6 Things Not to Say When Selling a Home

This is something every home seller should hear. Home sellers need to watch what they say to buyers and to their real estate agents. Real estate professionals recently told Realtor.com® some things they believe sellers should never say:

1. “Our house is in perfect condition.”
“The home inspection may reveal otherwise, and, as a seller, you don’t want to wind up putting your foot in your mouth,” says Cara Ameer, a real estate professional that spoke with Realtor.com®. “There simply is no such thing as ‘perfect condition.’ Every house, whether it is brand new or a resale, has something that needs to be fixed, adjusted, replaced, or improved upon.”

2. “We’ve never had a problem with …”
Sellers need to be careful to not tell any fibs or embellish anything, even when those appear seemingly small. “You’re setting yourself up for potential liability,” Ameer says. “You may not even be aware of the problem at first, but it could translate into an embarrassing moment upon inspection.” Let the home inspector’s report speak for your home.

3. “It’s been on the market for X number of weeks/months/years.”
Sellers should never mention to potential buyers how long their home has been on the market, says Pam Santoro, another real estate professional. The information is available on the home’s information sheet for buyers to see for themselves. Sellers who wish to highlight this may find that buyers think they can get the home for less because it’s been on the market longer. Other buyers will wonder what’s wrong with the home that it has been sitting for so long.

4. “We spent a ton of money on X, Y, and Z.”
Sellers shouldn’t think that just because they spent a lot of money on recent upgrades to the home that they will get that back and more when they sell. “The buyer doesn’t care whether you spent $10,000 or $100,000 on your kitchen,” says Ameer. “They are only going to offer what they feel the home is worth in relation to comparable sales in the area.”

5. “We always hoped to fix/renovate that…"
Mentioning things you thought about updating or renovating just makes the buyer think they’re not perfect as they are. They may perceive this to mean the house will be costing them even more money down the road.

6. “I’m not taking less than X amount for my home.”
“If you send a message that you are inflexible or not open to negotiating, it may not invite buyers to even try to work out acceptable price and terms as they will feel defeated from the start,” says Ameer. “Word may spread that you have this sentiment as a seller, and people may start to avoid the house.”

Source: “6 Things You Should Never Say When You’re Selling Your Home,” realtor.com®