How to Sell Your Home | The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make

If I stand to make $1.5 million or more on a home, why would I balk at paying a measly $7-$5k to stage it.? Sounds like a drop in the bucket.

a year ago I called realtors. They priced my house without seeing it. They had all the paperwork filled out, including that 6 percent commission plus about another 1 percent of fees. I asked for advice about how I should remodel and what would be best. I got nothing, except "counter tops". Now a year later, after a complete remodel of 2 baths, 2 new sliders, all new inside doors, new laminate floors in 2 rooms, new double garage door, new metal roof, all new paint..... they tell me it is still worth the exact same..... makes me insane. Will sell it myself one way or another!

I would love to see a video on manufactured homes. What to update? I know they don’t have the same value but we want to get the best price we can

Thank you

I find it hard to believe that your answer to everything is "Paint It". Recommending painting 125 year old original Victorian woodwork? Really? Or painting beautiful hardwood kitchen cabinets that the professional cabinet maker stained and put in? Really? Why ruin original antiques just to "Fake out" buyers? Most folks have no appreciation for originality and antiques. As for your floors in your house - It is impossible to see if the tile was bad in pictures. It looked fine to me, but I would have to be there to see it so I can't state an opinion on that. I am wondering if a Victorian home to you is an anathema, or mid-century modern? Sure, mechanical's need updating, but maintaining originality or just perhaps refinishing when needed is better than gutting or painting over beauty and ruining original time period homes. Does everything have to look like the HGTV boring everything white stuff. Sad we have to accommodate the lowest common denominator to sell a house because no one appreciates anything older than 7 years old...

Goodness, we don’t even have a doorbell. 😂 five acres, perimeter fenced, electronic gate. Thought when we built, why have a doorbell, we know everyone who enters our property.

We really need to downsize but absolutely dread the process of going through attic, getting rid of half of everything we own, keeping house ‘show ready’. Many years back, a friend and I had a business called Finishing Touch. We would go into peoples homes and rearrange their furniture, rehang artwork, add rugs, lamps, side tables, declutter, etc. This was before the term ‘staging’ was a thing. I do agree, staging makes a huge difference in whether a house sells for top dollar and quickly. Many buyers cannot see through the mismatched furniture, too much furniture, general clutter, the paint color choices, all the personal items scattered throughout the house. It overwhelms their senses.

The several houses we have sold in our lifetime, would take hours to pack up crates, hide dog items, put dogs in car and ride around during showings. It all paid off, but I am definitely not looking forward to this process again, even though down to only one dog.

Appreciate all the information you share with us, all very valuable.

I am a detail person but my husband is not. I ask him to fix certain things and they sit for years. Some things I just am unqualified to do myself. My biggest "weapon" to get him motivated is to tell him I'm going to hire someone to do it. Money is motivating so he will do it himself before letting me hire someone.

Went to an open house. Master bedroom was filled with- FILLED - with dozens upon dozens of dolls, all wrapped in plastic, covering every surface of the way too many shelves. I can imagine the agent had begged them to pack it up. That house to many months to sell.

Thank-you! We are just on the market and I am already overwhelmed. So your firm but clear advice is so helpful. Do you have a video for anyone showing their home? I don't know if I am on the right track as agents are not showing- just me! Not sure what to say or not say! Kind regards from England!

Kati, I love the way you cut to the chase! I have purchased and sold 5 houses over the past 35 years with a Realtor who shares your positions. All purchases and sales have been excellent experiences. I urge potential sellers and buyers to heed your advice. Keep up the fantastic work.

Great vid and advice. What is your opinion on open houses. We seem to have a fair amount here but I don’t believe they are very effective as I see few pending afterwards.

Excellent ideas - thank you for sharing your experience

Yep preparing my home to put up for sale and just got a new doorbell. Less than $10.00 at Lowe’s! Thanks!

I'm still working on my husband to follow your suggestions. When you haven't sold a home for 40 years and your husband doesn't think anyone really takes HGTV seriously, it is a uphill battle. Our next discussion concerns removing a older, white refrigerator and listing the house without a refrigerator. The rest of the appliances are stainless steel. He won't buy a new refrigerator and thinks a working refrigerator is better than no refrigerator. Thanks for listening Kati.

I have a lot of plants, is it ok to leave them out ? How do they photograph?

Just replaced my doorbell. Not sure if I like the replacement though becauseit glows more than I realized, but still better than the broken one. I think the mold that is seen horrifies because it makes buyers wonder about mold behind the walls and in the hvac system. I agree about the collections and the rugs being a bother to seeing the potential of the house. Thank you for all of these great tips!!! 👍