The news is full of stories about housing shortages at the moment so you’d be forgiven for thinking that any house, regardless of where it is or what state it’s in, will sell quickly. But you’ll soon find out that’s not the case when you put your house on the market. A few months down the line and you still haven’t had any offers, so what’s going on? Even though there is a shortage of houses, prices are also very high and first-time buyers, in particular, are putting every last penny they have into buying a home, so they’re not going to settle for any old house. If you’re struggling to sell your house, there are a lot of reasons why that could be the case. These are some of the most common ones and what you can do about it.
It’s Noisy
If you’re showing a potential buyer around the house and all of a sudden the sound of your voice is drowned out by a nearby train or a busy road, they’re not going to make an offer. If your house is situated in a noisy area, you’ll have to bring the asking price down a little bit, but there are some things you can do to reduce the impact of the noise. The first thing to do is get double glazing put in on all of the windows and make sure that they’re closed when people come around. It’s a bit of an investment but it’s worth it if it helps you shift the house.
It Needs Work
When you’re trying to sell an older property that’s a bit worn around the edges, buyers are often put off by the prospect of having to do a lot of repairs. However, there are ways that you can make it more attractive, click on this link to find out more. The most important thing is that you’re honest with them about the state of the house. They’re going to get an inspection done before they agree to sign anything and if you lie about things that they later find out about, they’re not going to buy the house. When you’re showing people around, try to highlight the best features of the house and, most importantly, the potential of the house after they’ve put a bit of work into it. If you can help them to picture how great it can be with a bit of care, they’re more likely to buy. With a property like this, you’ll probably have to decrease your asking price as well to offset the money that they’ll spend on fixing it up.
It’s Too Messy
When people are looking around a house, they want to be able to imagine what it will be like with all of their stuff in it. They won’t be able to do that if it’s full of loads of clutter. Having a cluttered house also gives the sense that it’s dirty and you don’t take good care of it. Another issue with having a messy house is that it makes the rooms look a lot smaller than it is, which is never a good sign. Before you start showing people around, make sure that you clear out any stuff that you don’t need and have a good tidy.
The Area Is Bad
As well as the house, the area that it’s in will affect whether people make an offer or not. There’s not a huge amount you can do if you live in a less than desirable area so it’s all about the way that you spin it. If there aren’t any good shops or restaurants around, you need to make sure you’re telling people where they can go to find those places. If a place looks run down, people often assume that there is likely to be a lot of crime, but that’s not always the case. Pull together some figures about crime rates so you can show people that the area isn’t dangerous.
The Markets Are Bad
Even if you’ve got all of that other stuff right, that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to sell your house. It might just be that there’s not much demand in your area right now because the markets are bad. You can try reducing the asking price but then you risk making a loss. The best thing that you can do in that situation is to just take it off the market and wait a while.
Selling a house isn’t as easy as people think and if you’re struggling, it could be for one of these reasons.
