It sucks when you get an offer for you home but that's the farthest it got.
An unsuccessful sale could be due to different reasons: financing issues, family emergency, inspection discoveries, or a low appraisal. You're lucky if you have a backup plan should your sale fail; but to those who don't, then maybe you need to start thinking of alternatives.
Here are 5 tips for relisting after unsuccessful sale according to Trulia:
Continue working with your agent
You can be sad and stay in denial for a while; but after that, move on and work on turning that "pending" status to "active". Instead of ditching your agent for a new one, talk and find out what went wrong and work together on strategies that can be done to avoid a second failure.
Agents should know when an offer is shaky and give you the proper advice. The only time an agent is held responsible is if they make you accept an offer only to have it terminated in the end.
End the contract with your agent
If you honestly think you are better off with another agent, you have the option to end the contract. "The seller must give notice to the broker in writing," says Robert Vinson, head of Vinson Real Estate Group. However, expect to pay out for the marketing efforts already facilitated.
You can end the contract whenever you find necessary; "you should be able to terminate a contract at any time; no reasonable agent wants to work with an unhappy client," says Lucido.
Wait a few days
Instead of focusing on selling your home, take the time to ponder on what went wrong and come up with better strategies. If you are getting a new agent, expect to put in extra time and effort to discuss and brainstorm ideas to avoid failing again. Should you change your price? Maybe take more photos? Or deal with the repairs. But it could be more.
Fix any problems
Did the home inspection reveal problems? If this is the reason the potential buyer stormed out of the door, have all those problems fixed. "It is important for the seller to get all necessary items fixed," says John Lyons, a Chicago real estate broker. "Otherwise, the problem will likely happen again with the next buyer." If not, just disclose the issues to the potential buyer and consider going for a lower price.
Put your listing on pause
Avoid a stale listing by choosing a strategic time to put your home for sale. November and December are considered "bad times" and you can opt to postpone until a better time of year. Also, by waiting to relist, your home can be tagged as "new" again. "Depending on your local MLS, you may or may not be able to relist the home within a certain amount of time and have it show up as new," says Ross Anthony of Willis Allen Real Estate.
