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36 | JANUARY 29, 2014
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

REAL ESTATE

MONTANA LIFESTYLES
Selling Strategies

By M. ANTHONY CARR

There are always appropriate steps to investing in
real estate. However, there are also inappropriate steps

sellers can walk down when it comes time to put their
house on the market.
For instance, the seller who thought the half bath
the builder had located at the front of the house would
really be better situated toward the back of the main
level (though all the other similar models had the pow-
der room in the same place for the previous 20 years).
He got hung up on this detail so much, that he just had

to move it – and did – for thousands of dollars, just so he
could get it on the market the “right way.” His hang-up
may have settled some deep-seated emotional need for
him, but it didn’t draw any more buyers, and it drained
his bottom line. You might say that was a costly mis-
take.
Real estate broker and author Sid Davis has identi-

ied in his book “A Survival Guide to Selling a Home,”
another seven costly mistakes that many sellers make
when it comes time to put their home on the market.
In my business, I’ve seen each one of these mistakes
played out and it just makes me shake my head as to
why sellers forge ahead with unwise strategies instead
of listening to the voice of an experienced professional.
MISTAKE 1: Putting the home on the market be-
SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO
fore it’s ready. Most times this happens because the MISTAKE 4: Hiring an agent based on non-busi- disclaim doesn’t mean you cannot be sued later for
seller gets impatient or is a procrastinator and has ness factors. Make sure you’re hiring a professional the leaky basement, or dilapidated heating/air system
pushed himself up against a moving deadline without with a proven track record. It might be nice to hand that’s discovered 30 days after settlement.
getting the pre-sale work done. So it comes on the mar- over your largest asset to your nephew who just got his MISTAKE 7: Not getting your ducks lined up be-
ket with the horrible carpet (that gets replaced dur- license – but make sure he has a mentor to keep your fore trying to sell. This would involve inancing, read-
ing the marketing of the home); or they are painting it deal heading in the right direction.
ing the ine print on your current mortgage to ensure
while it goes on the market. Presentation is everything MISTAKE 5: Getting emotionally involved in the no pre-payment penalties, not listening to the par-
– so get the work done before marketing the property.
sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges
ticulars of your local market, etc. If your local market
MISTAKE 2: Over-improving the home for the home sellers face when putting their house on the mar- is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early, not
neighborhood. This happens with additions, bump ket. Once you decide to sell your house, it’s no longer later – it will cost you more. If the local market dictates
outs, and upgrades that make the home stick out from a home, but a commodity. It needs to be prepared as a selling your home irst, then buying second, do it in that
among its competitors so much that it’s an anomaly, in- commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as order, or vice versa.
stead of a nice addition to the community.
a commodity. It doesn’t matter what you “want,” only Avoiding these mistakes is not that diicult. There
MISTAKE 3: Pricing the home based on what the what the market can bear on pricing. People are going are plenty of resources and professionals, who are
seller wants to net. This pricing strategy always ends to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can’t there to help you step over the pitfalls. Do the research

in failure. Sellers can control the “asking” price, but get emotional about how they may or may not appreci- early, and listen to that voice in your head (it’s probably
they don’t control the “sales” price. The market does. It ate the nuances of your home.
the whispers of the inance, real estate or insurance
doesn’t matter what the seller wants, the price is deter- MISTAKE 6: Trying to cover up problems, or not person who’s advising you). Sell well.
mined by the black-and-white, matter-of-fact reality of disclosing them. Most states have a property disclo- Submitted by NMAR PR Committee
the market.
sure/disclaimer form – use it wisely. Just because you

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