If I am selling my home for the first time, take care to not make these five financial mistakes which are irreversible.

Mistake 1: Listing with a Bad Agent

This is, by far, the biggest financial mistake I can do. The rest of the mistakes I have listed here will be greatly influenced by the broker I work with, so it deserves to be on the top. A bad broker will kill my selling price, leaving less money in my pocket.

It’s easy to just call up the broker that assisted me in purchasing my home years ago, but selling differs from buying. The person may be a good buying broker but have a bad selling record. It’s also easy to just work with a friend or family member that is an agent, but that’s a powerful way to ruin a relationship. Selling my home is a major financial transaction, so I view this as a strict business affair and take the time to find an experienced, top broker who specializes in my local market.

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Mistake 2: Hiring a Family Member or Personal Friend

I might wonder that working with a broker personally close to me will be fun, but it’s generally not a sound idea and there are some main reasons why.

My friend or family member may be lazier with me. Unconditional love and friendship are wonderful but that may actually cause him to underperform. When a broker is working with a general client, he is more inclined to impress. If the broker doesn’t impress the client, there won’t be any good digital reviews or personal recommendations from that client.

Imagine if things go really worst. Even the most experienced brokers can make big financial mistakes, and I should be able to express my concerns and frustrations with my broker. When it’s a personal friend, that can be really awful. What would that do to my relationship? There is a bundle of horror stories involving ruined relationships due to the worst real estate transactions.

There’s a major difference between a hired professional telling me something I don’t want to hear over a close friend telling me something I don’t want to hear. If I think my home is worth more money than my broker, I won’t really take it personally if it comes from a hired professional.

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Mistake 3: Not Interviewing Multiple Agents

With the internet and the widespread availability of information, most people put in an ample amount of effort and research before purchasing daily-use products. Yet, most people opt to work with the first broker they talk to, which is amazing considering that selling my home is one of the largest financial transactions I’ll ever make.

Mistake 4: Setting the Wrong Price for Your Home

I’m not wrong for wanting to make a lot of money off of my home, but I might be wrong about how much I think it should sell for. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but setting the price too high can cause my home to sit on the market for a long time, making it unattractive to buyers. Setting the price right is also highly dependent on choosing a knowledgeable broker.

By using the free home value estimator to find out the value of my home to assist give a rough idea of what I can price my home at. I’ll also want my agent to conduct a comparative market analysis.

Mistake 5: Selling “For Sale By Owner”

If it’s my first time selling, I might be turned off by all of the closing costs coming my way. Then I have a brilliant idea, “I’ll sell it myself, so I can save money!” Bad idea.

There is an overwhelming amount of data that proves hiring a broker is an awesome way to go. If I’m an expert marketer, know how to set the price correctly, feel like diving in paperwork, have a ton of free time to show my house and field calls, and am a great negotiator, then I might have a chance of successfully selling by myself. But I’m guessing all of those things don’t apply to you. Hire an agent and make more money.

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