Property Enquiry Form
Real Estate Singapore
- Home
- Selling Your Property
- Buying Your Property
- Renting Your Property
- Company Property Agent
- Real Estate Professionals
- About Hot Victory
- Career Opportunities
- Investors
- Investment In Singapore
- Our Services
- 10 Mistakes Seller Make
- 10 Mistakes Buyer Make
- 20 Mistake Investor Make
- Hire Buyer Representation
- Why Choose Me Seller
- Purchase Exclusive Realtor
- Calling All Expatriate
- Home Loan
- Home Finance
- Business Finance
- Financial Calculator
- Condominium Near MRT
- Condominium Directory
- District Guide Singapore
- Enbloc Team
- Refer To Friends
- Alert Mailing List
- Real Estate Market Review
- Hot Victory Spirit
- Realtor Tools
- Billy Chen Presentation
- Free List Your Property
- Affiliates
- Contact Me
Singapore Property Tips
Home | Real Estate Blog | Articles | Video | Forum | Success Goal | 中文
Ten Common Mistakes That Seller's Make
Mistake #1: Hard selling during property showing
Emotions dictate a person’s impulse to buy. It has to appeal first to them before they give it any attention and decide to buy it. It is the same with houses. If the buyer feels good about the house and can picture themselves living in it, making it their home, then they are likely to buy it. Sellers have the tendency to speak over sell the property too much that may let them feel pressured to buy the house and end up not doing so because they are not comfortable with the way it is presented to them. Be sensitive to their feelings and learn when to stop your sales pitch. Not all people like to have someone show every nook and cranny of the house. They would rather discover each detail on their own. If it is your house that the agent is showing, welcome the buyers and their agent and get out of their way. It may be sometimes hard for them to see your house properly if the owner is lurking somewhere.
Mistake #2: "Lookers" are mistaken For Buyers
When you plan to tackle the sale of your house by yourself, you will be able to talk to a lot of people asking about your property, even if they are not seriously buying one. You will have more activity in your house as compared to listing it with your real estate broker. Unfortunately, entertaining each person that comes to your door to inquire about the property is too tiring for you and your family. Try to screen them first with a few questions before you consider wasting your time with them.
A serious buyer is really looking in the market to purchase a property for his needs, be it a residential or commercial. Most of the time, they use a real estate agent to look for possible houses on sale. They usually do not have the time to browse properties on sale that are not listed. Properties that are considered For Sale By Owners are frequently visited by curious neighbors and people who are financially incapable of buying a property. Some may be qualified buyers but need first to save for a down payment and fix their credit rating, and some are canvassing prices of houses in the area to be able to know how much they plan to sell their own property.
Ask your buyer first about their credit standing and finances before showing them your house. It will save you lots of time and effort. I know that it may seem a bit rude to ask if they can “afford” to buy your house but sometimes, you have to be because it is always a risk to show people around your house, especially since you have only met them that day. Get to know you buyer a bit first before you decide to show them the house.
Mistake #3: Pricing Your Home Incorrectly
Who doesn’t want to sell a property for a high price? But placing a very high price on your property will lead you to sell it a lot less than its market value. Most buyers compare houses based first on location, then price range, then appearance and condition. Placing your house in the upper priced bracket may let your property get rejected since the price range of properties comparable to yours is much cheaper. The properties that have prices that are similar to yours are usually found in higher class neighborhoods or with a bigger lot space, which will also lead to a rejection of your property because it is considered inferior in size. Also, having a high price means staying in the market for a long time. People tend to think that there might be something wrong with that property because no one wants to buy it. In the end, you will settle for a very low price since this may be the only offer for your property.
To help you in pricing your property right and avoid this kind of scenario, you can listen to my series of lectures recorded on cassette entitled "Sell your home for Top Dollars as fast as you can". It presents eight steps that you need to do to be able to sell your home on time and for the top dollar. It also explains how to give the right price on your property and avoid the mistakes that will prevent your home from being sold. You will be taught advertising techniques by qualified Madison Avenue advertisers that subconsciously persuade buyers to call you instead of other sellers. You will also learn how to set up your home to maximize exposure and how to host an open house so buyers will be enticed to go and be persuaded to buy it at once. It is an action plan to ensure that your home sells fast for the highest possible price. Learning these principles will help you sell your home with lesser hassles and problems, in the shortest period of time. You will also avoid paying more for the house that you are planning to buy. If you are interested with my informational tape series, call me at (+65) 88689999 and I will be happy to provide you with a copy of this audio program. It is yours for the taking.
Mistake #4: Failing To Prepare Your Home For the Buyer's Eye
In looking at houses, buyers try to visualize living there with the family, and not as a structural piece. Their emotions dictate their decisions and they usually end up with houses that catch their eye and interest, not the one fully decorated by top designers. This is what I call the “Ah-ha” effect. Almost all of my successful buyers cry out “Ah-ha” when they get their first look of the house that they end up buying.
Property owners must try to make the necessary repairs to a house before trying to sell them. A fresh coat of paint won’t hurt the budget that much but will do wonders in terms showcasing the house and thus increasing its value and price. Those who present their houses in an as-is, where-is style end up getting lower offers for their property as well as staying in the market for a long time.
Let’s put it this way. You wouldn’t go for a job interview looking like you just cleaned the whole house. You would probably get out your best clothes, shine your shoes, and comb your hair to give it an extra shine in order to sell yourself and land that important job. Why not with your house? Buyers usually check on the condition of the house before they make a bid, and if they like what they see, they will make a fair offer. Call us for tips on how to fix your house and make it irresistible to the buyer, making you sell it fast and with a high price.
Mistake #5: Signing A Long-Term Listing Without A Written, Specific, Performance Guarantee
It is always a good idea to have your property listed with a real estate agent. Unfortunately, there are some agents that take advantage of the owners and make several promises on how the will market your property but you usually end up with no marketing activity at all. Some even charge a fee to get their property listed. Protect yourself from these types of agents. Always request for a written guarantee that you can always cancel the listing made, free of charge, if you are not satisfied with their listing activity and other performance details by the agent. Not heeding this advice will tie up your property for months, even years, without any feedback, positive or negative, from your agent. I myself offer a performance guarantee to my clients, which gives you the right to cancel my services anytime, for any reason, within a 30-day notice. This is to make sure that my clients are happy and satisfied with my services.
Mistake #6: No Qualified Bank Appraisal and No Commitment From a Home Lender For Financing
Have your property appraised first by a qualified appraiser or the bank before deciding on the price of your property. There are a lot of people who sell their property without having an appraisal done only to find out later on after the sale that it was worth much more. Your home will still have to go through an appraisal by a federal or state licensed lender to compute the value of the loan for the buyer. The earlier you know about your property’s market value, the better for you to sell it, giving you more for your money. Also, a qualified bank appraisal acts as a marketing tool since buyers are usually wary about prices and tend to bid low. If you have a bank appraisal for your property, you are able to demand more.
In purchasing property, you are always advised to make a low offer. Without an appraisal, pricing is basically guesswork as well as handling offers because you have no idea of what is a fair price for your property. Even if you get someone to give you a high bid on your property, once the bank appraisal comes out, you will lose money and your client as well, once they find out that their offer is too much. A certified bank appraisal acts as a reference value on the price of your property which is reliable since it is done by an indifferent third party.
Mistake #7: Making it Hard For Qualified Buyers To Obtain Information
Realtors are successful in selling their properties because of two very effective marketing tools: effort and persistence. It is not the open houses that they conduct that give them the sale. It is also not the classified ads that they run which makes them a success. Open houses and classified ads are actually the least effective of all the marketing tools available. It is just a way to introduce to the public the property for sale. People who call classified ads are those browsing the newspaper and when they get to call but get the answering machine, they won’t bother to call back again. In fact, studies have shown that sales from classified ads amount to less than 3% of the population, while they have a 1% chance of selling their property through open houses.
It is recommended that you have a 24-hour real estate hotline dedicated specifically to your house so that buyers can get information on your house anytime. You can also distribute flyers throughout the neighborhood and surrounding areas to increase your exposure and entice people to move to your home. And the real marketing tools are a lot of effort and persistence in looking for the right buyer for your property, which works 100% of the time.
Mistake #8: An Incomplete Written Purchase Agreement
In selling your home, always include every detail about it in the purchase agreement, even if it is already agreed on by both parties. There are a lot of instances that sellers are happy about the property they have sold only to find out that the buyer did not have the financial capability. Also, there are sellers who do not complete the needed documents for the property such as assessments, surveys, tax prorations, title insurance contingencies, pest inspections, home inspections and a lot more. After they have agreed on the price, the buyer may back out if these papers are not yet ready, and you end up shouldering the expense for these papers, which should have been the expense of the buyer. But since you weren’t able to do it and include it in the purchase agreement, you cannot demand it from the buyer. I have several sample purchase agreements in my office that you can use to draft yours. Call me and I would be happy to provide you with them free of charge.
Mistake #9: Not Obtaining Written Pre-Approval For a Home Loan for your New Home
You are happy about selling your home and finding a new one at once but you forget to get a pre-approved for a housing loan. This is a big problem for you. Even if you are able to find the perfect home for your, if you have no pre-approval for your financing, then consider it gone.
A pre-approval is a formal commitment by the lender to grant you a home loan. This has to be in writing to be binding and final. It usually costs a hundred dollars although I can get you one for free. A verbal pre-qualification is not binding for the lender. It is very devastating to find out at the end of all these transactions that you cannot have the property because you have no financing.
I can refer to you several names of highly competent, well-respected and reliable lenders, who will provide you a formal, written pre-approval at no charge, as a result of my recommendation. Just give us a call regarding this matter.
Mistake #10: No Pre-inspections of Your Home Before Putting it On the Market
It is vital to know any problems that may be seen in your property before the Buyer’s inspector finds out about it. Use a pre-inspection of your property so you can find out which areas need to be fixed and if ever remodeled prior to listing it in the market so as to command a better price for it. A lot of home agreements fail because of the many problems that surface during inspection and buyer’s requesting for repairs done to it before purchasing. Do not let this happen to you. Call me for a list of home inspectors.
We hope that these tips are of great help for you. If you feel that you have a lot of new questions on your property because of reading this then do not hesitate to call us. We value your patronage and it would be a privilege for us to serve you. There is no obligation on your part. Call today for a free consultation on how to market your property.
Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest, In Singapore
Billy Chen
CEA Registration Number : R029372I
Tel: (+65) 88689999
Fax: (+65) 64021826
billy@billychen71.com
Buy Sell Rent Contact
Property Search
Featured Properties
Landed House
Condominium Apartment
Commercial / Industrial
International Property
Project Property Search
New Project Launch
Singapore Resources
Welcome to Singapore
Explore Singapore
Singapore PR
Singapore Rental Guide
Foreign Embassies
SIR Tenant Check
International School
Expats Relocation
Government Singapore
Foreigner Home Buyers
Financing Other Expense
Guide Property Taxation
Guide Foreign ownership
Banks in Singapore
HDB Information
Public Transport
Useful Resources
Singapore Maps Search
Hotels In Singapore
Free Stuff Giveaway
Online Shopping