Thinking about selling your house in Omaha? If so, there are a few things to think through before putting it on the market. We hope this post provides a few tips to help you be successful.
Have you sold a house in the past? If not, it’s a great idea to educate yourself about the process beforehand. If you have, you may recognize a few common challenges outlined below. A lot of home sellers (ourselves included!) have sometimes wished they’d have done things a little differently. In either case, we hope this article will help you avoid a few common mistakes homeowners can make when selling a house in Omaha … or any other place!
Pricing It Too High
When you want to sell your home, one of the most important things you can do is price it right from the beginning. It’s a little hard to admit sometimes, but many of us homeowners have an inflated view of what our homes are actually worth, sometimes causing us to set the listing price too high! Then, when the offers don’t come in, the price needs to be lowered, and be aware, this can also lower a potential buyer’s perceived value of the home. When a price is cut over and over again, people may assume there’s something wrong with the home when there likely isn’t. And one more thing to remember, the longer the house is listed, the lower it will drop in the search results.
Overlooking Various Selling Options
Many people believe that in order to successfully sell their house, an Omaha real estate agent will need to be involved. However, this isn’t always the case. For some homeowners who want to keep more dollars in their pocket and control the sale themselves, they can consider “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO). There are some essential things to understand about FSBO to determine ahead of time if this is something you want to take on. Do your homework before going down this path, as with any path! Another selling option is to sell your home directly to a professional home buying company, such as Anna Buys Houses which can be fairly easy and end up saving time and money. If, for example, when a house needs a lot of repairs or other work, or when it needs to be sold in a limited amount of time, a direct sale can often be a great choice.
Spending Too Much to Sell It
Selling a house in Omaha will inevitably come with some costs when hiring an agent. There are typically repairs, upgrades, professional cleaning, and staging that will need to be done before the house is listed. These expenses are out of pocket, without a guarantee of a return. Be careful not to spend too much money making repairs or updates on a house before you sell. Do your comparable market research to ensure you know what the top dollar is for other similar homes in your area; don’t make so many improvements that you’ve all of a sudden spent more money than the return you’ll receive when selling.
Not Understanding Your Buyers
When you decide it’s time to sell your house, you need to have a good idea of who your likely buyer will be. Do you know who is typically buying in the area? Are they singles? Families? Young professionals? Retirees? While a sale is a sale, by knowing which demographics are the most prominent in your area, and making any repairs/updates accordingly, you may be able to increase your odds of finding a good buyer faster if you know who to market to. If you own a house that needs a little work or isn’t competitive with others on the MLS, working with an investor may be a good way for you to sell; investors such as Anna Buys Houses love the opportunity to purchase fixer-upper properties we can restore to their old (or new!) glory.
Failing to Stage
As you’ve probably heard from others selling their homes, when you list your house on the MLS in Omaha or anywhere else, you’ll need to get it ready for viewing by those potential buyers. Staging your home so it shows in its best light can often help bring top dollar. You can stage it yourself or pay a professional stager. A good rule of thumb in either case is to remove all personal items so people touring your home don’t feel as if they are intruding on your family. You really want them to envision their family in the home! All clutter should be removed as well as clunky or unattractive pieces of furniture or pieces that don’t serve a purpose and/or that can detract.
Many homeowners avoid staging or simply shove all their stuff in a closet and call it a day. The trouble with this approach is that some people are going to look in your closet! To properly stage a house, you may want to consider getting rid of pieces that you’ve been holding on to for too long, or storing these items off-site.
That said, you’ll also want to avoid showing a house that is completely empty. A few key pieces of furniture or decor can help people understand the scale of each room. With the proper staging, ideally, you should be able to highlight the property’s potential without distracting from the home itself.
Selling your house is likely one of the largest financial decisions you’ll make. By knowing what to watch out for, what to avoid, and what to pursue, you can approach the challenge thoughtfully and calmly. We wish you every success!