25 Common Real Estate Mistakes

Watching TV last night, I stopped flipping when I saw this show. It caught my attention because it was about Real Estate, plus I wanted to see what TV it saying to Buyers & Sellers. I found many of the following tips interesting, and I wanted to share them with you. Since the Real Estate is constantly changing, many of the following are things to keep in mind & remember. You should have a great experience in Buying or Selling .....since Real Estate can be one of the most important investments of your life.



25. Buying a House for its Decor
Remember that you are buying the house, not the stuff inside of it. Focus on the floor plan & square footage.

24. Not Providing Easy Access for Showings
Make your house easily accessible to potential buyers. Example: easy parking

23. Not Researching the Neighborhood
It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check out the area, amenities & school system.

22. Losing Money With Auctions
While the starting bidding price for a house on auction might be a good deal, it doesn't mean the final price will be. Make sure that you are very strict with your budget when you are bidding.

21. Trying to Make the "Hard Sell" While Showing
If you are selling your house, you really shouldn't be around at the open house. If you leave, you allow the buyers to really give unbiased objective feedback to the agent, which is only going to help you in the end.

20. Waiting until Spring to Sell your House
You don't have to wait until the weather is nice to put your home on the market. That's a common real estate myth. Spring is the time of heaviest real estate activity, but that does not mean that people don't buy houses 365 days of the year.

19. Treating Real Estate Like the Stock Market
When the real estate market is really hot and is appreciating really fast, people tend to look at it like it's the stock market. But playing real estate is nothing like the stock market — when you invest in real estate, you really need to take a long-term approach.

18. Failing to Market Your Home in Different Ways
Don't market your home with just a for-sale sign. Explore other marketing tools as well. Don't forget to include the floor plans, so people can see the layout of your home & know that if it it's right for them.

17. Not Thinking About Resale
When you are decorating and renovating your home, you need to think about what is going to appeal to a broad section of buyers when it comes time to sell it. Buying houses and being in the real estate market is like chess, you always want to look two or three steps ahead in the game.

16. Buying Without Actually Seeing the Property
It's really easy to buy a house without seeing it because of the Internet and virtual tours, but virtual tours can be deceiving. If seeing the home is just not possible, hire an inspector to go look at the property & provide you with an assessment.

15. Trusting Everything a Real Estate Advertisement Says
Don't assume every ad is fact. Learn to decipher real estate lingo.

14. Picking the Wrong Agent
Treat meetings with agents like a job interview— that person is going to be working for you. Talk to your friends who've sold houses and had a good experience with their agent.

13. Not Hiring an Agent
There's a lot more to selling a house than just putting a sign on the front lawn. If you don't have an agent, you will not get on the multiple-listing service (MLS). That means that other agents are not going to know that your property is for sale.

12. Buying the Most Expensive Home on the Block
The most expensive house may only depreciate in value over time, rather than appreciate. Also, those houses are often not the first house to sell because they are usually overbuilt to the neighborhood. It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy to find out what the price point should be.

11. Not Setting a Realistic Budget
Just because the bank pre-qualifies you for a loan amount of $400,000 doesn't mean you can afford to make that payment every month. Before a house hunt, you should sit down & make a monthly budget of what you spend every month. Come up with a number that you are comfortable spending on your mortgage payment, aside from those other expenditures.

10. Visiting the House Only Once
It's important to visit a house more than once because the neighborhood itself may be very different, depending on the day of the week and the time of day. It's also a good idea to go home and think about it, even sleep on it, before you go back again.

9. Not Being Pro-Active at Closing
The best thing to do when going into a closing is to get all the paperwork ahead of time. All that information should come from a mortgage broker or banker. They have what they call a HUD (Housing and Urban Development). The final walk-through of the home is another imperative part of the process to remember to not forget to do.

8. Doing Major Renovations/Remodeling Before Selling
Minor upgrades usually have a higher return on your money than tackling major renovations before placing a home on the market. The best place to spend money is outside. Research shows that increasing the curb appeal often returns the most value on your money.

7. Skipping the Loan Pre-Approval Step
When you are pre-approved, the bank is saying, "we will give you a mortgage of up to this amount, so now all you have to do is find your home." If you obtain a pre-qual letter, this will indicate to the Seller that the you "the shopper" really is serious about buying a home.

6. Falling in Love With the First Property You See
Many homebuyers (particularly first time homebuyers) fall into the trap of falling in love with the very first house that they see. You need to at least look at three more houses in the area to get an idea of what the comparables are in that price range.

5. Buying a Home Without a Professional Inspection
There are a lot of things a home inspection can reveal about a property that are not visible to the naked eye. Be sure to hire someone that comes with a good referral basis. Look up the American Society of Home Inspectors & get a list of qualified home inspectors in your area.

4. Overlooking the Extra and Hidden Costs
Buying a home is not just about the money that you spend up front; it's about all the rest of the money you have to spend beyond that. Find out what the property taxes are, what a water bill might be & what a standard electric bill in that home.

3. Buying What You Want, Not What You Need
Look at the space that you are already living in. It will help you to realize what you have been missing & what you need in your next home.

2. Setting Too High of a Sale Price
As a seller its really important to do your research, and in order to come up with your sale price, look up what comparable homes in your neighborhood have sold for. Figure out what the going price is and try to put yours right in the middle of that, unless you have something extra special to offer. It is always better to price a home sharply, than to start too high and have to reduce. Once you reduce or have a long market time, it may be assumed that something is wrong with the home.

1. Failing to Showcase Your Home & Make Small Cosmetic Changes
When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house. Maybe even hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture. Focus on helping a buyer see the floor plan & feel the square footage.




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