Avoid Four Common Marketing Mistakes;
Sell Your Home Fast for the Highest Price

By Ron Rovtar
Ecobroker® Certified
303.473.1926

No one is expert at everything, which is why most of us hire qualified professionals to help us navigate unfamiliar terrain.

Plumbers help us keep water out of our basements.  Good mechanics ensure that our cars don't break down on secluded roads. 

We stay out of court with help from a good lawyer.

Real estate agents are supposed to sell our homes quickly, efficiently and at the right price. 

Good agents strive to exceed expectations.

Unfortunately, when your home does not sell, you are the one who must pick up yourself up, dust yourself off and try again.

So don't crash and burn. Understanding these four common marketing mistakes will help you avoid a bad experience or, at the worst, make your second attempt to sell your home successful.

Mistake #1: Not Understanding Your Agent's Marketing Plan. Is it More than a Yard Sign and MLS Listing?

Without question, a person cannot be dumb and be a real estate agent in Colorado.  The state licensing procedure tests one's ability to work with some pretty subtle concepts.  That said, a Colorado agent need not be a marketing genius either.  The state cares that licensees know much about land, legalities and ethics.  It doesn't care much about marketing ability.

But, you should.

Marketing expertise among professionals varies widely.  Before you sign a listing contract, you should know exactly how your agent will present your home to the buying public.  And don't be satisfied a list of websites or print venues.  Ask potential agents about their general marketing theory. Ask to see samples of previous work. Ask for information about who will shoot the photos and who will write the ad copy.

Placing a sign in your yard and including your home on a multiple listing service is a good start. However, some professionals offer much more.  These agents create comprehensive marketing plans for each individual situation. This is much better.

Don't be afraid to probe.

Mistake #2: Signing a Listing Agreement with No Escape Clause.  Can You Fire an Agent Who Fails to Meet Expectations?

The vast majority of agents take listings with good intentions.  Despite what some people think, there are very few bad apples in real estate these days.

But, good intentions may not suffice.

Some agents get busy.  Others become overwhelmed because they cannot delegate simple, repetitive tasks.  Some try hard, but lack necessary skills.  And, as in any profession, some simply lack competence.

Occasionally a client and licensee fail to get along.

Even though the Colorado Division of Real Estate establishes most provisions in the state's listing contract, your agent can write a fair escape clause into the document. What could be worse than being stuck with a frustrating predicament for several tortuous months?

Mistake #3: Failing to Properly Prepare Your Home for Sale.  The Property You Live in is Distinctly Different from the One You Sell!

Generally, potential home buyers choose the homes they visit for logical reasons such as the number of bedrooms, the presence of a large kitchen and/or the size of the yard. From these candidates, they usually buy for emotional reasons.  For most buyers, a home's feel and appearance are extremely important.

As such, preparing your home requires more than a good cleaning, a little paint and a few repairs.  For the best result, you must style the dwelling so a wide range of potential buyers can picture themselves living there.

This usually means simplifying, depersonalizing and then enhancing the ambience so it sends a strong positive message to buyers.

If you, like many homeowners, cannot visualize your home through the eyes of a diverse collection of home buyers, you will need some help. This help should come from your agent.  When interviewing a real estate professional, ask how he or she will help you accomplish this very important task.  Ask for specifics.

Mistake #4: Pricing Your Home Incorrectly. You Set the Price. But Your Agent Must Ensure You Have Quality Information to Work From.

Establishing an asking price is among the most difficult parts of selling a home.  You want to wring every possible dollar out of the transaction without pricing your home out of range.

Tactics like starting with a high number sound attractive. But you should realize that some qualified buyers will never see your home because you priced it above their budgets.  Even worse, some buyers'  agents will show your home prior to showing a more correctly priced property. This makes the second property look better by contrast. Learning that you helped sell someone else's home is frustrating. And it wastes your time!

Yet, you don't want to cheat yourself by pricing too low. So, what do you do?

The best answer: retain a knowledgable professional who can provide much detailed information about the housing market in your area.

A quick "comparative market analysis" based on a few MLS sheets representing recent sales is not always enough.  Your agent should offer information about current competition, the larger market in which your neighborhood exists and how homes in various price ranges are selling.

For this crucial decision, you need all the information you can get!

This article copyright Ron Rovtar. All Rights Reserved.

  

 

Contact Ron Rovtar at 303.473.1926 or info@rovtar.com