Selling can be tricky. It feels unpredictable.

Sometimes, you only have to list your house for a few days before the perfect buyer comes along, falls in love, and makes an offer.

Other times, your house may sit on the market for months with little to no interest.

Why is that?

Well, it could be something as simple as a change in market conditions or the current level of interest from buyers in certain types of housing or locations. After all, you never know who is looking and what their criteria are.

However, there are some common mistakes that sellers might make that can hinder the success of the sale.

The last thing we want is for you to make those same mistakes, so we’ve put together a short list of things NOT to do when selling your house:

1. Pricing too high

You may be tempted to set your asking price higher than your home’s value and leave room for negotiation.

Here’s the problem with pricing too high: any good Realtor® will know how to evaluate the local market and find out the current market value of your house. And, if your house is overpriced, they will let their clients know.

More importantly, houses that are priced too high will receive less attention.

That’s not to say that you should price it low; that comes with its own set of issues.

Consult with your Realtor® to decide what the value of your home is, how much you are hoping to make, and what a good selling price would be based on those numbers.

2. Leaving clutter everywhere

Keeping your house neat and tidy can be a task for any family, especially if it is on the market for quite some time. There will almost certainly be constant upkeep to ensure that the house looks its best before every showing.

But, you can help yourself out by removing as much clutter as possible before listing.

So, those makeup products you leave all over the bathroom counter and those toys that never seem to get put away? Make sure those aren’t visible. It’s a good idea to find places to store those little, day-to-day items where they won’t be seen. A tidy home makes a much better impression.

For anything you won’t need (such as souvenirs, family photos, and so on), the best thing you can do is pack them up before your house hits the market.

Cleaning up your space and depersonalizing it can help make the space look bigger and cleaner. It will also help the buyer to better picture the home as their own instead of feeling like they’ve invaded your personal space.

Whatever you pack up can be stored in a shed, garage, or closet. However, storing them offsite, if possible, is ideal as it allows the buyers to see the full size of your storage spaces.

3. Neglecting small repairs

A loose cupboard door or a small faucet leak might not seem like a deal-breaker, but buyers will likely be hesitant to buy a home if they notice that some of these maintenance tasks have been neglected.

Firstly, they may not want to take on the expenses of additional repairs after purchasing a house.

Secondly, any problems that have not been dealt with will leave the buyer with the impression that you lack pride of ownership. They may wonder: “If I can already see these small problems, what larger problems might I be unaware of?”

Doing small fixes is worth the investment to make sure your house is in top shape. The more presentable your home, the better it will sell.