While it takes an average of two months to sell a house, there are many homes that sit on the market for much longer waiting for a buyer.
If you’re pulling your hair out trying to figure out how to get rid of a house that won’t sell, you need to try some new tactics. With the right approach, you can turn that slow drip of interest in your home into a steady stream of people coming through the door.
Here are five tips to ensure you get rid of your home fast.
1. Cash Discount
If you want to get rid of your house fast, you should offer a cash discount. That’s one of the ways that your listing is going to stand out from the rest. When you’re willing to drop down the price considerably for getting all the money you’re looking for right away, you’ll attract interested buyers.
No matter the state of your home, a cash buyer understands that the house is being sold as-is. If that’s clear to everyone, you should be able to sell it right away. When you give a good price and lay everything out on the table, your potential buyers are going to respect you.
Getting rid of your house can be difficult, even if it’s priced well in a good neighborhood. Look at what everyone is selling for a find a way to beat their price in whatever way that you can.
Some companies will write you a check right away if you’re okay with someone flipping the house on you. If you’re willing to go low there’s always someone.
2. Open House
If you’re relying on a broker’s listing or some online posting, that might not be enough to get people interested in your home. If you’ve got a really great piece of property, you want to make the effort to let people know. An open house is sometimes the only way to let them know.
With an open house, you can let people know what you’ve got as you walk them around. An open house allows you to be there as people stroll around and have questions. If you’re there to answer their questions, the whole process feels much more transparent to most people.
While an open house is a stressful experience for any homeowner, you become a valuable and vital resource for potential buyers. Instead of guessing or being with an uninformed broker, they can ask questions and get real answers from someone who has lived in the house. Often brokers don’t have all the details about the minutiae that helps some buyers to commit.
Your open house might introduce you to someone who is also selling who may have a home that’s perfect for you. The networking opportunities are endless.
3. Repaint
Repainting a home might seem like the furthest thing from your concerns, especially when you’re in the process of selling that property. However, if you seriously consider repainting your home, you could attract many more people.
If the exterior is passable, you can skip that. While a new coat of paint might help sell customers, that’s not what it’s for. What a good paint job offers you is the ability to show people the best version of the home you have for sale.
Be sure the exterior is clean, even if you don’t have time to paint. If there are major patches to cover up and you’re thinking of repainting, take the time out to do it. Leaving things patched or broken really changes the perspective of a buyer.
Think about the people who could b buying these homes when you’re considering what they might want to see from someone like you.
4. Hire a New Broker
If this house just won’t sell, it could be your broker’s fault. While pointing the finger is a hard thing to do, if it’s clear that your broker isn’t doing their job, there are amicable ways to get out of your relationship. Once that’s done, you can focus on finding someone who makes more sense for you.
Hiring a new broker is a challenge because you’ll have to give your pitch to them again and again. However, you need to choose the one who understands that pitch and is capable of serving it to potential buyers.
When you hire a new broker, you get access to a whole new network. New people who you’ve never met or who want to help sell your home will show up and start asking questions. Be open to the changes and let everyone who wants to help get a shot at selling your home.
See more about how to scope an area and a broker appropriate for it.
5. Get out on Your Own
If brokers just aren’t working, maybe it’s time to strike out on your own. However, you need to protect yourself if you’re going to try to sell your home all on your own.
Before you price your home, look at what else is on the market. Become a little bit of a spy and go out to see a few open houses and compare your home to theirs. Do a little bit of investigative research to measure how much it’ll cost your buyer to pay for the repairs that your home needs.
If you can put together a fair estimate when trying to price your home, you’ll have a much easier time selling your home than you would otherwise.
How to Get Rid of a House That Won’t Sell is Easy
When you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of a house that won’t sell, leave no stone unturned. Try out everything in the book and seek some guidance to ensure that you’ve made every attempt to get your house the attention it deserves.
Check out our guide to closing costs so that you know both sides of the equation before you sell.
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