There are a few things you should never say to an estate agent when trying to sell your home. Not because they are unprofessional but for the opposite reason. They have a duty to your sale, but also to your instruction. So, you always need to be pretty careful about any comments.
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Never Say You Won’t Settle
You should not settle on an offer you believe is unfair, but it isn’t wise to say you will never settle with your estate agent. This can instruct them to leave your home on the market with parameters that don’t work for you. And this can end up costing more time and money. After your house valuation, you need a price that fairly reflects your property, yet one that also helps a buyer decide. And in a buyer’s market, you may have to take a hit on some offers on your home.
Never Say You’re Not Interested in Low Offers
In a similar way to the point above, it isn’t wise to tell your agent you won’t accept low offers. It can take a while to sell your home, and the expectations of buyers and what they are willing to offer can vary based on supply and demand. What you consider a low offer after a while can, in fact, be a good one. Yet it can seem low compared to your home’s assessment from a few months before. It may come to the point where you have to accept an offer before it’s too low.
Never Say to an Estate Agent, “Don’t Show My Home.”
One of the most effective ways to sell your home is to allow potential buyers to see it. Of course, this means opening up your home to strangers. But estate agents are professionals at doing this and know what they are doing. Yet if you don’t allow them to show people around the home they are interested in buying, the average time to sell, between 4 and 6 months, will probably take much longer. The fact is that people like to see (and get a feel for) a home they are buying.
Never Say You Can Take Your Time
Supply and demand are mentioned above, and you need to understand the basics of this when it comes to home sales. The longer something is on sale, like a home, the bigger the chance of supply outstripping demand. When this happens, your home will become less valuable, and therefore, you have a lower chance of getting your asking price. If you tell an estate agent you have time, then they will place less priority on your home sale and reduce the possible value.
Never Disclose Personal Reasons for a Sale
Selling your home can be a game of give and take, and negotiation is part of that game. But if you inform your agent about personal reasons for selling the property, especially if time is a factor, they are legally obliged to disclose this if asked. But you aren’t. If a potential buyer knows you are in a desperate situation, they can use it against you to try to take advantage by offering a price well under what you are asking. And this can force you to accept an unfair property offer.
Summary
There are some things to never say to an estate agent, such as that you won’t settle. You should also never instruct them not to show your home because buyers are more likely to make an offer if they can see it. And never disclose personal reasons that can be taken advantage of.
