Traps to avoid when selling

Avoid these potential pitfalls when you're putting your home up for sale.

Overpricing the home — Objectivity can be difficult when deciding on a sales price. You've acquired so many memories while living in your home, and human nature tempts us to apply dollars to those memories. You should refrain from being emotional about pricing your house. Try to see it from a buyer's point of view.

A related mistake is automatically hiring an agent just because she is willing to list the house at a higher price. Remember that the market, not the listing price, determines the sales price.

Getting blindsided — Since most homebuyers are going to get an inspection before their purchase, you should consider getting one first. A licensed real estate inspector will give you a report detailing what repairs will be needed to sell the house for top dollar. You'll want to fix what the inspector finds or fully disclose what you know about the property and adjust the price accordingly.

Too much stuff — Find a different place for all your stuff. Closets and other areas in your house that are dedicated to storage can be big selling points, but not if they're bursting with all your coats, clothing, boxes, and other things we all throw into closets. Keep these areas extra neat and uncluttered, even if you have to put some boxes of Halloween decorations and a lot of clothing in the trunk of your car.

Clean that house — Enough said? Don't let a prospective homebuyer walk into a stage-four disaster area. It gives the impression that you don't care, nor have you ever cared, about the condition of the house.

Your Texas REALTOR® can help accurately price your house and get it ready to sell — but you'll have to handle the c;eaning yourself.