5 Reasons Your Home Hasn’t Sold
The fact is, if you’re selling a home in the current economy, you can’t afford for it to sit on the market. You need that baby sold, preferably yesterday. Now we all know there are many factors that can determine how long it takes for your home to sell (features, price, neighborhood, proximity to public transportation, etc.), and for the most part these things may not necessarily be within your control. However, there are a number of factors that are within your control, and if you’re home isn’t selling it could be for one of these (very controllable) reasons.
1.) It smells. Yes, you may have a smelly home, and while you may be used to it, buyers are not and it will only turn them off. A good test is to have a trusted (and brutally honest) friend come in and give it a good sniff. If they say it smells, it smells. In this case invest in some deep cleaning of the carpets, furniture and drapes, make sure all dishes are cleaned and put away, and (as much of a pain as it sounds) constantly take out the trash. You want your home to be remembered as “the one with the nice kitchen,” not, “the one that smelled like sea-bass.”
2.) It’s too personalized. When buyers come to see a potential home, they’re going to be envisioning themselves in it for the next 10, 20 or 50 years. Having pictures of your family covering the walls (as beautiful of a family it may be) is only going to make it difficult for someone else to feel at home. So take down all those pictures of your loved ones, and replace them with a nice piece of art. Besides, you’re going to need to pack them anyway, so why not now!
3.) It’s too cluttered. Speaking of packing, let’s tackle this issue of clutter. If your home is packed to the gills with your personal belongings, it automatically gives off the impression that it’s too small. Think about it; if your showing someone a spare bedroom stuffed with Christmas decorations, the buyer is going to wonder why the decorations are in the spare bedroom and not in a storage closet somewhere, leaving them to think there must not be a lot of storage space to begin with. When showing your home, your best bet is to go for the minimalist, clean effect. One beautiful painting above the mantel trumps a collection of knick-knacks any day.
4.) Bad listing pictures. There are some things a buyer will understand (you took the picture during the summer when the flowers were in bloom, now it’s a dreary winter day), but there are other aspects that are just unacceptable. Pictures of your house in any of the above conditions will instantly turn a buyer away; similarly, a picture of yourself with your home in the distant, upper right corner will make a useless listing. Make sure your pictures accurately display your home in the best condition it can be in.
5.) Sneaky listing practices. Using inaccurate terminology in your listing to lure people to your open house may seem like a good idea, but it is sure to backfire. When buyers find out the “3rd bedroom” is really just a glorified closet, they’re going to take everything else with a grain of salt; meaning they may begin to wonder if that “brand new” water heater was really found in the back alley.
