Has your house been for sale for a long time and it’s still not selling? Instead of losing hope or giving up I wanted to share with you the 8 reasons why your house isn’t selling.
#8. You hate showing your house
You are busy, at work or doing other things but you must allow for your home to be shown. With everything being on the Internet and easily accessible, people will pass on your house if they can’t see it when they want to see it. People need instant gratification and they quickly loose interest and move on to see other houses. It’s sad, but true.
#7 . Lack of attention to detail – What does your house smell like?
You always, always need to look at all the details. As they say, the devil is in the detail. Patching and painting baseboards and trim, touching up walls, repairing cracks, and replacing outdated light fixtures can really make a difference. Some times things as simple as not having working light bulbs in the house can kill a showing, especially if it’s in the evening.
Also, remember bad smells can really turn a serious buyer away. Cigarette smoke, pet smells, hair from the pets, etc. are all reasons that could give your house the wrong impression.
#6. Renters are in your house
If you are not living in your home and are renting it – watch out! I know this sounds harsh and cruel, but consider giving your rents a notice to move out. Why? Allowing the tenants to stay is a big mistake that will make it tough to sell. Renters will never, ever show the home like you would like it to be shown. In fact, in some cases renters will do everything they can so the house is not sold, because they know there is a chance the house will be sold to someone who wants to live in it and they will have to move.
#5. The AC and or roof is old
The AC and roof are big ticket tickets for a house. The home buyer will most likely not want to spend thousands of dollars replacing a roof or repairing/replacing the AC system. Don’t expect top dollar for your home if it has either an old AC or old roof. By old, I would say that any AC over 8 years old and the roof over 7 years old could be a problem. Simply put – an old roof or AC will scare away buyers faster than anything!
#4. There’s too much junk in your house
Sometimes you get used to the way your house is and you don’t really notice the clutter or too many things in your house. Too much stuff will make your rooms seem small and it really doesn’t stage your house very well. People like a clean, simple and appealing layout, sometimes the less is better. Yes, this even includes your garage which for most people is the most cluttered area in the house.
Also, big tip here: Remove any personal belongings, like family pictures, artwork that you or your children created. Your child’s homework may be important and special to you, but other people don’t feel the same way. People subconsciously don’t want to move into “someone else’s house” even though they know that they are buying someone’s house, they want to see this house become their own house. This is the psychology of home buyers and something most people don’t realize.
#3. Your house is outdated
Home buyers do not want to have to replace kitchen counter tops, appliances, or obsolete looking fixtures, or wallpaper that has been out of style for decades.
For this you really need to know what your competition is. Look at houses for sell in your neighborhood. Are the houses in your neighborhood updated?
Houses can sit on the market for years if it’s outdated, as again buyers do not want to do a complete renovation of the home and most do not have the money to do so, after the down payment, closing costs, etc.
#2. House lacks curb appeal
Some potential buyers will literally drive away if the front yard looks like a jungle or if it is ugly. Curb appeal is the first impression and the first thing they see for your home.
If you have dead grass, plant some or install sod. The back yard is important too, but not near as important as the front yard. Sometimes things as simple as high grass can cause a house to show poorly. This is related to #7, lack of attention to small details.
#1. You are asking too much!
I know this is stating the obvious but this is really the number one reason that houses do not sell. The owners get personally attached to their house, because it’s where they raised a family or lived in for a while. Maybe the home owner did many personal upgrades. The bottom line is that people get emotional and place a price on their house that is above market value.
You really need to sit down and determine what your house is worth. I have seen too many home owners sometimes not even having an asking price and asking people to make offers, and then when the offers to not sound good, they again make emotional instead of rational decisions and reject what could be fair offers.
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are frustrated selling your house, if you don’t have the money to replace the AC, roof, or update the house please reach out to us. In fact, you don’t even have to clean it – we buy houses in “as is” condition.
Family Guy Buys Houses in the following locations: Seminole county (Lake Mary, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Apopka, Sanford), Orange county (Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland), and Volusia county (Debary and Deltona).
www.FamilyGuyBuysHouses.com
Call us at 407-900-2633 and we’ll make an offer to you in 24 hours!
P.S. The cities we like to buy houses at include Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Chuluota, Debary, Daytona Beach, Deland, Deltona, Eustis, Fern Park, Geneva, Gotha,
Heathrow, Holly Hill, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Longwood, Maitland, Mt. Dora, Ocoee, Orange City, Orlando, Osteen, Oviedo, Port Orange, Sanford, Sorrento, St. Cloud, Winter Park, Windermere, and Winter Springs.