Top 11 Mistakes Home Sellers Make

We recently ran across this blog post highlighting some of the biggest mistakes home sellers make when trying to sell their homes. These struck a chord with us -- unfortunately, we see them playing out all too often in the Madison real estate market, too.

We work closely with home sellers to help them avoid costly mistakes, so they can sell their home for top dollar, in a process that's as rewarding and efficient as possible. But it's helpful to be aware of these home-selling pitfalls before you list your home on the Madison WI MLS, so that you're poised for success from the beginning.

As our real estate season begins to heat up over the next few weeks, these are important lessons to keep in mind!

Top 11 Costly Mistakes Home Sellers Make

1)  Pricing your home incorrectly.

2) Rejecting the 1st offer. Rejecting ANY offer.

3) Getting offended by something a potential buyer says or does.

4) Hovering around your home during showings.

5) Personalizing your home (instead of properly staging it!).

6) Believing your home has inherent value and ignoring the importance of appearance.

7) Ignoring proper lighting.

8) Limiting your marketing opportunities.

9) Skimping on necessary improvements.

10) Being inaccessible and making your home difficult to view (including not making your home available for open houses).

11) This one didn't make the original list, but a recent survey of real estate agents suggests it deserves a spot of its own: Failing to deal with unpleasant odors (i.e., litter box, pet hair in furniture and carpets, trash that hasn't been taken out, lingering cigarette smoke, etc.)

To read the full list, check out Top 10 Costly Mistakes Home Sellers Make.