The numbers don’t lie! If you are serious about getting the highest price for your listing and don’t want to waste time or money while it sits on the market, then don’t go cheap while trying to get it SOLD.
Good intentions. Costly results.
This frugal home seller believed they were saving $2500…
It actually cost them an additional $22,500 (OUCH)
The cost of their time searching for the lowest priced everything – $2500
Time home sat on market (2 months of carrying costs, open houses, stress) – $8000
Added costs from a plumber & the repairs to floors from movers – $2000
Price reduction – $10,000
Hair color for those stress-induced gray hairs, sessions with a mental health professional, expensive wine (daily), impact on relationship with spouse…Difficult to know the exact dollars
We are not suggesting you get crazy and lose sight of your ROI, but rather that you get real on the value of quality providers, cost, and benefit of a selling a home.
Even in a sellers’ market, today’s buyers expect a well-prepared home and professional experience. If your goal is selling a home, for the highest price on the fastest track . . .
Don’t do this:
1) Believe anyone can sell a house
Selling a home takes more than just posting a listing and photos on multiple listing services (MLS). Real estate transactions often have many complex aspects, and when handled poorly or without knowledge and experience, these small details can be your worst nightmare. From marketing, contracts, home construction issues & the law, working with a seasoned professional with a history of success will increase your profits and reduce your stress.
- How to find the best Realtor.
- Call Great Tampa Realtors
- Follow Women’s Council of Realtors in Tampa and see who hitting it out of the park.
2) Hire a Realtor just because they discounted their commission
Real estate professionals are a business! Superstar Realtors have expenses – they continue to educate themselves on the latest in real estate, they invest in marketing, and their paycheck is the commission they’ve worked for. So, if they deliver value, they should be making money too. Would you want a discount heart surgeon operating on you or your loved ones?
We’re not saying all discount brokers are created equal, or that all are terrible options. However, you must research before choosing. Most of the time, home sellers who are disappointed in a Realtor did not do their homework and/or didn’t listen to Realtor’s advice on pricing and home preparation.
3) Spend days interviewing experts and researching home preparation resources looking for the least expensive companies.
True story: A home seller spent a week trying to find the lowest cost Realtor, plumber and home stager.
They burned through over 25 hours researching budget suppliers and scoured 10 proposals trying to find where they could save a few hundred bucks, instead of using their time to make money in their own profession.
In the end, the home seller couldn’t get the time back that was wasted (which is money): The newbie Realtor they had chosen wasn’t prepared to deal with a complex inspection issue; the plumber made a bigger mess that cost the seller $500 more; and the one-person stager had no liability insurance to repair a floor that got damaged by the movers.
There’s a time and place to save money. Unless you are retired with a ginormous nest egg, your time is money and you get what you pay for.
Research, shop and buy wisely.