How not to lose money while selling the home?
- MICHAEL HAREL
- Jul 7, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 12, 2021

Many homeowners do not know how to sell their home without losing the money because most of the times they do not know the worth of their home. There are many ways to not lose money when selling a home.
The longer your home stays on the market, the less it is worth in buyers' eyes. Always List the home at the right place and right time helps you to shorten its time on the market and avoid such a perception problem. Trying to test the market by overpricing the home could end up losing money. Other tips to follow include:
Price Research: Research the prices of sold homes in your area within the past three months with homes presently on the market and consider followings.
Are prices going up or down?
Who is your competition?
If you were a buyer, which home would you buy?
Tour open houses: Look for trends at other homes for sale in your neighborhood. Note what makes one home more appealing than another. If you can attract a buyer, a buyer will make an emotional decision, not necessarily a practical nor affordable decision. That can result in more money for you.
Prepare Your Home
You must prepare your home in such a way that it can drive desire in a buyer. It might cost a little bit of money to get your home ready, but the return should far outweigh the expense. Things such as repairs, painting, and landscaping can upgrade your home. The expense can be worth it if the homes sell over list price in a short period of time.
Make a Budget: Set aside an amount you can afford for repairs. Evaluate your home which parts need most improvements.
Skip the bathroom: Most of the property owners spends too much on bathrooms, so do not invest too much on yours unless there are major issues. Keep the room extremely clean, buy new hand towels, and tie ribbons around them. If the room is a dark color, paint it white.
Do research: If you cannot afford to hire a home stager, buy books on staging a house for tips. The most practical advice is to clear out about 50 percent of the furniture in every room.
Examine Fees in the Sales Contract
The paperwork of 10- to 20-page offer will be a list of fees the buyers and sellers will pay. In addition, buyer can ask for additional inspection reports or even a seller concession toward closing costs. All these costs are negotiable. If a buyer asks for 3% toward closing costs, consider increasing the sales price to compensate.
Negotiate the fees: In respond to an offer, negotiate the fees. Even if it is customary for a seller to pay certain fees in your area, you can always ask the buyer to pay them.
Home warranty: If you can get away with it, do not agree to pay for a buyer's home warranty. If a buyer asks for reports such as a pest report or a roof inspection, put a cap on the repair costs such a report might obligate you to pay.
Timing: Close near the beginning of the month rather than the end of the month to save money on interest charges