After years of bad housing news, most of America\u2019s markets have begun to turn around. In fact,\u00a0the latest Trulia Price\/Rent Monitor<\/a>\u00a0shows that year-over-year, asking prices are up 10% nationally and are rising in 97 of the 100 largest metros.<\/p>\n

With the trifecta of increasing prices, historically\u00a0low interest rates for buyers<\/a>, and the approaching summer sale season, you might be thinking of selling.\u00a0 But even with the latest jump in sale prices, you still need to maximize equity when your house hits the market. Do this by contacting your local Real Estate Expert.<\/p>\n

To get the most money out of your home, \u00a0it pays to do everything right. Shockingly, sellers make up to\u00a0three\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>costly mistakes each sale. We\u2019ve put together nine of the most common (and most avoidable) seller mistakes. Learn to identify and eliminate all of these, and you can save yourself thousands \u2013even tens of thousands \u2013 of dollars.<\/p>\n

Here are the 10 mistakes you\u00a0must<\/em>\u00a0avoid:<\/h4>\n

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1. Not Hiring A Professional To Sell Your Home<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Trying to sell your home by yourself is sheer madness. You need the\u00a0expertise of a professional<\/a>. The numbers also don\u2019t lie \u2013 home sellers who try to do it themselves often end up taking longer to sell and sell for far less than homeowners who work with a agent.<\/li>\n
2. Mis-Pricing Your Home<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Over-pricing or under-pricing is a huge money-losing mistake. It\u2019s so critical to know your market and\u00a0get familiar with comps<\/a>\u00a0of similar homes currently for sale (and those that have recently sold) to understand exactly what price tag your home needs.\u00a0Click here<\/a>\u00a0for my guide to understanding comparable sales.<\/li>\n
3. Neglecting Necessary Repairs Prior To Sale<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0You\u00a0will\u00a0lose money if you don\u2019t take care of repairs\u00a0before\u00a0the house goes on the market. It\u2019s always going to cost you less out of pocket to fix things ahead of time, rather than have buyers see your house in disrepair.\u00a0 I promise they\u2019ll offer less or ask for a credit back for the work that needs to be done before the deal closes.<\/li>\n
4. Refusing To Remove Your Clutter And Junk Prior To The Sale<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Clutter eats equity and kills deals. One of the least expensive improvements you can make to your home is to declutter and create a sense of spaciousness throughout, from the kitchen countertops to the overstuffed closets to the trophy-lined shelves in the den. It costs you nothing to get rid of all that \u2018stuff,\u2019 yet it reaps big rewards.<\/li>\n
5. Selling Your House Empty<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Selling an empty house makes buyers feel the same way: empty. I\u2019m a firm believer that a home should be dressed or \u2018staged.\u2019 Don\u2019t worry, you won\u2019t need to go out and buy new furniture and accessories.\u00a0 Chances are, you have plenty to choose from already; in fact, that\u2019s usually the problem (see tip four, above).\u00a0 Editing out items \u2013 lots of them \u2013 may just leave you with the perfect amount of furnishings for a simply staged home (space is your friend, after all). If your furniture is already in another house or taking a cross-country trek, I highly recommend making the small (but mighty) investment in a local stager to give the for-sale home a new look that will charm potential buyers.<\/li>\n
6. Letting Your Ego Get In The Way When Negotiating<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Too many sellers take negotiating personally and lose out on creating a win-win deal. Remember, this is a business transaction \u2013 perhaps the biggest one of your life.\u00a0 Take your ego out of the equation and put your head back into it.<\/li>\n
7. Failing To Complete A Full Set Of Disclosures Prior To Closing<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 I\u2019ve watched too many sellers pay big bucks because they didn\u2019t reveal it all.\u00a0Being upfront and forthcoming about any of your home\u2019s issues will save you lots of money and time, especially if the buyers end up uncovering problems themselves.\u00a0 And they will.<\/li>\n
8. Mis-timing The Sale For Maximum Tax Benefits<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Even a sale mischeduled by one day can cost you tens of thousands in extra taxes. Don\u2019t be left a day late and many dollars short. Make sure you talk to your accountant to find out if any long term capital gains tax breaks apply to you, and check your calendar to determine when they come into play.<\/li>\n
9. Overlooking Junk Fees And Extra Expenses At Closing<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Home sellers throw thousands away by not requesting and confirming a list of fees and expenses long before closing day. Make sure you and your real estate agent review estimated closing cost statements long before it\u2019s time to hand over the keys. Because the closing table on sale day is way too late to be fixing costly mistakes or asking for discounts and credits.<\/li>\n
10. Using Lousy Photos \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0This is my pet peeve.\u00a0 I do segments on several TV shows, and I\u2019m always looking for great houses to showcase on-air.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you how many awesome homes have horrible camera phone photos in their sale listings.\u00a0 Now, more than 90% of all buyers start their\u00a0home search online<\/a>, so you\u2019d better make sure you and your agent nail your home\u2019s close up! You won\u2019t ever get a second chance to make the perfect first impression.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This article was written by: Trulia<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    After years of bad housing news, most of America\u2019s markets have begun to turn around. In fact,\u00a0the latest Trulia Price\/Rent Monitor\u00a0shows that year-over-year, asking prices are up 10% nationally and are rising in 97 of the 100 largest metros. With the trifecta of increasing prices, historically\u00a0low interest rates for buyers, and the approaching summer sale […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n