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                10 JUN

                11 Critical Mistakes Sellers Make

                11 Critical Mistakes Sellers Make

                 

                1. It stinks!

                15 minutes.  That’s all I had.  But first I had to move fast before everyone came. I quickly went into the 1,800 square foot home and opened up the sliders.  Then back to the front door.  Frantically, opening and closing and opening and closing.

                I had air fresheners and fans moving but the smell never went away.  Airing it out sorta worked but it would only last 15 minutes and then the Buyers would sniff and say, “what’s that smell”?  Sometimes the spouse or the other Realtor would say, “I don’t smell anything”. This was one of my early listings. It was a couple who had 5,000 square feet of furniture in an 1800 square foot home including a grand piano in the 12 x 11 den and pack ratted everything. Nothing kills a deal more than a bad smell.

                2. When in Doubt, Throw It Out

                 I have to give my Mom credit for that one. Basically, if it’s not coming with you to the next house, get rid of it.  Thin out your closets now because you are going to have to do it anyways.  If you don’t want that monstrosity TV or aren’t taking half the glassware with you, get rid of it the minute you list the home.

                Back to the couple above.  They threw nothing out.  I remember the first showing I had there.  This elderly lady was touring the kitchen and opened up one of the drawers.  Burger King menus, ketchup packets and drawers that don’t close properly.  Another cabinet filled up to the max with peekaboo papers sticking out.  Then she opened another cabinet with bulging doors. Out came pots and pans that fell on to the floor.  The old lady let out a soft shriek, started shaking, and ran for the door saying I can’t take it anymore.

                Feedback on this house was always gentle.  Well, they are having trouble visualizing with the grand piano.  Someone smelled something.  Maybe you could thin out the kitchen.  After 150 showings, it finally sold!

                3. Control, Rules, & the Kit and Caboodle

                Some homeowners like a lot of control and worry endlessly about who is coming in the house.  They grill you to vet every client like they are interviewing for the CIA. I’ve seen sellers set up cones on the driveaway, don’t sit here signs, don’t enter this room, and the showing day/time negotiation is harder than getting a reservation at that new Chinese spot, Blackbirds in Tequesta.  Sellers – let the listing agent do their job. The home can become more like a booby trap than a pleasant viewing experience.

                Like I wrote last week, in “Do Open Houses Work?” the looky-loos and nosey neighbors are part of the process.  A good Realtor knows how to vet agents without going too deep.  If an agent is coming from a different county or not familiar with the area, those are usually the ones that you have to vet harder.  If you have a unique feature like a particular membership, that often needs to be talked about.  However, one of my first listings was a 2-story with the primary on the second floor.  The Buyer who bought the place at first walked in the door with the Realtor and asked if the primary bedroom was up or down. He was ready to walk out. However, they were both active and avid tennis players. I got his attention and then asked him to humor me and see the view from upstairs.  This was my first sale.  If I grilled the Realtor too hard before the showing ever occurred, the sale would never have happened.

                4. Booties

                 Just c’mon.  Get a floor mat.  If it’s bad, I always ask people to take off their shoes, but the bootie thing is so awkward.  Buyers don’t want to do it and you’re in a conversation about booties when it should be showtime to sell the house.  Sellers – invest in a housekeeper one more time a week.  Could you imagine a new construction development asking everyone to wear booties.  Yes, its new construction but that is your competition.

                 

                5.  Following Around

                 One out fifty won’t leave the house.  Sometimes it’s understandable if someone is elderly but it’s weird and just uncomfortable for the Seller to grill the Buyers.  Plus, that type always says the wrong thing.  Oftentimes a conversation starts well and all of a sudden takes a turn to something political and I’m frantically trying to switch the conversation to baseball.

                 

                6. Delayed Negotiation

                 Unless it’s a complete sellers’ market or it’s a real lowball offer, respond back within 12 hours with a less than 24-hour deadline.  The longer things are delayed, the better chance the Buyer gets the “Wandering Eye” and leaves you.

                7. Everything Excluded

                 The rule of thumb is 1 or 2 items is fine.  A chandelier or fan isn’t going to blow the deal.  When it’s more than that, expect a big number as a counter for replacement.  Deals fall apart over little exclusions all the time.

                8. Getting Out What You Put into it

                 When we first moved into our current home in 2002, we had these 4 niches in the wall off the family room and kitchen. We brought in an artist who threw paint in them. We loved it. My Mom thought it was cool.  My Dad said “Oh!”.  Another client who was a brilliant contract attorney years back built a magnificent $50,000 built-in cabinet with pull-outs to house 500 compact discs.  When I pointed out that discs are outdated, he wanted me to sell and repurpose them so he could get his $50,000 back.

                Styles change.  Some things you do for your enjoyment.  My $4,000 at the time for the painting of the niches and my client’s $50,000 disc pull out were now detrimental to selling the house. If I sold today, I would have to spend a few grand to paint over what I enjoyed to make it appealing to the masses.  This is a hard concept for lots to hear because it can feel like you wasted money.  The best way to look at it is to reframe it.  Some things you do for investment and some things are just for enjoyment.  Fannie Mae estimates that you lose 2% value each year to style changes.  For all of us modern white kitchen people, there will come a day when that style will be viewed the same as the Formica and black/brown granite people. It’s not your fault styles change or someone doesn’t love what you did, but understanding and accepting it makes for a better seller.

                9. Cheap Sellers

                Sellers who won’t do appropriate staging or landscaping or fixing things ahead of time cost themselves a lot of money.  My Grandpa used to say, don’t step over a dollar to pick up a dime.  Listen to the feedback and put a little money in.  These small investments and work usually give you a far better ROI than playing the stock market. Part of what we do in our Home ECHOnomics of 57 items for each Seller is do in depth staging.

                 

                10. The Engineer, Accountant, Contract Lawyer, and English Professor

                Both my In-Laws are accountants.  Love them – but engineers and accountants focus on specifics. Sometimes more coaching is needed here. Other intelligent people like lawyers who comb over detailed contracts or English professors fall in this category. Sometimes they need more detailed explanation as sellers because they see the world differently. Examples would be only looking at square footage comparisons and not giving weight to something like having the primary bedroom on the first floor.  Oftentimes it’s hard to get them to focus on the big picture in staging and wrapping up a negotiation.  What makes someone so successful in one profession sometimes gets lost on an emotional transaction.

                11. Seasonality

                 A Seller who wants to sell now doesn’t want to hear that lots of the buyers won’t be down till January. Understanding seasonality and why sometimes a lower priced offer is a good deal or why having patience is important isn’t easy. Selling for optimal price in off-season usually takes time. Understanding cost of carry and how the market functions regarding time is important.

                 

                 

                Jeff Lichtenstein, originally from Chicago, got his start in the home furnishings textile business where he traveled over 35 weeks a year selling fabrics. After the family business was sold, Jeff moved to Florida and became a real estate agent. Today he is the owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury residential brokerage voted best brokerage of the year. Jeff manages a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Echo has 80 agents, an average of one million dollars per transaction and over 500 million in annual sales. Between traveling for work and annual family trips to national parks with his wife and 2 now adult children, Jeff has visited 49 states. He is also one of the few Chicago White Sox fans you’ll ever meet.  Some publications he has been quoted in.

                Feel free to ask him a question directly at [email protected] including a complementary  valuation of your home.

                Posted in Jeff's Journal, Real Estate Tips, Selling on June 10, 2023 at 7:48 am.

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