Hi! It’s us again — the Keri Shull Team. Remember when we broke down the 10 easiest ways to annoy your agent when buying a home in an attempt to save everyone a lot of headaches in the future? Well now we’re back with a new shortlist of ways to annoy your agent, this time when selling your home. Hopefully this will be your What-Not-To-Do list when you’re selling your home, depending on how much you like your agent (gulp). However, we know that the selling process can be stressful and overwhelming, especially if you’ve never done it before. That’s why we stick around even when our sellers do these things to us. But please, take a look at the list before you sell your next home; your agent will thank you for it!
Here are 10 surefire ways to annoy your agent when selling your home:
#1: Be Restrictive with Showings
Showings are the lifeblood of successful home sales. You will annoy your agent to no end if you start refusing showings because it isn’t convenient for you. The truth is that selling a home is an inconvenient process for sellers. A restrictive showing schedule will only make it harder for your agent to sell your home to the right buyer. Getting a potential buyer into the home is one of the most important steps in the sale process for your agent. When your agent has a buyer who likes your home enough to see it in person, be flexible! Each showing brings you closer to a winning offer on your home.
#2: Insist on Taking Your Own Listing Photos
A great agent knows how important it is to take professional photos and videos of your home for the listing, so please don’t insist on taking your own. You may think that your cell phone camera is good enough for the job, but trust your agent on this one. Listing photos are all prospective buyers have to judge your home and decide whether they like it enough to schedule a showing, so it is essential to use high quality photos that depict each room in your home in the best light possible.
#3: Fail to Keep the House Clean
Nothing will turn off buyers (and agents!) faster than a dirty, smelly home. First impressions are everything for buyers. When you’re selling your home, you have to keep up with the cleaning in between showings until your home is sold. Don’t make your agent look bad in front of potential buyers by leaving mountains of dishes in the sink, clothes all over the floor, and a stinky litter box in plain sight. Make your agent proud and keep the home sparkling clean until you accept the perfect offer.
#4: Be Hard to Reach
This is perhaps the easiest way to annoy your agent when selling your home! At any time, a prospective buyer may call to schedule a showing or make an offer. When this happens, your agent will need to reach you as soon as possible. If your agent can’t ahold of you in time, you could miss out on a great offer. Keep your cell phone on you at all times and be sure to tell your agent if you have plans to leave town. Save your agent some stress and make yourself readily available until you’ve successfully sold your home.
#5: Keep Important Things from Your Agent
One of the keys to becoming a successful seller is to work with a great agent who puts your best interests first. However, an agent can’t do their best work for you if you aren’t honest with him or her about your home’s history. If you had an asbestos incident or know that the home’s foundation is damaged, be honest with your agent. Your agent is on your side. Lying will not only annoy your agent but land him or her in court if you knowingly fail to disclose material facts when selling your home.
#6: Expect to Get Back All the Money You Put into Renovations
We’re not saying your renovations aren’t valuable, but don’t expect to make every penny you spent on new floors back when you sell your condo or townhome. Unfortunately, the buyer is the one who gets to decide how much your home renovations are worth. Remember that your home is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay, so let your agent work their magic to get you as much money for your home and its brand new features as possible. Your home’s ideal buyer will recognize the money you put into renovations and repairs, and make you a great offer.
#7: Speed-Dial Your Agent 5 Minutes After Every Showing
Hey, we get it. You’re a mixed bag of emotions waiting to hear if your home is going to sell or not, desperate for information regarding the latest showing, but for the love of all things real estate, please let us call you! Buyers don’t always make their opinions known until they have a game plan, so there’s rarely any news that fast after a showing. Let your agent negotiate with the buyer’s agent on your behalf to get you the best offer, and trust that we will call as soon as possible to tell you everything.
#8: Hang Around Open Houses
Please. Don’t. Ever. Do. This. Seriously. When your home is being shown, leave the house. Run an errand, walk the dog, grab a latte, just don’t be there when potential buyers are seeing your home for the first time. Same goes with open houses. It’s incredibly important for buyers to feel comfortable in your home. They won’t be able to take their time getting to know your home if you are breathing down their neck the whole time. Plus, there’s always the risk that something you do or say could drive away the ideal buyer. Play it on the safe side and let your agent sell your home!
#9: Convince Yourself That Your Home is Worth More Than It Is
Nearly all sellers feel some sort of emotional connection to their home. Things you may find valuable about your home may not be valuable to buyers, like that custom wall paper from the ‘90s you proudly describe as one-of-a-kind. Experienced agents know how to correctly and competitively price a home to sell it successfully, so don’t step on your agent’s toes by insisting your home is worth more than it is. We have a tried and true system for pricing homes, and if it doesn’t sell, we’ll buy your home from you ourselves!
#10: Turn Down an Offer Because It Isn’t Full Price
Just because an offer isn’t full price doesn’t mean it isn’t a great offer! As the seller, you must be reasonable. An expert agent will have priced your home competitively based on your local real estate market with room for negotiation. Many buyers feel like they’ve “won” negotiations by coming in below full asking price, but the seller is also a winner! If your home was priced correctly, you will likely still profit from the sale of your home. Trust in your agent’s abilities to get you the best deal!
