10 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home

Selling your family home is not only an exciting experience but it can also be stressful, especially if it’s your first time. There can be many reasons to sell your home, regardless, you can fall into many different common mistakes, which can make your selling experience unpleasant. Here are the top 10 mistakes to avoid when selling your home. 

1.     Underestimating the Cost of Selling Your House

While selling your home should overall be profitable for you in the long run, many sellers forget the costs associated with selling your home. To begin, you have to budget the total cost of the real estate commission costs for both the buying and selling agents which can amount to around 5 or 6 percent in most cases. Along with the real estate commission costs, buyers can negotiate concessions into the agreement that can include you paying closing costs and more.

2.     Not Budgeting for Your Move

When moving you have a couple different options. You can either do it yourself or hire a moving company. There are pros and cons to both. If you’re not willing or able to do it yourself, moving companies can cost a lot of money but there are perks to this option. Moving companies will take your stuff from your current residence and move it to the new home along with unpacking your belongings in some cases. If you’re too busy to move yourself or you just don’t want to do it, there are plenty of benefits to hiring out a moving company.

3.     Ignoring major repairs and making costly renovations

Before you put your home on the market you should highly consider making any major repairs to your home before spending on renovations. Buyers will be more willing to do renovation work themselves, but when you fail an inspection or they notice large repairs that need to be done, that can be a quick deal breaker. Almost all buyers require an inspection before closing, the worst thing that you could let happen before an inspection is a failed inspection. So try and hire a professional to see where work needs to be done and then get it completed, it will pay off in the end.

4.     Selling to Unqualified Buyers

Before selling to a potential buyer, it’s reasonable to expect a buyer to bring a pre-approval letter from a mortgage company or cash home buyers showing you proof of funds to verify that they have the cash necessary to buy your home. When selling, sometimes you’ll get a binding contingency offer which means that you won’t be able to close unless the buyer’s home also sells. That can put you in a pickle if you need to close by a certain date and the buyer’s home hasn’t sold yet.

5.     Not Staging Your Home for A Quick Sale

Before selling your home you should highly consider staging it. Staging is meant to show the buyer what it could look like if they were living in it, this is not for you anymore. If you move out before selling, you don’t want them to be walking around an empty home, having staging furniture can really show the true potential of your home. Not only is staging your home great to show potential to home buyers, it can raise the value of your home up to 10% in most cases. If you still live in your home, consider taking your family portraits down, rearranging the furniture, decluttering, and minimizing your unique and personal style touches.

6.     Forgoing Professional Real Estate Photos

As much as you love your iPhone photos, that doesn’t qualify you to be a professional real estate photographer. I know that the pictures you took last weekend could certainly be featured in the latest edition of Home & Garden, however, those photos are still not going to throw as big of a punch as having a trained professional handle your photos for you. Real estate photographers not only have top of the line equipment that far outshine regular camera phone photography, they also are able to stage your home in a certain way that sells and also take the angles that they know sell. 

Now that it’s 2021, it’s almost essential to show off aerial photos of your home through drone photography. Drone views are unique, show your entire property, and can give vision to your unique views or even just show off the neighborhood. You’d be surprised how inexpensive drone photography is too! Like I said before, it’s 2021, give it a shot!

7.     Not Cleaning Your House Before Trying to Sell It

Before selling your home, please make sure that it’s as clean as the day that you moved into it. Buyers hate nothing more than walking into a home that isn’t so clean that they could lick ice cream off the floor. You might think your home is clean right now, but there are picky buyers out there, go through and give it an extra scrub and find the lingering dust. If you don’t have time to clean your home, it’s worth hiring a professional cleaning company to make your home look spotless! It’s inexpensive and well worth the cost.

8.     Not Addressing the Exterior of Your House

The exterior of your home can take a beating from the elements over the years. Give the exterior of your home a look over and if it needed paint 5 years ago, it’d probably be a wise idea to get that paint job you’ve been putting off done. Another exterior element that can make or break a sale is the quality of your deck/patio area or the condition of your back and front yards. Curb appeal matters, so get out there and make sure that your entire property looks great.

9.     Choosing the wrong agent or the wrong way to sell

When deciding on how to sell your home, most people decide on selling with a Realtor, some like to go the For Sale By Owner option. If you decide to list with a real estate agent, you will be presented with either a flat rate or a percentage of the sale of your home. Sometimes the commission can be negotiated so don’t forget to try your hand at negotiating! Before choosing a real estate agent make sure you interview multiple agents and see if they have the proper experience in selling your area and price point. Some questions you might ask are:

• Marketing plans for your home

• If they require a contract to work together and how long is the contract for

• What negotiating style do they have

• What does communication look like? How often will you be communicating?

• Do they currently have competing listings that could interfere with yours

10.       Lingering During A Home Tour

Please do not be present at your home during home tours. There is nothing more uncomfortable for a potential buyer than knowing that the homeowner is present. When you don’t leave your home the buyers can feel awkward about talking about their likes and dislikes of the home and put them off buying your home at all. This also presents a problem for the buying agent because they are then unable to do their job effectively. You can go run errands, grocery shop, go to a friend’s home, and there are lots of places you can be other than your home for the tour! 

The Best DIY Home Improvement Projects for Summer

Most of us love spending our summer outside, soaking up some sun. If you're looking to update your home, explore some of the best DIY home improvement projects for summer! You could get down to the nitty-gritty and scrub those windows, plant a garden, or check out what needs replacing around the house.

Restain

Whether it's your deck or fence, this is a great way to increase your curb appeal and you can do it yourself. You may need to strip down the wood with a sander to remove any old stain before giving it a fresh coat, but this isn't always necessary. If you're looking for something fresh, check out new stain options.

Improve Landscaping

Perhaps you want fresh fruits, veggies, and spices, or maybe you love flowers. Either way, a great way to spruce up your property is by tending to your landscaping or adding some plants for a splash of color.

Do Some Gardening

Do you have favorite fruits and veggies? Find out what grows in your area and raise your own. Not only can this save on grocery shopping, but it also encourages healthy eating. In addition, you know exactly where the plants came from and what pesticides or other products were used on them. A garden is also a great way to bring the family together—everyone has a chore to tend to.

Build a Shed

One of the best DIY home improvement projects for summer is building a shed. With a shed, you have the perfect space to store bicycles, gardening tools, and other outdoor equipment.

The best thing about building your own shed is the chance for customization. If you have the skills, go ahead and choose the design, but if not, that's okay. You can scour the internet for some great ideas.

Clean the Exterior

After a long winter, the exterior of your home may need some sprucing up, so get a power washer to clean it up. You may also want to:

• Wash the windows.

• Scrub the garage door.

• Clean the gutters.

While you're cleaning, evaluate these features of your home and ensure everything's still working great, making any necessary repairs. Once you've added beautiful accents and scrubbed your home till it sparkles, your house will be the envy of the neighborhood!

Guest Post - 4 Extremely Common Threats to Your Home Plumbing You Need to Know

Even modern plumbing systems can become damaged at any time, and seemingly minor problems could quickly become expensive catastrophes. Here is a quick glimpse at a few of the most common plumbing threats that homeowners run into and simple steps that you can take to deal with them.

Hard Water 

If your home's water is hard, then you might find yourself struggling with quite a few plumbing problems over the years. Hard water is going to reduce the lifespan of your appliances, clog pipes, and damage faucets. Investing in a high-quality water softener for your home is the best way to deal with hard water, and those devices often last for decades when they are properly maintained. 

A Clogged Sewage Line 

Clogged sewage lines are incredibly common, and they can result in overwhelming problems if they aren't unclogged right away. The most common signs of a clogged sewage line include multiple slow drains throughout the home, dying grass, and a lingering sewage smell. To get rid of a clog that deep in the system, you will need to contact an experienced plumbing contractor who has access to specialty tools that can tunnel their way through your plumbing system. 

Slow Leaks 

This is one issue that almost every family will have to deal with at least a few times over the years. A slow leak usually doesn't seem like a major problem, but losing a few drops of water every minute could end up wasting hundreds of gallons of water per year. When slow leaks are caught early on, they can often be fixed with some basic tools and supplies. For a quicker leak or a leak that is difficult to access, you must work with a professional plumber. 

An Unmaintained Water Heater 

Many homeowners don't realize that their water heaters need regular maintenance, and an unmaintained water heater can cause major damage to a plumbing system. In addition to visually inspecting the water heater a few times a year, it will also need to be flushed once every few months. Luckily, flushing a water heater is a relatively simple task that requires nothing more than a basic garden hose and a few minutes of your time. 

Taking care of minor plumbing issues can usually be done by a homeowner as long as they are careful, but serious damage should always be left to professional contractors. Improperly fixing any type of plumbing problem could quickly result in a massive amount of water damage. 

Author Bio:

Meghan Belnap / Blogger, Researcher and Freelance Writer
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.

How to Know That It's Time to Repair or Maintain Your Garage Door

Garage doors are an important part of your home's function. However, because you only interact with them on your way to or from the house, you aren't likely to spend a lot of time thinking about maintenance. Here's how to quickly tell if it's time to call a repair professional to check out your garage door.

Slow Opening, Closing, and Responding

One of the first signs that something is wrong with your garage door is that it starts taking too long to open or close. Whether the door is rolling slowly up the tracks or the signal between the remote and the sensor isn't going through as quickly as you need it too, a slow garage door is almost always in need of repair. Don't bother taking a look yourself, as this problem is often electrical. Instead, call a professional to take a look before the issue gets any worse.

One or More Uneven Door Sections

Most garage doors come in two to three sections. If one of these sections start to sag, it can mean anything from a broken spring to a warped internal component. Sagging isn't always immediately obvious, which is why most garage door repair professionals recommend a manual leveling check at least once a year. This is done by manually operating the door and seeing if it will hold its level midway along the track. Only a professional can perform this test, so make sure to call yours for a yearly tune-up.

Obviously Damaged Door Tracks

One of the most immediate signs that something is wrong with your garage door is that part of the door is not properly aligned with the tracks. Sometimes, this is because the tracks are bent; otherwise, it's because the door is misshapen. Never try to realign either of these elements on your own, as you could cause invariable damage to the door. However, if you call a repair professional before the door has had time to seriously collapse, you may be able to get the damage fixed without needing to replace the entire door.

In general, if your garage door is making noise, working poorly, or causing a noticeable impact on your energy bill, you should call a repair professional to take a look. Yearly maintenance can also prevent small problems from turning into serious and expensive types of damage. Form a relationship with your favorite repair company, and make sure to call them often to keep your garage door in perfect shape.