5 Popular Misconceptions Homeowners Believe About Selling Their Homes

If your real estate agent could tell you what they really thought of your home-selling strategy, would you want to hear it?

Many people wouldn't because they would realize that they are approaching the sale of their home completely wrong.

People who sell their homes often think that they know everything there is to know because it is, after all, their home. Even though that might be true, real estate agents are in the trenches, day-in-day-out, for many years, selling homes.

Here are a few misconceptions homeowners believe that they would like potential home sellers to know:

1. No need to start preparing early

This cannot be said or emphasized enough: you can never start preparing for a home too early.

Preparation should start 60 days before you are planning to list your home on the market.

Start the process by interviewing a few real estate agents and then see which agent you are most comfortable with. Find a list of tips that you can use in preparation for the sale, allocate enough time to prepare and then decide on a list price.

The right agent should be able to guide and advise you on this.

2. Initial listing price is not that important

The listing price is the most important decision that you will make during the home selling process and the main thing here is that you listen to your agent.

Sellers who refuse to listen to their agent's advice on listing price are setting themselves up for failure.

The agent does a comparative market analysis to determine what similar homes in the area sell for. The homeowner should use that exact price without making adding room for negotiation.

When an offer comes in, jump on it immediately and thank your agent for their careful calculations.

3. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)

It is difficult to sell your house without an emotional bond, especially if you have been living there for many years.

The most rewarding and impactful changes that you can make are those prior to selling - and they don't have to cost a lot of money.

Hire a professional stager and let them transform your home.

They will be able to identify serious red flags that might put the sale in jeopardy and easily fix them. Spend some money on upgrading cheaper and smaller fixtures.

It might not look like your home anymore, but remember, it will soon be someone else's anyway, right?

4. A picture is a picture

What many owners don't realize is that photos can make or break a sale.

Many buyers go online and get their first impressions from the photos that you post.

Bottom line: if you post photos with bad quality or from bad angles, then they won't even bother contacting you.

You need to present your home in such a way that it reflects the dream home most buyers would want to own.

Hire a professional photographer to take photos of your home. It might cost you some extra cash, but it is worth it when you snag that offer in the end.

5. Throw some money fixing big things up

The biggest mistake that homeowners can make is investing in a property before selling it.

Sellers often spend loads of money on reroofing the house when it is not necessary, landscaping the entire garden when it looks perfectly fine or making other personal investments that will yield little or no return.

Most of these changes won't even be noticed by buyers because they want to customize the house in their own way in their own style.

Rather save the money and spend it on your new home or spend it after you have downsized.