Finding The Buyer Your Home Needs

There are few things as frustrating on waiting for a home to sell when it just isn’t budging. Whether you are hoping to move out in a hurry or you’re sick of waiting after spending months and months on the market without a buyer, you can’t afford to sit and be passive about it. While you’re waiting for the home to sell, you might have a new home loan to pay off or rent to keep up with. Stop that old place from jeopardizing your financial security and take a more active approach to figuring out why, exactly, it won’t sell.

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You’ve neglected the curb appeal

Let’s start by looking at why you might not be getting very many viewings, first and foremost. First impressions count, and a lot of potential buyers will first see your home not through the advertising but simply by seeing the “for sale” sign outside your door. However, if the curb appeal of the home is nonexistent, not only will it make people think twice about looking further inside, it can make a real impact on the value of the home. Tidying up the garden, adding a fresh coat of paint, and even beautifying the entrance some with lighting or hanging plant baskets can do a lot to make the property more outwardly appealing.

There are clear problems

If they take a step inside, what do they see? If any of the red flags featured at HGTV are amongst the “attractions” of the home, then it should be no surprise their interest is waning. Poorly maintained gutters and roofing, electrics that don’t work as soon as they flick the switch, plumbing issues, signs of damp or mold. It’s easy for a homeowner to put off fixing these issues but they will be immediately much more noticeable to any prospective buyers. Get a home inspector and have a checklist made of all the different issues in the home. Even if you can’t tackle all of them, tackle the most immediately obvious first.

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It’s looking mighty empty

Perhaps you’ve already moved out of the home. Depersonalizing the décor of the house can be a step in the right direction, as people might not be as into your style of interior design as you are. However, leaving it completely empty isn’t going to be doing you too many favors, either. That just makes it look lifeless and a little alien. Instead, consider renting staging furniture from services like Cort. This allows you to quickly establish a safe, attractive look that helps stoke their imagination of what it might be like to live there but without imposing too much of a unique style.

You’ve partnered with some bad agents

Most people will hire a real estate agent to help them sell your home. After all, there’s a good chance this is your first time going through the process. If you’re using an agent, have you taken the time to make sure they’re the right agent for you? Charisma, experience, and attention-to-detail are all qualities you want, but what trumps them all? Familiarity. If your agent is familiar with the area and knows more about what is accessible and in-reach beyond what Google Maps could tell you, they could be uniquely qualified to help you sell the home. What’s more, if they’ve sold homes in the area before, they likely know which markets are the most relevant when it comes to advertising.

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Don’t neglect your own advertising

You might be inclined to leave everything up to the agent when it comes to advertising the property, but in reality, that’s just quite a lazy way to approach it. Instead, work with them. Craft a better advertisement together. Make sure you have high-quality photos catching the home in plenty of natural light and think of taking things a step further, creating a virtual or video tour. Do your research on different property listings and ask which your agent is using. The truth is that you might be able to discover quite a few that they haven’t considered yet. The agent can be a lot of help, but that doesn’t mean you should let them do it alone.

You’re not looking at all your options

Property listing websites aren’t the only way you can get in touch with potential buyers, either. For one, you might have a lot more reach on social media than you might think. Throw up a post detailing the property details and share it widely. Ask your friends to do the same. There might even be groups dedicated to showing local home listings. There is also a market of direct buyers like Wren Realty that specialize in offering quick sales when you really need to get out of there. The speed at which these companies buy homes can free up a lot of stuck homeowners in need, especially since a lot of them will buy properties “as is” so you don’t need to spend more time and money fixing up the property.

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The price isn’t right

Perhaps you have some interest and you even have people who would be interested in making an offer, there’s just one thing holding them back: the price. Finding the right price for a home can be a tricky business. There are a few different strategies that can help you arrive at the ballpark figure. This includes getting an evaluator to take a closer look at the property and looking at the records of recent home sales in the past few years. Make sure you set the asking price above what you actually expect to get for it, but not too much more above it. Buyers expect to haggle, but if your asking price is too high, they’re just as likely to suspect that what they actually want to pay is well beneath what you’re expecting.

You are never without options when it comes to finding a buyer for the home. Whether you spend the time and money improving its prospects or you broaden your search to include “as is” buyers, there’s always something more you can do. The more you are willing to do, the sooner you will finally get that house shifted.