Avoiding Biggest Seller Mistakes Part 1: Too Emotionally Attached

Are you a first-time home seller? Those who have gone through the process know that it can be challenging for homeowners. From the emotional attachment of all the memories created and the closing of that chapter in their lives; to all the legal and contractual responsibilities through the transition. It seems that along the way there are potential errors for the inexperienced and the experienced alike. Here are a few helpful tips to help you avoid the five biggest mistakes that sellers often make.

Mistake #1: Staying too emotionally attached

It can be difficult to remove yourself from a place that has been the centerpiece of your life, especially in the cases where you have been there for many years. Often, it's the pleasure moments that you have shared with those close to you that tend to keep you attached. In other cases, it’s the fact that home has been the most stable element in your life yet is no longer.

For homeowners looking to sell, these emotions are very common and absolutely appropriate. However, the important part is overcoming them. When sellers are too attached they may not see what a buyer sees in their home. Whether it’s repairs that need to be attended to or much needed updating to the wallpaper plastered across the bedrooms, the considerations and significance that these features may represent to you will not be the same as to that of a buyer. Features such as these will appear as problems and complications, which we do not want to convey in our sale.

The other misstep often made, is assigning a higher value to your home than the property is actually worth. You may look at your home and consider all of the time you spent working on it, keeping it up and building memories in it and you realize, “how could I ever put a price on something so priceless?”

As the first step to help yourself get past the over attachment, acknowledge that you are having these feelings and that you are not yet fully willing to let it go. By doing so, you are taking an exterior point of view on the situation. Next, to overcome the two common downfalls that come along with this attachment, look at the property as it is right now, in this moment, removing all other significance. For the first time, perhaps in a long time, you will find yourself looking at the house as it truly is. By doing so, you will notice it is very easy to spot the obvious points that may need attention, as well as the true monetary value that your house represents in the current condition for the market. Fortunately, as property prices continue to rise, so does the financial opportunity for sellers in today’s competitive market.

All that really occurs, when someone is too attached to their home, is that a part of them is not yet ready to let it go. What we have discussed will help you move past this barrier and on to a successful sale.