When you’re struggling to sell your house, the stress can be overwhelming. You may feel like giving up and just renting it out. But there are reasons why a home might not be selling even when listed with a realtor that you should know about before making this decision. For example, your property might need too much work or repairs for potential buyers to consider including it in their offer. Or even worse you are working with a new real estate agent who has NO idea what they are doing and is just wasting your time by just listing your property most likely at the WRONG price. They might even lock you into a long-term contract and just reducing the price of your home month in and month out. We’ve seen this happen more times than you would expect.
The average number of days it can take to sell a home varies from place to place but in Philadelphia, it’s about 45-60 days. In places like New York, it’s about 125, as of 2020. Some places even longer!
Let’s be honest YES there is a real estate boom happening all over the United States right now due to COVID BUT that doesn’t mean YOUR home will sell in less than 24 hours and create a bidding war! Most of these people are buying in mainly suburban areas and the homes are already renovated or brand new. If your home needs a ton of work it’s not gonna fit into this category, hate to be the bearer of bad news. But better to hear it now than later.
If you’re considering selling, the best thing to do is work with a local house buying company like us so they can look over your property and provide recommendations for how it will help sell more quickly!
We would be happy to show up in person at your home or give you a call if you have any questions you’d like to cover first.
Here are some potential reasons why your house may not be selling.
Think about what you can do to make it sell!
#1 Price is too High
Let’s be honest here price is a big factor in whether your home will sell. Think about what the people who are looking at it can afford and if you’re able to lower the price then it might help more people be interested!
Pricing a house too high is the biggest mistake most people make. It seems like common sense, but it needs to be said over and over again because most homeowners are not good at estimating what their home is worth. 40% of the time homeowners end up reducing the price of their homes.
When you’re looking for a realtor they need to have years of experience in evaluating property values so that they can give you an honest opinion on the price your house should be listed at!
It’s always better to ask them how much they think the listing price should be instead of guessing yourself since then you know for sure whether or not your pricing is too high or low!
Any agent can sell a brand new property but it takes skills to be able to sell a property that needs a lot of work and this is where most people fail.
Did you know there are more real estate agents in todays market than properties for sale, the last thing you need is dealing with a newbie.
#2 The property doesn’t fit the mold
Every house is different and unique but some properties have features that make it hard to sell.
Especially if the property is in a location that doesn’t fit the mold of what people are looking for.
If you’re not sure whether or not your house will sell, one way to find out would be to hire an appraiser who can tell you how much it’s worth and why!
It might cost some money but then at least you’ll have all the facts instead of just guessing. And sometimes we don’t want to know these things because they sound too painful so they never get confronted head-on which only makes them worse when trying to flip a home.
A professional appraisal now could save time later by finding out early on any potential drawbacks before wasting months spent working with a realtor without getting anywhere close enough to the selling price.
#3 Really Bad Staging
You know what they say first impressions are everything and a stager’s job is to make your home look it’s absolute best.
If you need help with making your house more attractive, reach out to one of the experienced professionals for advice from A-Z on how it should be staged.
Before you can sell your home for top dollar, every inch has to grab attention including the kitchen! Take an honest inventory of what needs updating or fixing like outdated appliances that don’t match any longer. Make sure there isn’t anything in these areas that might turn off prospective buyers before they even step foot inside because if not then this will end up costing time and money down the road when people aren’t buying as quickly as you were hoping!
You’re also going to want to it’s clean and doesn’t smell. It WILL turn potential buyers away in a heart beat!
#4 Bad Curb Appeal
Once again another first impression rule, the curb appeal is something you’ll want to invest in. This is the first thing a would-be buyer sees when they pull up to your property, and it’s important that it looks inviting from the outside with manicured lawns, fresh paint on the front door or porch.
The curb appeal of a home can make or break its sale price! If not then this will end up costing time and money down the road when people aren’t buying as quickly as you were hoping!
You’re also going to want to look at more than just making sure there isn’t anything in these areas that might turn off prospective buyers before they even step foot inside because if not then this will end up costing time and money down the road when people aren’t expecting it.
#5 The listings photos the realtor took look like crap
Most people these days are looking at pictures and videos of homes first before they ever start looking at the descriptions. So if the photos your agent took aren’t very good then this will end up costing time and money down the road when people aren’t looking at your property.
The listing photos don’t need to be professionally done by a professional photographer but they do need to show off what is wrong with the house or make it look like something desirable that someone would want to live in, not just someplace you’re trying to get rid of!
#6. Your getting bad advice
Almost everything on this list can and could have been prevented by working with a professional but one thing that’s hard to avoid is bad advice as so many people want to give it.
What is bad advice? Bad advice can be anything from a friend or family member telling you to “just lower the price” when your house has been on the market for months. To a real estate agent who tells you that homeowners insurance covers natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes when it actually doesn’t.
And all in between. There is an endless supply of bad advice from all kinds of people.
#7. In conclusion
There are many challenges when selling your home with or without a realtor but there are some things you can do to make the process as smooth and easy as possible.
Find a professional that’ll work for you, not against you, and never listen to your friends or family when it comes to what they think is best for you!
As you can see trying to sell a property can be very time consuming and costly if not done correctly, even in todays market. Many mistakes can be made, even if you’re trying to sell vacant land or a multi-family properties some of the above examples still apply.
If your house has been on the market for months consider hiring an expert like us so we can help turn around this challenge by getting more traffic while lowering commissions. In many cases, our offers result in instant sales because homeowners know they will be guided through every step of the way with someone who cares about them first at all times!
We offer free consultations and a FREE offer on your home, multi-family, or vacant land all over the PA, NJ, and FL region. You can view the entire list of areas we buy houses on our site. There are some cities and counties within those states we don’t currently buy-in.
