STRUGGLING TO SELL YOUR HOME?
Are you frustrated that your home hasn’t sold? You have a great house, but for some reason, buyers have not snatched it up yet? I understand your frustration! If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without a viable offer, you have the right to be frustrated!
Maybe it's time to bring in a new quarterback? After all this is a 'must win' game!
In a ‘normal’ market, a common metric in residential real estate is “Days On Market” (DOM) and the first 14 days is the “Golden” period, because beyond this time period Realtors and buyers begin to wonder if there are “issues” with the property. Believe me, with four decades of experience, I can tell very quickly why your home has not sold and can give you the answers.
I work with a lot of sellers who have had their listings with other agents and Realtors 'Expire,' without selling. It's disturbing to see so many homes go without selling when it is evident what the problem is to me and could have been fixed early on. There are many reasons why a home has not sold, among these are: ineffective marketing, poor photos, an issue blocking the sale such as a “cloud” on the title, lack of proper staging, showing condition, poor curb appeal, limited access for showings, bad floor plan, a negative feature, or the price!
The key is to find out exactly what is stopping the sale and resolve or mitigate the issue immediately. I have been able to get many homes sold after the seller agreed to change just one thing. Many times, it has been surprisingly simple. Although some things cannot be changed, such as location, the key is to refocus the buyer to the 20% that is unique and desirable about your home (remember Pareto’s Principle?).
Fixing Problems And Getting Homes Sold - Fast!
After taking over other agent’s listings that had ‘Expired,’ discovering the challenges impeding the sales, and resolving them with each seller, the homes sold, fast! Here are 10 examples:
- Home #1 sat on the market for 6 months because it had poor curb appeal. Adjustments made: minor changes to the landscaping, new mulch and some flowers, along with repainting the front door and shutters with a more attractive color--this gave it a new fresh look. The listing was updated with new photos taken of the front of the home and, as a result, within days the home SOLD above the asking price!
- Home #2 sat on the market for 5 months because it did not have attractive pictures. Adjustments made: all new professional photographs were taken, highlighting the best features of the home (the 80/20 rule). Photos were put on websites and across the internet, and the phone started ringing with buyers wanting to see it immediately. The house SOLD one week later!
- Home #3 sat on the market for 11 months because there were problems blocking the title. There was a bankruptcy filed, an IRS tax lien, a lawsuit filed against the mortgage company, a date set for foreclosure, and a divorce going on. I was able to pull it out of foreclosure into a short sale, staged it and the house went under contract immediately at full price. Then I had my title company and real estate attorney do some research (they are always nice to have in your hip pocket). Between the three of us, we came up with creative solutions that resolved all five issues...and with the divorce finalized the home CLOSED within a week!
- Home #4 sat on the market for OVER a year because it did not show well. Adjustments made: The home was professionally staged with stylish furniture, changing the whole appearance and feel of the home. Once it was presented properly with new professional photos, it SOLD one week later with multiple offers and above asking price!
- Home #5 sat on the market for 6 months because it was being under-marketed by an inexperienced agent. Adjustments made: an aggressive marketing plan was implemented which targeted a special group of buyers. This created the traffic that was needed and the home SOLD 3 weeks later with 2 offers!
- Home #6 sat on the market for 6 months because it was difficult to show due to seller’s schedule. Adjustment made: a new idea was discussed with the seller, which instituted a creative ‘Marketing Plan’ to “Pre-Sell” the buyers on the home before they saw it. A buyer was interested in the home and was willing to wait for a showing. Once the buyer saw it, they made an offer within two days and it SOLD!
- Home #7 sat on the market for 8 months because it had a negative feature that turned off most buyers. Adjustments made: the seller made some minor fixes to solve the problem, a new marketing plan was implemented to showcase the positive elements of the home (80/20 rule) and minimize the one negative feature. As a result, the home SOLD 14 days. later!
- Home #8 sat on the market for 13 months because it had a dysfunctional floor plan. Adjustments made: the home was properly staged to demonstrate that the floor plan could be functional (professional home stagers have an eye for this type of thing). In addition, the marketing plan was improved, and new photos were taken to show off the new way the home was presented. As a result, the home SOLD shortly after.
- Home #9 sat on the market for 9 months because it was vacant, dark, dingy and dirty. Adjustments made: the home had a thorough ‘deep cleaning’ and walls painted with a light neutral color. ‘Hometenders’ staged the entire home like a ‘model’ and made sure all lights, lamps and music were on for all showings. The home SOLD in 1 week with multiple offers, over list price!
- Home #10 sat on the market for 7 months because it was priced too high. Adjustment made: an exhaustive "Comparable Market Analysis" indicating the correct home value was discussed with the seller. After understanding the huge error that this cost him, in many ways, he agreed to reduce the price where it should have been from the beginning. The home SOLD in less than 3 weeks.
I hope these examples demonstrate that most home-selling challenges can be overcome. Now, it’s your turn. Are you struggling to sell your home? If trying the same thing over and over is getting you the same result—and we know how that works—then maybe it is time to try something and someone new.
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn.
Their ears are open for knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:15 (NLT)
