Before your house hits the market, you shouldn't be so focused on preparing it that you fail to look around at the bigger picture. While your real estate agent is an ideal person for bouncing ideas off and answering your questions, you should be proactive by perusing other real estate listings in the community and seeing what you can learn from them. A sharp eye can catch all sorts of issues with different listings, which you can then evaluate to make sure that you're not making the same mistakes yourself. Here are some lessons that you can learn through this process.

Failing To Provide Enough Details

When you look at an online real estate listing, ask yourself if it leaves you with questions. Perhaps there weren't enough photos, or maybe the specific details of each room weren't clearly defined. For the average prospective buyer, this shortage of information can be frustrating — and even though the buyer could call the listing agent for additional details, he or she might just decide to continue to browse other listings. Use this lesson to ensure that when you and your agent prepare your online listing, you don't omit any important details.

Having Distracting Elements In Photos

The photos of a home are arguably the most important element in an online listing, yet many sellers take their own photos instead of hire a professional for the job. These photos will stand out for the wrong reasons, but even worse is when you notice distracting elements. For example, the seller is taking a photo of the bathroom and you can see his or her reflection in the mirror. Or, the family dog is walking through the background in one of the photos. The lesson you can learn here is to hire a professional or, if you wish to do this job yourself, thoroughly assess how each photo looks before you use it.

Listing Too Many Requirements

An online listing is the place to list your requirements as a seller, but you may notice as you browse different listings that you're turned off by those with a lengthy list of requirements. There's a way to approach the requirements, and many sellers do it wrong. A harshly worded list telling prospective buyers that they need to give 48 hours of notice to arrange a viewing, cannot spend more than 45 minutes in the home, and other similar sentiments can send a message that the seller might be a handful to work with. You'll ideally learn to be accommodating in your listing. Go over these lessons with your agent to ensure that your listing reflects what you've learned.