs and then ask your agent to start shopping these needs. On average, Americans live in a house for about nine years. Remember, you can always trade up a few times before you find the ultimate home. Again use your head, not your heart.
2. Setting Too High of a Sale Price As a seller its really important to do your research, and in order to come up with your sale price, look up what comparable homes in your neighborhood have sold for. Figure out what the going price is and try to put yours right in the middle of that, unless you have something extra special to offer. It is always better to price a home sharply than to start too high and have to reduce. Once you reduce, it always looks like something is wrong with the home. You can not stress this enough, I know, the neighbor said you should get this, people have approached and said, if you ever sell call me and I will buy it. You have put x amount of dollars into it, and you are not going to give it away. But in reality a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept, not a penny more or less. And usually when it comes right down to it , all the people that gave you all that great advice, don't show up with check in hand, talk is cheap. so when you overprice your home, all the buyers that receive the listing on automatic email, that their agents have set up to advise them of what is new on the market, and don't look because they feel that it is priced too high, don't receive notice of the price reduction, unless the agent manually resends the listing. and you have lost the most important time when a house comes on the market, the first couple of weeks.
1. Failing to Showcase Your Home and Make Small Cosmetic Changes When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house and maybe hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture. Staging is about decorating your house for the buyers' taste, not yours. A great place to start is with the front of the home and the main entryway. Home staging is designed to increase the potential selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market. Yes, Yes, Yes.
I hope you have enjoyed the 25 tips, as presented by HGTV, and Buy and Sell Right, the comments in italics are those of Buy and Sell Right and are only an opionion. We would be happy to help you BUY and SELL RIGHT we are always just a phone call or email away. No pressure just great customer service......... with a smile.........until next time....Judy Pinchin