For first-time home sellers in Washington,DC, the entire process can be a stressful and emotionally draining challenge full of tough twists and turns. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the work and make mistakes when you’re trying to make the sale, so let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes people make when selling their homes, and how you can avoid them!

  • Not Hiring an Agent
  • Setting the Wrong Price for Your Washington,DC home
  • Not Staging Your Washington,DC Home
  • Not Having the Proper Insurance
  • Lack of Listing Photos
  • Letting Emotions Take Over
  • Selling to Unqualified Buyers

Not Hiring an Agent

The Washington,DC real estate market is always fluctuating, so you’ll want an experienced and hard-working realtor to help you along with the process and get you the most for your home. A good agent always has your best interests in mind and will help you set a fair, competitive selling price for your home. They can also help ease the more stressful parts of the process by dealing with potential buyers and eliminating people who are just “lookers” and aren’t really interested in buying.

Setting the Wrong Price For Your Washington,DC Home

Overpricing is one of the most common mistakes sellers make when they try to sell their DC home without an agent. Realtors use a comparative marketing analysis to help find a price for your home based on what similar homes in your location are selling for. From there, they will use strategic price points to make your home’s price more enticing to sellers and attract more offers. Don’t worry if your home is set at a slightly lower price than you want, since this may attract multiple bids and get the price up to fair market value as buyers compete with each other. And if you sell with Reynolds EmpowerHome Team, Your Price is Our Promise®. We will get you 100 percent of your asking price, or we will pay the difference. Click HERE to learn more.

Not Staging Your DC Home

Did you know that staged homes sell for as much as 6.9% more than non-staged homes and take half the time to sell? You want to do everything you can to make sure your home looks its best when potential buyers come to visit your home. Take some time to polish your home’s interior by addressing subtle issues like switching out any burnt-out lightbulbs and fixing paint chips. You can also make some more noticeable changes as well by arranging your furniture in a way that accentuates your home’s best features. As we always tell our clients: you will never get a second chance to make a first impression, so don’t underestimate how important this step is!

Not Having the Proper Insurance

As a seller, you’ll want to have proper insurance in case someone gets injured at your home’s viewing and tries to sue you for the damages. Get rid of any obvious hazards on your property and take steps to prevent accidents before they happen. If there’s snow or ice on your driveway, you should absolutely have it cleared before anyone visits your home!

Lack of Listing Photos

The most effective way to market your home is to have professional photos taken. Since so many buyers use the internet to search for homes, photos will probably be the first thing that grabs their attention, and if you don’t have any photos, it will be harder for them to imagine themselves living in the space. Your photos should be crisp, clear, and well lit if you want to showcase your home’s best attributes. You might want to look into hiring a professional home photographer in the Washington,DC area to help you with this part of the process.

Letting Emotions Take Over

Understandably, many sellers have a hard time keeping their emotions in check when it’s time to say goodbye to their homes. During the process, it’s important to think of yourself as a business person or salesperson rather than a homeowner. If you can look at this difficult transaction as purely financial, you can distance yourself from the emotions of selling and reduce the overall stress that comes with selling a home.

Selling to Unqualified Buyers

Whenever you sell your home to someone, it’s good to make sure they’re pre-approved or have proof of funds before you hand over the keys to your largest asset. Otherwise, you might run the risk of finding yourself in a tough bind and losing money. Luckily, Reynolds EmpowerHome Team has a state-of-the-art database of over 15,179 pre-approved Buyers in Waiting in the Washington,DC area. When you list with us, we will leverage our extensive database to get you top-dollar for your home, selling FASTER and FOR MORE.

If you are considering selling your home there is no one better than Reynolds EmpowerHome Team. We can help you sell FASTER and for TOP DOLLAR! Selling a home can be stressful, especially when your home sits on the market. We sell our listings 3 times faster and on average, for more than when you work with another team by leveraging our database of OVER 15,179 qualified buyers in our Buyers in Waiting database! 

Did you know that only 48% of homes that went on the market last year sold the first time with the first agent they hired? Most sellers last year had to call a 2nd or 3rd agent to get the job done, or even worse, not sell at all. The agent you hire the first time matters! Reynolds EmpowerHome Team sells 98% of our listings the first time, so when you hire us, your home is more likely to sell fast & for top dollar! To find out what we can do for you, Text or Call us at 202-759-1266!

Your Home Sold for 100% of the Asking Price or We Will Pay You the Difference!* Click HERE for more details.