From time to time people come up to me and ask me, “Would you be willing to help me sell my house?” That makes me hesitate a moment because unless they understand what they are doing it’s possible my suggestions may actually cause them some problems, which would not be my goal at all. There is one thing that really starts the problems with most people who have to sell a house. It’s counterintuitive really, especially when real estate professionals are available to help you, but the real problems are not the slow economy or tight mortgage money. No, the real problem hits closer to home than that, and this problem is certainly the most critical reality every homeowner must understand in order to sell a house these days.
Let me start out with a little story first. Back when I got started buying houses as investments and then attempted to re-sell them immediately in lieu of renting them out, I was absolutely forced to learn how to sell my house myself. The truth is,it does take a bit of sales ability when buyers are somewhat intimidated; for some reason most buyers can never see a new home without considerable emotion. I often use the analogy that buying a house is a lot like dating. That’s right, it’s only natural to see the surface and miss whatever is hidden on the inside. As we all know, it always takes a while to get to know a person, and in the same way it takes a while to get know a house. You have to remember that most homebuyers are usually a little bit overwhelmed, although they are trying to be cool and calm. They are just naturally hesitant and doubtful, which causes to have doubts about the house and about you as the seller.
So, most people don’t really want to consider what I’m sharing here, but let me just say it anyway – selling your house is your own personal responsibility. That’s the deep kernel of truth that most homeowners desperately try to avoid. They hire real estate agents and brokers because they think it’s not their own job at all. Hiring a professional is perfectly appropriate of course, don’t get me wrong here, but owning the personal responsibility for the task is crucial. It’s still 100% your responsibility. I always own the responsibility when I sell my house.
Some people have said, “Leo, I just can’t do it. I simply have no idea how to sell my house myself, but I cannot afford to pay a real estate commission.” If that sounds familiar to you then you have a lot of company in the present real estate market. Frankly, it’s a common attitude that is causing many sellers to suffer unnecessarily. Let me put it this way, whenever you have anything for sale, a car or a boat for example, and especially a huge investment like a house, you have to make sure that potential buyers can trust you. ‘Way back when I was starting out, I figured out about earning people’s trust, and I was right. Trust was what I needed first before I could ever hope to sell my house. In other words, I had to know how to get prospective buyers to trust me before I could really get them to seriously consider buying a house from me.
You will be doing the same thing when you sell your house. You will remember what I said in this article, I’ll bet, and think back to how I had to learn to develop trust with potential buyers whenever I needed to sell my house. I may have had more experience selling houses than you will ever have, but you can benefit from my experience and do what it takes to gain the trust you need to sell your house, too.