Three Key Strategies To Employ When Selling A Hard-To-Sell Home
Maybe it's located in a bad neighborhood. Perhaps it has asbestos in the basement, the roof needs to be replaced, or the landscaping is atrocious. Whatever the case may be, your hard-to-sell home is not going to fly off the listings unless you get serious. Here are three key strategies to follow when you need to unload a home that you know is going to be a tough sell:
Fix What You Can
You probably don't have the time or money to make your home into the most lovely mansion on the block, but you'll have an easier time selling it if you can at least fix the easy things. If the garden beds are overgrown, pull the weeds and plant some fresh flowers. If the fence is falling down, remove it. Give the interior a good coat of paint and patch any obvious holes. When people are looking at homes, they often subconsciously keep track of the number of things that are wrong with the home. If it's in a bad neighborhood and has a bunch of little repair issues, you'll have a harder time selling it than if the bad neighborhood is the only deficiency you have to worry about.
Hire a Really Great Realtor
This is not the time to hire your best friend's brother who got his real estate license and hasn't really sold any homes yet. No -- you need a really great realtor to handle this one. Try looking up homes that have recently sold in the neighborhood and see who the seller's agent was. An agent who has sold a lot of homes in your neighborhood clearly knows the area well and is likely a good person to hire. They will know how to capitalize on your home's assets and camouflage its flaws without being dishonest. They may also have contact with other realtors who might happen to know the perfect buyer.
Be Willing To Accept a Little Less
You may have dreams of earning $100,000 for your home, but if this requires keeping it on the market for a year, you'll spend a lot of money on taxes and insurance in the meantime. If you know a home is going to be hard to sell, plan on accepting a bit less than your asking price. Don't turn around an okay offer in hopes of earning more. Accept it and move on -- see the fact that you sold the home at all as a victory.
Contact a company like RE/MAX Real Estate Results for more information and assistance.