Top 10 Seller Sins
1. Priceaphobia: The fear that a property will sell for less than a premium price. Price and greed combine to form a drug like addiction to unrealistic expectations. Researchers are split in attributing this to heredity or stupidity.
2. Shagitis: A burning sensation due to the realization that a home is not a castle when placed for sale. Shag carpet is not coming back. Get over it and have it replaced. Halloween is one day a year. Orange counters are ugly every day of the year. Hire a home stager.
3. Pet Addiction: The feeling that everybody loves your pet as much as you do. Symptoms include scripts such as, "His bark is worse than his bite". Or, "The cat must like you to nestle in your lap". Or, "Don't put your finger in the cage".
4. Photorea: A need to keep dozens of old photos hung to distract a buyer's attention from the real property. A variation of this virus includes 'childhood incrementalism'. Monthly photos of the first born that are in chronological order as a buyer ascends the stairs.
5. Pack Rat Plague: Doll collections, old Coca Cola bottles, Civil War rifles, WWII bayonets, mounted swordfish, big game taxidermy, high school trophies, college dioplomas,10k race medals, Toastmaster ribbons, bronze baby booties, salt & pepper shakers, and Grand Canyon placemats. Prepack these items.
6. Additionism: What was the seller thinking when they enclosed the garage? Probably not the same thing a prospective buyer is estimating. Cold winter cars, hot summer sun, faded auto paint, and remodeling funds. Bigger is not always better.
7. Fried Fish Fetish: If you can smell it, you can't sell it! What do cigar smoke, kitty litter boxes, piles of backyard pet poop, and baby diapers have in common? Shorter visits and fewer breaths by agents and buyers.
8. 'As-Is' ism: If a stubborn seller says, "The buyer can take it or leave it as-is"; they usually won't. Buyers 'horribilize' defects. A broken doorbell symbolizes electrical problems. A cracked window means a faulty foundation. Water stains come before roofing problems and future floods.
9. Color Blindness: Webster's dictionary defines a real estate tour as, "Agents caravaning from house to house making fun of decorating disasters". Most color schemes are ephemeral. Navajo white, white washed cabinets, and flocked wallpaper are out. Less is usually more.
10. Audio Selectivism: The ability of a seller to hear only what they want."The buyer must be confused". "The appraiser was in a bad mood". "My neighbor said I wasn't asking enough". There is a difference between hearing and listening
This is also a great article below, and totally true:
The Secret of Selling Houses
By: Paul Pastore
Albert E.N. Grey once said in The Common Denominator Of Success that, "The secret of success of every man who has been successful lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do". The same quote applies to home sellers.
Unsuccessful sellers (called expired listings) have formed bad habits such as: not listening to their agent's advice, not pricing the property aggressively, not making cosmetic changes, and not periodically reducing the listing price.
Successful sellers don't enjoy doing the items above, but their motivation mandates that they focus on the goal of selling as compared to micromanaging the marketing. Successful sellers 'respond proactively' to no showings, no offers, low offers, or elevated inventories.
Unsuccessful sellers 'react emotionally', defend their egos, and are quick to shoot the messengers. Warren Buffet said, "Price is something we pay when we buy. Value is what we receive when we sell". Some sellers fail to realize there is a difference between cost and value.
Recently, I visited an expired listing. They wanted to move from Arizona to Missouri since their relatives relocated to that destination. Their house was free and clear. They didn't want to reduce their price. They were unsure why their brightly colored, overpriced, property that backed to a busy street was rejected by the local market.
M/M Expired had located a bank owned property in Missouri that was 100k below market. A smart seller would discount their price to affect a sale in Arizona so they could recapture the loss and buying bonanza in Missouri. A stubborn seller would 'step over dollars in order to pick up dimes'. A stubborn seller would wait for the market to change. A stubborn seller would miss those priceless moments with their relocated relatives.
The secret of selling houses in this market is to retain an aggressive agent, lead the field with a competitive price, remain patient yet proactive, and a realize a protracted time on the market is not a favorable ally.
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