Selling a house can be incredibly tough. The first bit of advice we would give to you is that sometimes it just takes a bit of time.
You may need to sell your house quickly for personal reasons, but if not sometimes it is good to remain patient.
Buying a house is a huge investment and buyers want to make sure the house is perfect for them and their current financial situation. This is why you may need to evaluate how you are selling your house and perhaps remedy the situation in a few cases.
If you are concerned about why you can’t sell your house then there could be a number of reasons for this.
1. Location
Your property may happen to be located next to a main road or have some form of noisy neighbours. Unfortunately this is one of the ones which you can’t do much about. The road will always be there and aside from politely having a word with your neighbors requesting them to keep a little quieter for you and the future residents, this is an obstacle that may have to be accepted.
2. Undesirable property features
The second reason, similar to the first, is another one which is mostly out of your control, but there is a possibility that you can make a few adjustments to make parts of it more desirable. Here, we are referencing the fact that you might not have a garden or your own parking space as part of your property. In terms of the parking space, you need to clearly state in your adverts that there are other places to park, whether it’s on the street or elsewhere. Address the issue before they think of it.
With the garden, make the most of any space there is. If there is a front garden, make it look the best that it can be, and if there is any other way to dress your house up to make it look better then do it. Visuals are key when marketing a house, especially now when a lot of the selling is done online first.
3. Health and Safety concerns
Make sure you properly evaluate your property. A viewer may spot something such as a bit of dampness/mould that you haven’t noticed, and this is obviously a safety concern. Minor or major cracks in walls/ceilings might also be something that, although it isn’t a worry at the current time, could become a problem down the line. A buyer of a house will always be thinking of the long term plans, and their wellbeing will be at the forefront of their thoughts.
With any issues like this, if they are serious, you may need to address them before looking to sell. Ones that you are unable to address yourself, minor or major, should at least be pointed out to potential buyers. It’s always better to be transparent and honest. Either let them know that it will be sorted by the time of purchase or let them know that it should be a simple fix, and possibly provide ideas/figures on how to go about it themselves.
4. Poorly presented
With a lot of properties only being observed online right now, property photography is more important than ever, and if your property is not well represented in the photographs, you may not get any buyers even look into the details of your property. The best way to remedy this would be to get a professional photographer to capture the best angles of your house or ask your estate agent to get some, as they should know the most effective way to portray your property visually through images.
5. Messy
Pictures won’t really matter if your house is a tip in the first place. If your house is a good space, then show it to the best of your ability. Obviously this may not be easy, but the buyer at least needs to be able to see something so they can start to envisage what their ideal home would look like in your space.
6. Marketing location
You may have the right images and your house may look tidy, but if you are not marketing it on the right websites then it will be very difficult to sell. You want to not only look for the best real estate agents, but the best ones for your specific type of house. Some places will be better than others and have different areas of expertise, so it’s important to do research into this area before making a decision as to who to go with/change to.
7. Estate agent
If the images aren’t the problem, then it is possible that your estate agent is not doing the job that you’re paying them to do. Don’t immediately jump straight to this conclusion however. They may honestly be trying their best, but it is just not working. Simply ask them what they are doing to market your house and if you feel as though they could be doing more, then it may be time to make a change in this department.
8. Time of year
Obviously this is another area where you might just have to be a bit patient. Regardless, according to TheAdvisory.co.uk the best time to sell a house in the UK is between February and June. People will look to buy a house at any time of year, but these have proven to be the most popular months, so if you want to maximise the chances of selling, then these months are probably your best bet.
9. Asking price
Getting the right valuation can be tough, and if you are finding that you are getting offers much lower than your asking price or nothing at all, you may need to accept a decrease in your asking price. Your estate agent will support you with this, but make sure you are taking everything into consideration before dropping the price. You never know, if you feel like the price is right, you may just be a few hours from getting a call.
10. Property chain
One thing that could put people off is the possibility of a property chain. If a buyer knows that there are many houses being purchased and sold in a chain, they may not want to take the risk of encountering hassle. If part of the chain gets broken then the rest of the deals become doubtful. Again, if you are buying a place and your seller pulls out then you may no longer want to sell, which means your buyers will be unable to move into their new home, and this is something that they may be wary of.
