10 ) Too cluttered – Nothing turns a buyer off more than walking into a potential new home and seeing it filled with stuff. If you really want to sell your home at least take the time and effort to put away, or better yet, dispose of some of your less useful belongings. That collection of McDonald’s plastic toys sitting on your computer desk might have been worth a chuckle when you bought them 3 years ago but c’mon.. get rid of them. Chuck it, stow it, or store it.

9 ) Too homey – This is hotly debated both ways with one side advising to keep it personal and the other side voting for “less is more”. If your house has an abundance of personal photos, knick-knacks, quilts, and those little marks on the wall from when the kids were growing up, it very well might turn off potential buyers. To help them try to envision themselves living in your house think about keeping the “this is my house” stuff down to a minimum while it’s on the market.

8 ) Lack of Curb Appeal – If you are trying to sell your home, spend some time and/or money on cleaning up the yard/facade of the house. It never ceases to amaze me when sellers have weeds growing in their yards or still have Christmas lights hanging… in JULY. Hire a landscaper or pay the neighbor’s kid $5 to cut the grass, pull the weeds, and plant some pretty flowers that someone’s wife will fall in love with. Spending some money when you’re trying to sell a home for hundreds of thousands of dollars is a no-brainer.

7 ) Terrible Photos – This is something a LOT of real estate agents are guilty of. If your home looks unattractive in the MLS photos then expect less people to come by to take a look. Your home has to be appealing and enticing to potential buyers so take the time to make sure you display the best shots you can. Athol over at REagentinct.com has a recurring “Bad MLS Photo of the Day” post that shows just how bad things can get.

6 ) Condition of the House – Imagine this… your house has been on the market for 4 months.. several showings.. no offers.. You wonder to yourself, “How can I get this much traffic and not have a single offer?” Believe it or not, the stained carpet, warped floorboard, stuck window, and the algae-green pool might have something to with it. Wise up, roll up your sleeves, and take care of it. Better yet have someone else do it. Most home buyers want a turn-key house that won’t require any additional work to move into so keep that in mind if you won’t budge on the price.

5 ) Difficult Sellers – Nothing is more frustrating to an agent then an expectant seller who fights you every step of the way. If you want to sell your home try to be as accommodating as you can in terms of showings, open houses, and agent previews. It may be inconvenient at times but an hour of inconvenience may be what it takes to sell your home.

4 ) Using the Wrong Realtor – Be sure you know who you’re hiring when selecting someone to help you sell your home. Interview several agents from different companies and compare them side-by-side to see who will maximize the chances of selling your home. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals from their past clients and if they can’t or won’t produce a list of satisfied customers that should raise some red flags.

3 ) Lack of Exposure – If people don’t know that your home is for sale that might make it a bit more difficult to actually get it sold. Newspaper advertisements, open houses, 24-hour recordings, fully stocked “For Sale” flyers, craigslist postings and “Just listed” (or maybe “Still listed”) postcards are just some of the marketing techniques that could be utilized.

2 ) Market Conditions – This is the beast that most of the nation is struggling with right now. Be realistic when putting your home on the market and be prepared to make adjustments the longer your home sits on the market. If it’s been four months without any significant action you should take a long look at your situation and see what you can do to improve it. Which leads us to the number one reason your home is still on the market..

1 ) Wrong Pricing – Regardless of the circumstances, bad pricing is the top reason why your home is still sitting on the market. The housing market doesn’t care what your neighbor sold his house for last year or whether or not you need to sell at a certain price to pay off the [tag]2nd mortgage[/tag] you got two years ago. The bottom line is, the market will dictate how much your home will sell for. If you absolutely need to sell your home NOW then adjust the price accordingly.

Keep these 10 reasons in mind when trying to sell your home and the process should be a little less painful and (hopefully) a little shorter.

—
Michael Krotchie – Realtor®
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, NRT LLC
6970 N. Oracle Road, Suite 100
Tucson, AZ 85704

520.404.4996 — Mobile
520.544.4545 — Office
520.844.6699 — Fax

http://www.michaelkrotchie.com