You are about to sell your house. Naturally, you want to make a profit, or at least enough to make the transition from this home to the next go smoothly. You also want the deal to occur quickly, with as little time on the market as possible. This can happen but only if you enter the real estate world wisely and that means avoiding several actions that may seem tempting now, but will cause you trouble in the very near future.

The first thing you don’t want to do is overprice your property. Yes, it would be nice if you could net more than is warranted, but home buyers today are informed. They know what a house, yard included, is worth. If they see you trying to add an extra zero, they won’t trust you and they definitely won’t buy your house. Further, you don’t want to base your asking price on a refinance appraisal. These appraisals often untruthfully name your property’s worth as more than it is. Again this will deter buyers. Instead, trust your real estate agent who knows Austin, knows the market and knows the buyers.

Once you’ve settled on an asking price, do not neglect the importance of actually selling your house. It won’t move if you don’t advertise the fact that it’s out there. Get real people to come and look at it. When they do, do not forget to make your house appear as pleasant as possible. Polish it. Then, approach the potential buyers with a friendly and, again, pleasant attitude, pushing a little more with the obviously serious customers. You do not want to waste your time on browsers.

Finally, do not forget that you have rights and responsibilities. The city of Austin does not cater solely to the homebuyer, nor does it leave all of the duties involved in a real estate transaction up to the buyer. The seller must take an active part as well. Know what must be done and what CAN be done, and you’ll sell your house, intelligently and within an appropriate amount of time.