After living in and investing in your home for years, it’s time to sell it. You, of course, are looking to make a profit on the sale of your home. So how can you make sure this happens?
The real estate market can be tricky, and a lot of it has moved toward more technology or online-based platforms. If you don’t implement these newer technologies into the process of selling your home you are at risk for losing money during a home sale. Below is how you may be losing money during a home sale by not using the new real estate market to your advantage.
Not taking quality photos
There’s no excuse these days for putting up sub-par photos with the listing of your property – yet most people still continue to do so. This doesn’t make it okay, and it doesn’t make it ideal or helpful to you.
Most people think that they don’t want to spend money on a professional photographer for their property, so they take some photos with their phone at any random time during the day and use them.
Using your phone is a great idea, but take the time of day and lighting into consideration. This goes a long way toward creating a way better quality, money-saving photo than just a mid-day shot.
If you’d like to take it a step further, something that is way less expensive than a professional photographer as well (and can be fun to use after the sale of your home, too) are smartphone camera lens attachments. Most range from $20-$120 and are incredibly effective.
Not listing on the MLS
If you are looking to make sure the value of your home is sound and as high as possible when you end up in the negotiation stage and approaching closing on your sale, you have to list on the MLS from the start.
First of all, not being on the MLS greatly reduces the likelihood that your home will be sold quickly which in turn affects its value dramatically (and not in a good way).
Secondly, not being on the MLS greatly reduces that your home will be visible to legitimate potential buyers and their agents. Potential buyers peruse the MLS just as much (sometimes more) than their agents, and a lot of times, they both move from there.
If you aren’t on the MLS for your area, you are setting yourself up to lose money on the sale of your home because you will certainly be sitting on the market way longer than other homes in your price range and area. Remember: the of your home goes down the longer your property spends on the market.
Accepting an outrageous commission
Listing on the MLS costs money – only agents have access, and they charge a fee to list your home on the MLS, sometimes included in their commission at the end of the sale of your home.
That being said, the average commission an agent takes from a seller is 5-6% – but then, a seller also pays the commission fee of the buyers’ agent, too.
There are ways around this, which can help save, on average, at least $15,000 if you play your cards right! One of the ways is to use the real estate service beycome to receive that typical 5-6% refund and get it back into your pocket – and, you can simultaneously list on the MLS for an unmatched, small flat-fee.
Looking into sites like this is an important part of saving money on your home sale. Do your research and use the modern resources available to you.
Not using the internet to your advantage
Speaking of modern resources, if you are looking to save money during the sale of your home, you need to use the internet to your advantage.
The internet not only helps you market for free and get the word out about your home being for sale and listed, but it drastically facilitates word-of-mouth, especially within your social circle This is important during the sale of your home because you are selling to your location for the most part.
You won’t be posting about the sale of your home on a website, group, or social media platform that has nothing to do with the place that you live in. Take advantage of local niches on the internet and even in your tighter social circle – word of mouth is very powerful, even in real estate.
Selling your home has a lot to do with your bottom line. You are looking to make a profit after all the time and money you have put into your property up to this point. Keeping these things in mind will help make sure when you do close on the sale of your home that you’ve made a return on your investment.
