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HGTV Get insider secrets to avoid costly blunders on the most important investment of your life.

Special Presentation: Episode H25RE-S08

HGTV has brought together some of the top real estate experts to compile the definitive list of the biggest mistakes we all make when selling our homes.11. Not Providing Easy Access for ShowingsMake 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.

10. Trying to Make the “Hard Sell” While ShowingIf 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.

9. Waiting Until Spring to Sell Your HouseSpring 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.

8. Treating Real Estate Like the Stock MarketWhen 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.

7. Failing to Market Your Home in Different WaysDon’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.

6. Not Thinking About ResaleWhen 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.

5. Picking the Wrong AgentTreat 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.

4. Not Hiring an AgentThere’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? Is it worth the safety risk of allowing complete strangers into your home? 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.

3. Doing Major Renovations/Remodeling Before SellingMinor 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.

2. Setting Too High of a Sale PriceAs a seller it’s 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.

1. Failing to Showcase Your Home and Make Small Cosmetic ChangesWhen 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

For more information or assistance on preparing your home to sell, contact Steve Doane at 214-755-3378 or stevedoane@judgefite.com for a FREE Consultation and Market Evaluation.

3 Responses to “HGTV Biggest Seller Mistakes | Homes For Sale”

1. Allen Taylor Says:
   April 14th, 2008 at 5:34 am

   Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.

   Allen Taylor

2. Victoria Davies Says:
   April 15th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

   Thanks for the information. I didn’t see the show, but had heard it was great information. I really appreciate you posting it for all to read.

3. Sell This House Hgtv Says:
   September 9th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

   Sell This House Hgtv…

   Hi - just wanted to say good design and blog -…

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