Things You Should Never Say When You’re Selling Your Home
Mar 15, 2016 03:59PM ● By News Desk
You know that expression about loose lips sinking ships? It holds true for selling your home, as well. Louisiana law dictates a large amount of information that sellers have to disclose to potential buyers—such as if your home has lead paint or is located in a flood zone. But there’s a lot more information that you might inadvertently volunteer when you would be truly better off keeping your mouth strategically shut.
Hopefully, you’ve chosen an experienced Realtor® to sell your home and hopefully you’ve been advised to leave your house while your home is being shown to prospective buyers accompanied by an agent. However, should you find yourself in a position where you do have to speak directly with a buyer or their agent, there are some things that should never be uttered. Doing so could, at best, prolong the sale of your house or, at worse, get in court as a defendant.
‘It’s been on the market for X…’
Don’t discuss how long the home has been on the market. This info is available to the buyer’s agent on the MLS (Multi-Listing Service) report. Bringing it up—especially if the home has been on the market longer than the average home in your area—can send sellers the wrong message… Like what’s wrong with it?
‘We’ve never had a problem with…’
If you’re looking for a quick sale, you may be tempted to tell a few little white lies such as… No, the dog next door never barks at night… We’ve never had a problem with the Renter next door.
No matter how insignificant they might seem—get caught in a lie here and you might wind up in court.
‘We always wanted to fix/renovate that, but…’
We always thought about knocking this wall down and opening the space for more light. Or, we planned on renovating this bathroom but ran out of cash… Mum’s the word when it comes to fixes you intended to address. Nobody cares about good intentions. When sellers point out things they might change, this only alerts the buyer of more upcoming costs for them. The buyers may not even want to knock down that wall or redo the bathroom. So why plant those ideas in their head.
We spent a ton of money on X, Y, and Z’
Just because you love the Brazilian wood flooring you installed throughout the first floor, that doesn’t mean prospective buyers will be willing to shell out for it. Buyers don’t care if you spent $10,000 or $100,000 on your kitchen. They are only going to offer what they feel the home is worth in relation to area comparable sales and no mortgage company is going to lend more than the house is worth, so save your breath. All of the unique features of your home should be listed on the Home Flyer and MLS.
Less is more when dealing with buyers and their agent. The best thing you can do is allow your agent to speak for you as he/she is professionally trained in the art of selling homes.
