Top reasons you have trouble selling your home
Category Sales
Selling a home in today’s oversaturated market may turn out to be more than a real challenge. And making even the silliest mistakes is not allowed. Do you have your property on the market for a few months and nothing seems to happen? The first thing is to ask yourself ‘why?’! Get into your buyer’s shoes and try to determine why there is so much hesitation and lack of response…
Houses that don’t sell!
The most frequent scenarios when dealing with houses that don’t sell are: few visitors or no visitors at all, or the opposite case – not receiving a serious offer even though you had dozens of viewers.
In order to save money, you need to know what mistakes you must avoid. Irrespective of what type of market you find yourself into, keep in mind that there will always be homes that will sell fast and properties that will rest for several months in a row with no serious buyers. If you’re in the second category, then you are right to have reasons to worry.
So, let’s study the causes why your house doesn’t sell. If you make all the right moves, your house should attract not only visitors, but buyers instead! You’re probably doing something wrong, that should be more than obvious. Here are the most common mistakes!
Selling your home, any problems there?!
Here are some of the possible reasons!
- You put an exaggerated price
Studying the market and putting a price that matches the real estate conditions of that period of time, is a must. Ask a real estate professional and put the correct price for your property. Making this all too common mistake will only cost you more money than you have initially anticipated.
An exaggerated price will only scare off potential customers, which by the way will end in not even getting to see your property at all. If you’re an owner under financial pressure, then try to detach yourself and see the matter from an objective point of view. You cannot fool anyone, but yourself.
- Your house isn’t in its best possible shape
Curb appeal matters more than you could ever think of. So, in order to sell your property faster, get it in its best shape. Prepare it for visitors, declutter it and make it look appealing. If you receive a visitor and your property doesn’t impress, then for sure you are still doing something wrong.
Selling your home involves preparation, a good marketing and well-thought strategies. You should reach every visitor you have and make him/her remember the property, of course, in a good way!
- You haven’t hired a Realtor
Choosing to sell your house without a Realtor is definitely much more difficult and it is not advisable. For sure you don’t have enough experience for such a huge project. Let professionals do their job. Specialists state – a good Realtor will help you take the best decisions and more than that he/she will facilitate the entire selling process.
- You’re still doing repairs
Either minor or major repairs are a genuine ‘no-no’ while your visitors come and go. No one would enjoy visiting a property that is under construction. It really needs to be in the best possible shape, BEFORE buyers get inside. You need to make your buyers imagine the place as theirs.
- Poor marketing
With poor marketing or no marketing at all, your house doesn’t stand a chance in front of millions of other similar properties. As much as you think you know how to advertise it properly, you need more than that – you need an expert’s advice. Your real estate agent has a wider marketing knowledge. He/she knows how to market it effectively. If you’ve made this mistake already, then voila, here is the reason why your house is still on the market. Get a competent real estate agent to help you, and fast!
- Your house is never ready for Open Houses
Once you put your house on the market, then it must be ready for visitors. Otherwise said, if it’s not ready to receive visitors, then it’s not ready to be sold and marketed!
Consequently, we can all agree that selling a house takes work, time, patience and preparation! Experts stress that once you’ve succeeded in attracting visitors to your house, then you must amaze them, this is the secret. They must remember your home!
- You have a bad listing description or bad shot photos
Both your photos and your description are vital to sell your home. It’s the image your visitors will see once they begin their search online. What do you have to do? Exactly this – provide what they are looking for, a dream house. How? Well, through good-quality photos and a description that will match the story. The first impression matters!
- You don’t want to show your house to your audience
If you’re reluctant to show it to your visitors, then why did you put it on the market? The first question that will arise in your buyer’s mind will be – ‘Is it really for sale or not?’ Taking into account the huge number of fake listings out there, with this type of mistake your property will get a negative feedback that can never be wiped away; don’t get into this unfortunate real estate roller coaster! It’s a trap…
- You interfere too much in the selling process
You follow the buyer wherever he/she goes, while visiting the property. NO! He/she must feel at ease when visiting your house. He/she must make up his/her mind without your ‘help’, and if you get in his/her way the buyer might feel uncomfortable and believe you have something to hide. Try to let your emotions outside the scene and the best advice would be – ‘Don’t be at home when you have potential buyers visiting it, let your agent do his/her job’. Once you’ve put the house on the market it means you’re ready to sell it, don’t you?
- You don’t let your agent do his/her job
Your agent is a genuine professional, remember that! You don’t need to show him/her what to do to sell your property. Once you’ve hired him/her, then you don’t have another 8 h job. Get this idea out of your head and take emotion out of the equation. Give him/her the keys and move on. Wait for feedback!
- You don’t want to negotiate the price
Your initial price is not the one that will remain until the end. Get this idea out of your head, it usually does never happen. Be ready to negotiate! Put the price a little bit higher than you would normally accept. This will leave you some space for negotiation. And think about it – there are few buyers out there that will not try to lower your price, it doesn’t matter with how much… it must get lower, at least a little bit. Selling your home cannot be that hard, right?
- You don’t know what improvements to make
If you don’t know what to do to improve the general appearance of your home, then ask for some professional advice. An interior designer or a landscaper will certainly give you some useful hints. Keep in mind – there is always place for improvements, irrespective of how nice your property really looks like.
- You haven’t depersonalized it
You should make it as easy as possible for your visitor to visualize himself/herself living there. For this to happen, you need to depersonalize it. Why? Well, it’s difficult for your visitor to imagine his/her own personal touch among photos of you, personal items and diplomas all over the place. Don’t make this mistake too, and keep in mind – the right presentation and the proper exposure are everything!
- You have extravagant tastes
An extravagant house will surely sell slower. The more common your house looks, the faster it will sell. How can you imagine to sell a house that is painted in striking colors if the buyer is, let’s say a traditionalist? Your chances will diminish drastically!. Your house must appeal to a broader audience; the more extravagant your tastes are, the harder it will be for you to find a suitable buyer.
True story
Take a step back and objectively think why you have troubles in selling your property. Believe it or not, you’re doing something wrong. So to maximize your chances to sell your property, you need to see where you are making your mistake. Is it one of the above mentioned ones?
The first thing you need to do is to find yourself a professional real estate agent. You need a competent, experienced and honest expert by your side. Unless you want to keep the property on the market a long period of time, you don’t need to be stingy at this point. So, if you’re serious about selling your house, then emotionally detach yourself.
Author: Lisa Ross
