Mistaking Motivation Why are you selling? The difference in selling because you want to and because you have to affects every part of your home sale: when you list your home, how you price it, and how you choose to market it. If you and your spouse or partner aren't of the same opinion, it could send mixed messages to agents and any prospective buyers who walk through your doors.

Failing To Prepare Your Home For Sale If you don't properly prepare your home for the market, most buyers will not be able to visualize your home after improvements and with their furnishings and color schemes. What they see is what they get. If buyers can't visualize your home fixed up, they won't be able to see themselves living there. Because of their inability to emotionally transfer into your home, they won't make an offer. Then, your home will sit on the market and become shop worn, which ultimately leads to low ball offers from the small percentage of buyers who have the ability to 'see beyond'. Unless you feel like sitting on the market for a few months and giving away lots of money, clear away the clutter, make necessary repairs, freshen up the landscaping, repaint and replace outdated items.

Choosing The Wrong Agent Don't make the mistake of believing "all agents are alike". And don't choose an agent because he/she is a good friend, because has sent you a Christmas card every year since you moved in, or because you have used him/her in the past. None of that holds water. Certainly, you can invite these agents to be among the three or four agents who prepare a comparative market analysis and marketing proposal for your home. But that's as far as it goes. You want to select the best agent, one who: communicates well with you, listens to and understand your needs, is experienced and knowledgeable of the local market conditions, and has a proven track record. Most importantly, select an agent based on comments from his/her past clients. Insist on getting references and call them! Ask past clients "How happy were you with this agent?" and "Would you hire this agent again?"

Overpricing Your Home The surest way to have your home sit on the market is overpricing it. That's not to say you shouldn't price your home fairly, and even test the waters a bit. But sellers who price their homes far above the recent sales may wait a long time before selling, if they ever do. Before buyers make offers, they have taken time to educate themselves on the market and recent sales. If they believe your home is overpriced, they think that you are either not motivated or not educated on the current market, and that negotiations will be very difficult. That being the case, they will probably make an offer on another house. Overpricing generally causes excessive market time. Excessive market time is a seller's enemy and a buyer's friend! Pricing your home correctly at the start is the best want to make sure you sell at the strongest price obtainable!

Hanging Around During Showings If you were a buyer, how would you feel if a seller followed you around the home and looked over your shoulder as you peek at into his/her closet? Most buyers are not comfortable viewing homes when the seller is present. It is best not to be there when an agent shows your home.

Limiting Access To Your Home If people can't get in to see your home when they want, they will more than likely pass it by and move on to the next house. If they don't see your home, they will never make an offer. You should give your agent nearly free reign to create a timetable of showings that will meet the needs of most buyers. Flexibility is key. While that means you'll have to stay on top of the housekeeping and keep your home "showing ready", you will be giving your home maximum exposure and that sells homes faster.

Letting Your House Become Stale On The Market In a buyer's market, where there are more homes available than buyers to purchase them, it's not unusual to have a home sit on the market for a few months. In a hot sellers' market, most homes sell quickly. If they don't, it may appear "stale" in the eyes of agents and buyers who comb through the Internet, newspapers, and listing sheets each week. To some agents, a stale home means it can be bought at a discount. Buyers may perceive that there is something wrong with your home. Rather than letting your home grow stale on the market, consider taking it off for a period of time, and then re-introduce it to the market at a lower price.

Smelly Pets and Odors Strong odors from pets, smoke, cooking, etc. are a turn-off to many buyers. The saying is: "If you can smell it, you can't sell it." If you're going to put your home on the market, and you have kids, animals or are a smoker, make sure you have your home cleaned from top to bottom. If you're a smoker, stop smoking in the house and have the carpets and curtains professionally cleaned. On the day of a showing, make sure your pets are crated or contained in an area such as the garage, side yard, etc.

Failing to Recognize A Good Offer Every offer is worth responding to, even if the buyer is thousands of dollars below your asking price. The message you send back is in your counter-offer. Even if you come back with a modest price change, you suggest to the buyer that you're willing to entertain a serious offer, but that the current offer won't cut it. By not responding at all, you risk annoying the buyer. Most buyers will not write an offer on a home unless they really like it and want to buy it. Often, a buyer considers their initial offer as a 'start' point. Keep the momentum and their enthusiasm going. Experience indicates that your first offer becomes your best offer.

Going At It Alone If you think you can do a better job selling your home yourself, you should certainly take a whack at it. Keep in mind, however, that professional real estate agents sell the vast majority of homes. A mistake owners make is not stepping back and looking at the home objectively, as an investment that needs to be sold. Most homeowners remain emotionally attached to their homes. If a homeowner is not emotionally detached, the home is still their home, and they are homeowners and not the home sellers. If you must try to sell on your own, give yourself a fixed amount of time in which to sell. After that, hand the job over to a professional.