As anyone with experience in real estate can attest, homes don't always sell as quickly as homeowners and agents would like. There are a number of reasons many properties fail to sell in an expedient manner, with price, location and lack of visibility being chief among them. While there's no end-all solution for slow-selling homes, there are numerous steps you can take to increase the odds of finding buyers in a timely fashion. Home-sellers and real estate professionals who are tired of playing the waiting game should put the following pointers to good use.
Increasing Curb Appeal
To call first impressions crucial to the homebuying process would be an understatement. This is particularly true for sellers in areas that aren't particularly popular. If prospective buyers are unimpressed with what they see on the outside, many of them are unlikely to bother seeing what the interior has to offer. After all, if a home's exterior appearance has been neglected, this likely doesn't bode well for what's inside. While it's true that one should never judge a book by its cover, judging a home by its exterior is a very different story. The first step to selling your home is getting people inside, and if the exterior of your house has fallen into disrepair, you're likely to have a hard time doing that.
Fortunately, increasing your home's curb appeal needn't eat up a tremendous amount of time or money. For starters, make a point of keeping your yard nice and neat. This means mowing your lawn on a regular basis and attending to any plant life found outside your home. Furthermore, parents of small children should make sure that their little ones don't leave any toys on the lawn after outdoor play sessions. If your home's paint-job has seen better days, this would be the perfect time to repaint. When presented with a home whose paint-job is cracked and/or fading, people often believe that the task of repainting will fall to them - and most homebuyers aren't keen on taking on extra work or spending any more than they have to.
Lowering the Asking Price
Wanting to get the best possible price for your home is perfectly understandable. Since homes are the most expensive investments most of us will ever make, it's only natural that we're inclined towards setting high asking prices. Additionally, if you've created years - or decades - of precious memories in your current home, sentimental value is liable to factor into the price you set.
Depending on where you live, there may be plenty of buyers willing to roll with a high asking price. For example, if your home is located in an area that's rapidly growing or experiencing a housing shortage, its likely to be viewed as a highly desirable property. If this is not the case, however, you'll need to be a bit less ambitious when deciding on a fair price. If your home has been sitting on the market for months or years, there's a good chance that your asking price is simply too high, and the lower you go, the faster the property is likely to sell.
Moving Things Off the Property
When prospective buyers tour homes, they often picture what their lives will look like in them. However, this can prove difficult when every area of a home is packed to the brim with the current occupants' possessions. As such, it's generally a good idea to start moving things out of your home in advance of opening the property up to buyers. When looking for the perfect place to store these items, consider renting an outside storage unit. Californians on the hunt for storage Los Angeles can find a convenient assortment of secure, affordable options.
Being unable to sell a home within a reasonable timeframe can be tremendously frustrating. In addition to interfering with the livelihood of real estate professionals, a home that's perpetually on the market can hinder relocation plans for sellers and prove financially cumbersome. Unfortunately, there's no definitive solution to this problem. However, there are a number of simple and cost-effective measures homeowners can take to find buyers in a timelier manner. So, if you need to sell your home in a hurry, the previously discussed tips are liable to prove helpful.
