1. Your House Smells

You love your pets, but it’s almost impossible for you to notice the odors they leave behind. In time, the smells in your own home become normalized. We all know that guy who has no idea that his three retrievers make his living room smell like…. three retrievers.

However, they are extremely apparent – and sometimes off-putting – to buyers. It can be from dander, urine, litter boxes, pet food… or a combination of each of these.

It’s critical to determine if strangers smell something unpleasant in your home. Whether you ask your Realtor or a friend, you should find out and then quickly work to rectify the situation.

2. Your House is too Dark

Virtually every buyer wants a home that’s light and bright… but nearly 50% of homeowners love their home cozy and dim. 

Simply put, “light & bright” sells for more money (and it rhymes, so bonus). Pay special attention to how you can lighten up your home before you show it… and if possible before it gets photographed.

I’d recommend opening all of your drapes before showings and painting your walls a light, neutral color. Consider swapping light bulbs for brighter ones. 

Add lamps where needed and turn on all lights before a buyer comes over… the extra dollars on your electric bill are well worth it. 

3. YOUR CARPET NEEDS TO BE RIPPED OUT

“Just let the buyer pick the flooring” is what 99% of agents will tell sellers reluctant to do it themselves… but this is dead wrong.

The truth is, 84% of buyers don’t have the imagination or vision to see how a home will look with new carpet and/or flooring. Sellers often reason that they can offer a credit to buyers towards flooring replacement, but if the buyer can’t visualize the finished product ahead of time, this strategy is DOA.

What do buyers see when they see old flooring? A fixer-upper that’s automatically worth 10% less… or a home that’s not worth buying since the home down the street has new floors. 

If you can’t afford to replace your flooring, find an agent with a program that will cover the costs for you until the close of escrow. Your wallet will thank you in the long run. Metaphorically.

4. THE FAMILY PHOTOS HAVE TO GO

Everyone loves family photos; they help turn a house into a home, and your friends, family, and realtor all comment on how cute you were on that tricycle in 1985.

But too much personalization confuses buyers. They don’t fall in love with you or your family (how creepy would that be?); instead, they fall in love with their own dream of living in a home that they can make their own.

They want to see themselves living in the home, so personal items make it much more challenging for them to see their own family living there. It may sound cold… but it’s true.

Take down personal photos, personal collections, and religious items. Then declutter, pack and store away as much as possible; this extra effort can be worth tens of thousands of dollars (and even more in pricier neighborhoods).  

5. I’M NOT THE BEST AGENT FOR YOU

Every agent will tell you they’re the right choice, but are they the best choice? This question won’t even be allowed in the conversation, since they could be out of a job if it does.

Agents who don’t sell many homes will discourage you from choosing a “busy agent” because they “won’t have the time for you.” This is like saying McDonalds doesn’t have time to make you a Big Mac because they’re too busy making 5 billion Big Macs for others.

The hard truth is that getting a real estate license is not difficult. But just like drivers’ licenses, not everyone who has one knows what they’re doing.

Does your agent know to how market? How to promote? How to negotiate? How to navigate the challenges of inspections and appraisals?

You – and your home – need these answers. Check out this video titled, “10 Tough Questions to Ask an Agent Before You Hire Them” to learn the skills you need to find the best agent for you. Click Here to Watch.

6. YOUR CLOSETS NEED ATTENTION 

In the midst of a global pandemic, homes have taken on more and more roles; many closets have become home offices or doomsday storage bunkers full of toilet paper (you know who you are)…

…Living in California, storage is always a challenge. Yes, it takes effort to tidy up your storage spaces (and most agents will tell you not to worry about it), but if there is a door in your house… buyers will open it. And they don’t want to see a mess. 

If you take the time to empty out your closets, pantry, and kitchen (thereby showcasing the storage opportunity your home represents), buyers will be more willing to offer more money. 

Note that this truth only applies to sellers seeking the maximum price. If that is not a concern… don’t worry about it. 

7. I SHOULD BE SPENDING MORE TO MARKET YOUR HOME 

Most agents never tell you how much – or how little – they’re spending to market your home. Once they post it to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), it syndicates to all the public sites and becomes visible to all realtors. Boom, marketing done! 

But not all homes can sell just because they are listed on the MLS. Each home has a target buyer and knowing how to target that specific buyer pool is a skill that changes with time… 30 years ago, all you needed was a 2-line ad in the newspaper. 

Today’s buyers are on the internet, and they’re flooded with information. Getting to the right buyer takes specialized skills and technical expertise, and ideally, that buyer’s contact information is captured during the process. 

It takes time (and sometimes a significant amount of money) to use these processes to find a buyer, but it’s often the only way to find buyers willing to pay the highest price. 

Does your agent have these necessary skills, and are they willing to invest the time and money to get you the most for your home?

Find out before you sign the contract. 

8. YOUR CURB APPEAL IS... UNAPPEALING  

Real estate agents are trained to quickly bond with their clients. A quick and easy way to do this is to compliment the exterior of your home… a home you’re probably quite proud of. 

What they’ll almost never tell you is how poor your landscaping looks, that your home needs paint, or that your yard is overgrown. You know, the very things you notice about someone else’s house. 

Remember that the very first information any buyer gets about your home is a picture of its exterior, and they’ll make a decision to click or not click within less than a second of seeing it. 

How do your flower beds look? Is your grass dying? Does your home’s color remind you of lentil soup? Can you even see your home due to overgrown trees? 

Judge your home the same way you’d judge someone else’s, then get to work. Trim back hedges and trees. Freshen up the garden. Plant new grass. Paint your home. Refinish the front door. Replace those rusty light fixtures and gutters. Buy wood chips to cover up exposed dirt. Find a new home for those lion statues. 

It may seem like a tremendous amount of work to put into an image that will be seen for half of a second on an iPhone, but that half of a second can be the difference between sold or not sold. 

8.5 YOUR PRICE IS UNREALISTIC 

This truth only gets a half-point… because agents only tell you half of the truth. 

The average American real estate agent sells just 2 homes per year, so every listing they get matters. If suggesting a higher listing price is the difference between you choosing them or another agent, you can bet that your home’s value will be artificially inflated to keep them from losing the listing. 

Agents know that once your listing is signed, it can be difficult to get out of the contract. And the easiest way for an agent to take advantage of this fact is to suggest an artificially-high listing price to begin with, then simply reduce it to a more realistic number at a later date. 

Simply put, agents will lock you into a contract knowing your home won’t sell at the price they themselves suggested. 

Overpriced listings end up costing the seller more money than any other mistake. Buyers simply do not make offers on overpriced homes, because they were skipped over, to begin with. 

Instead, buyers – assuming the seller is unrealistic – make offers on other houses that appear to be a better value. Sellers of overpriced homes expect buyers to make low offers… but the reality is that most of the time, no offers arrive. 

In time, sellers will need to reduce their price to draw offers, but the reductions will have to be massive to spark interest, especially since the home will have been on the market for weeks or months by this time. And when the offers do finally arrive, they’ll be lower than they would have been in the home had been priced correctly, to begin with.