Frequent property selling mistakes to avoid

 by OKECHUKWU NNODIM 

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You need to understand the real estate market in order to avoid property selling mistakes, Okechukwu Nnodim writes

When the property is overpriced

Experts say the worst home selling mistake a seller can make is by fixing the wrong price tag on his property. If the property is priced too high, buyers will ignore it. However, if the property is priced too low, the owner will be worried that he will not make enough profit from the deal. Experts note that pricing a home to sell is an art. According to them, part of the market value is based on comparable sales. It is therefore important for the home seller to consider other factors like market movement, demand, the property’s location and its present condition at the time of sale.

 A member of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, Mr. Martins Dada, in a speech at a conference in Lagos recently, noted that if a property is overpriced, buyers might tender lowball offers, which might warrant an immediate offer rejection. These extremely low offers tend to infuriate and insult the owner of the property. Experts say some agents willingly overstate the value of a property and push a seller to sign an overpriced listing. Though there are reasons why agents do this, the bottom line is that sellers who take to this advice may lose in the end.

•Offering a home in bad condition for sale

It is important to get the property ready for market. This goes beyond making the beds and washing dirty dishes, experts say. They note that some homes need updating and quick fixes. By undertaking adequate repairs before offering the property for sale can boost chances of quickly selling. If items in the building are broken or buyers see deferred maintenance, this will give them the chance to wonder what else is wrong. The owner of the property can arrange flowers in an attractive vase before the buyer shows up.

•Employing wrong marketing model

A badly shot photograph of your property in a newspaper or magazine will not give the desired sales impression to buyers. Experts say agents and sellers make plenty of marketing mistakes when trying to market a property. Many property owners wonder why their houses are not selling, but these are likely sellers who have failed to employ marketing strategies designed to expose a property to the largest pool of buyers.

•Hiring an inexperienced agent

Involving an agent who is not an expert in this line of business may make your property stay longer than expected in the market. The President, Building Collapse Prevention Guild, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Reo-Habilis Construction Limited, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, says if the seller wants full-service from an expert, he should hire a full service professional. He notes that dealers in real estate should understand why they need professionals no matter the confidence they have in selling their property.

•Wanting more money from sale

According to experts, the average seller is easily caught in excitement over choosing a sales price when discussing with realtors. Property sellers often think that more money means more financial opportunities for them. Realtors say homeowners perhaps see their property as an asset that can afford to buy a more expensive home, help pay for their children’s tuitions or take exquisite vacation. This is however, unfortunate because uninformed sellers occasionally go for agents who suggest the highest price for their home. This is because they want more money and just like stated earlier it doesn’t work often.

•Dealing with fake agents

Some individuals pose as realtors or property selling agents when they are not. These fake agents, experts say may end up defrauding the homeowner and his clients. Some of them have a basic real estate practice comprised of calling sellers of expired listings and re-listing them at market value. Make sure whichever agent you are dealing with is registered by an accredited real estate body in Nigeria, otherwise avoid such an individual.

•Not protecting yourself

The financial loss which an owner has to bear when swindled by a fake agent often exceeds the extra mortgage payments paid him in advance by the agent, experts say. It is important to protect yourself from been victimised by fraudsters. This can be achieved by understanding what the property selling process entails. Experts note that many individuals have been deceived by wrong agents and it is important to know those who are genuine in the business.

•Establishing wrong value

According to experts, the truth is it doesn’t really matter how much money you think your home or property is worth. They note that the person whose opinion matters is the buyer who makes an offer. So therefore you should know that pricing homes or landed property involves comparing similar properties and making adjustments for the differences among them. It also comprises tracking market movements and taking stock of present inventory. All this is in order to come up with a range of value that can be described as an enlightened opinion.

According to experts, this method is the same way an evaluator appraises a property, adding that no two evaluators are ever exactly the same. However, their appraisals may be generally close to each other, meaning that there is no hard and fast price tag to fix on a property