Taking the first steps to selling your home can be very daunting. It’s an entirely different experience than buying a home. And with selling a home comes a whole laundry list of advice and recommendations that get passed from homeowner to homeowner.
As anything word of mouth goes, there’s sure to be some inaccuracy in the advice that goes around. So we’re going to take a minute to debunk 5 real estate myths about selling your home.
Buyers Will Be Turned Off by Bold Colors or the Home’s Exterior
Maybe one of your kitchen walls is bright red, maybe your home features some unusual roofing, maybe the exterior of your home is painted bright pink with purple pinstripes! It must be time to bring out the paint and get ready for redecorating, right? Well, not necessarily.
A good real estate agent will prepare home buyers before they view a property, letting them see photos before they see it in person. Not to mention, more permanent things like number of rooms or features are going to be more important to most people than the color of the paint. A skilled real estate agent should also inform potential home buyers on the best way to utilize rooms with bright color choices.
Always Set Your Price Higher Than You Expect to Make
This may seem like a smart idea: you set the price way above what you’re hoping to make, so that when the home buyers make an offer, you’ll be getting the price you want. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the way things go.
Many home buyers will be turned off by an overly high price and not want to make an offer at all. Of course, you can always bring your price down later, but home buyers worry about homes that are on the market for too long. Keep in mind the benefits and risks of pricing your home. Your agent should be able to advise you.
If I Want to Sell I Have to Have the Best Features
Fortunately, this is not true. Just because your home doesn’t have walk-in closets doesn’t mean you need to start knocking down walls to make room for one. Many home buyers will be happy to do these renovations themselves, especially if your home is priced correctly. And if not, just because a feature is popular or top-of-the-line, doesn’t mean it’ll appeal to everyone. There are plenty of home buyers who are perfectly happy without walk-in closets or kitchen islands.
I’ll Make Back What I Spend in Renovations
Again, before you bring out the sledgehammer (or pocketbook), you’ll be pleased to hear that renovations are not necessarily the way to go. While a remodeled kitchen or bathroom might mean you can set your price higher, chances are, you won’t be making back the money you put into the renovation.
Again it’s all about pricing. A good real estate agent can advise you on whether or not your renovation is likely to be worth it–in some cases it might be! But it’s definitely a good idea to get informed before making the commitment.
I’ll Make More If I Don’t Use a Real Estate Agent
This is one of those myths that seems like a good idea, until you put it into practice. Not everyone can pull off selling their own home. When you take on the project of selling your own home, you become a sales person, a marketer, and a negotiator. Marketing a home can be expensive, and then if you finally do get an offer, many home buyers will expect a lower price because you’re not using an agent. The cost of using an agent is nothing compared to the headache and cost of selling your home by yourself.
Ready to Sell Your Home in the Triangle?
Hopefully these tips have you feeling more prepared to take on the task of selling your Triangle home. With resources like our property value calculator and a team of local experts, we’re happy to help you navigate the myths and sell your home quickly and for a fair price. Contact us if you want to learn more about putting your home on the market.