64 reasons your house may not be selling

64 Reasons Your Home May Not Be Selling

1. It smells like cat
2. It smells like dog
3. It’s overpriced
4. It isn’t in the MLS
5. You have no photos
6. You have only one exterior photo
7. Your photos is from another season – a snowy photo in June advertising
8. Your exterior front photo shows one big tree with a hint of house behind it
9. Your bathroom photo shows a corner of sink and the toilet
10. Your bathroom photo has the toilet seat up
11. Your photos are pixelated
12. The basement is dank
13. The house is dirty
14. Your agent doesn’t respond to showing requests
15. You don’t accommodate showings
16. You don’t clean or prepare for showings
17. You stay at the house during showings
18. You leave an aggressive pet in the house during showings
19. The house is overfull of furniture, toys, clothes, and “stuff” and potential buyers can’t see the house
20. Bad luck
21. Your school district has low test scores
22. You don’t have central air
23. You don’t have a dishwasher
24. Your kitchen is closed off from the living space
25. You’re selling a condo in a failed and half-built project
26. You’re selling a spec house in a failed and mostly-empty subdivision
27. Your house lacks curb appeal
28. You’re at a price point that excludes most potential buyers in your city
29. It was a meth house
30. It’s falling down
31. The neighbor’s house is falling down
32. The neighbor’s yard has junked cars and trash everywhere
33. The neighbor has frightening dogs
34. The taxes and HOA/condo fees are high
35. It smells like smoke
36. You’re a day-sleeper and have painted all the windows black
37. Frequent gunshots are heard during showings
38. It has a “spooky dungeon-like” basement
39. Obvious fire damage
40. Mushrooms growing in basement
41. Crazy neighbors harass potential buyers
42. Your homemade indoor shooting range isn’t to code
43. Your collection of 300 decorative Elvis plates distracts buyers from home’s best features
44. No for sale sign
45. 2×4 appears to be propping up joists in basement
46. Built-in microwave in bathroom puzzles buyers
47. Your house costs twice what anything similar has sold for recently
48. Your valuing your $30k sunroom at your cost
49. Wallpaper
50. The fusebox is the most recent update in the house
51. Fleas
52. Your floors bounce
53. Your floors slope
54. Raccoons in the attic
55. Carpet in the bathrooms
56. You don’t negotiate
57. Newer development is pulling away your buyers
58. No yard
59. Ugly yard
60. Backs to industrial lot
61. Next to Wal Mart
62. Errors in property info – “0” square feet, incorrect bedroom count, etc.
63. Your agent has a reputation that makes other agents prefer to not work with her
64. Road noise

That’s a long list, and that’s off the top of my head. But if you categorized them, you’d quickly find there are really just a few groups:

• Price: self explanatory
• Presentation: Can buyer’s find the house is for sale and does it look great online?
• Preparation: Is the house clean, de-cluttered and free of the “ick factor?” Does it smell good? Does it appear to be taken care and give a good impression when you walk up to and into the house?

The most effective way to sell a house is to

• get a whole house inspection and fix the problems it uncovers
• hire a stager and act on their advice
• obtain an appraisal and price it at or below the appraised value
• hire a real estate agent who sells in your area
• use a professional photographer

Those five people will help you avoid ending up unsold and on a list like this. But it many cases it’s not practical or possible. In those cases, be sure you’re addressing the same concepts of price, preparation and presentation. If you have to pick just one professional to help you, go with a real estate agent, but only if it’s one who you are confident can reasonably stand in for the others.