Listing Kelowna Real Estate? The 5 Biggest Mistakes Sellers Make
While de-cluttering is one of the most impactful actions a seller can take, leaving a home too empty can also hurt deals. Read our Kelowna real estate team’s expert advice on the handful of big mistakes so many sellers make.
You’ve been thinking about it for months and now the time has come to put your house up for sale. With the Kelowna real estate market at a high, it’s a good time to be a seller, and yet there are always ways you can improve how much your house sells for, and how quickly.
If you want to increase the likelihood of strong offers, do everything you can to avoid these five Biggest Mistakes sellers often make.
1. Hiring an agent who is a friend of a friend of a friend….instead of a professional
Yes, the bookkeeper’s husband’s sister is a real estate agent, part-time, in Lumby. However, when it comes to selling Kelowna real estate, it’s more important to hire a professional Realtor® with a strong reputation as a listing agent than someone you know.
Agents who do this full-time in the same community have a strong understanding of the market: the home prices, the buyers, the days most homes spend on market. Accordingly, they plan a strategy to help sell your home for more money in less time. They work with your best interests in mind, and dig in around the clock to make deals happen.
Our post, 3 Things to Look for in a Listing Realtor® makes the case for securing an established professional with a strong track record.
2. Keeping too much stuff
Imagine if Mr. & Mrs. Perfectbuyer had a showing at your house—located in the neighbourhood they really want and listed exactly within their price range. But the living room toy box was overflowing with monster trucks and dolls; the kitchen countertops, while clean, were stacked with cookbooks, spices and bowls; plastic containers took up almost every step on the carpet in bedrooms. Their Kelowna real estate agent already knows what they’ll say: “It feels cluttered.”
Cluttered spaces feel smaller, and there’s no room to imagine yourself and your things in the space. While it might seem like a hassle to clean for showings and pack well before the move, if your home felt light, airy and spacious, it just might sell sooner, and for a lot more money. Trust us, de-cluttering pays.
3. Keeping not enough stuff
The only thing worse than a cluttered house (or a house in disrepair; see mistake #4), is an empty house. When there is absolutely no furniture in a home, it feels barren and cold. And it takes some imagination on the part of the homebuyer to see the space for what it could be. Unfortunately, most people have trouble with this part.
If you have to move your home long before it sells, either leave enough pieces of key furniture to give it life, or, better yet, enlist the help of a professional home stager. Stagers choose neutral, contemporary pieces that best suit the home and appeal to homebuyers. It’s a small investment that almost always garners a big reward.
4. Forgoing repairs and curb appeal
You might not know it, but among people looking at Kelowna houses for sale, your house will earn a name, either something like, ‘the really cute one with the blue door near downtown’ or ‘the one with the bad roof and broken door near downtown.’
Too often, keen sellers forgo even basic repairs because they just want that ‘FOR SALE’ sign up. Unfortunately, this tends to have the opposite effect: the house sits and sits and sits. And the longer it’s on the market, the less equity you’re likely to leave with.
A professional cleaning inside, a paint job on the exterior, a few weekends of pulling weeds and planting, and the work of a handyman on broken cupboards or doors would make a more positive impression on your home’s next residents. If you’re considering selling, we’ve got a great post on how to boost your home’s curb appeal with lots of great tips.
5. Using terrible photos
Think about it: What connects you to a home, makes you want to drive over there right now? Is it the price? The description? The specs? No. It’s the photos. Humans develop emotional connections through imagery. Humans also tend to do a lot of their research about Kelowna properties online.
If you really want to reel in buyers and help them fall in love with your home, you need to show it in its best light with high quality photos. Serious agents use professional equipment and/or professional photographers—another small investment that yields big returns.
Are you considering selling your home? Discover the difference it makes to have a professional Realtor with an outstanding track record on your side. Call the Quincy Vrecko Kelowna real estate team. 1-778-760-2860.
