If you put your home on the market and it’s not moving, you’ll probably turn to the usual suspects. Are you priced too high? Do you need to paint over your bright orange accent wall? Both of those might be true. But there are also other reasons your home could be turning off buyers. Some of the reasons a house is not selling are not so easy to identify.
If you are having a hard time getting a good offer on your property, ask yourself if any of these factors sound familiar.
1. It smells weird
You’re used to the way your hall closet smells. And you don’t even notice that your spare bedroom still smells like spilled coffee anymore. Well, guess what? Potential buyers will notice. If you deep cleaned the place before your real estate agent toured the place but haven’t done it since, the smells will reoccur over time. What smells normal to you might put off buyers. Get an honest opinion from a friend. Does your home smell bad?
2. Your taste is outdated
Something as simple as old faucets and older cabinet pulls could send the signal that your home hasn’t been updated in quite some time. If you have an ancient dishwasher, buyers can’t see themselves using it. Update the basics (faucets, cabinet pulls, door handles, ceiling fans, etc. ) and see if you don’t get a few offers.
3. Your street is loud
The neighbor’s engine is white noise at this point. So are the kids who scream next door every once in a while. But your potential buyers won’t be used to the sounds that are par for the course to you. Your house might not be selling because the street has too much traffic or is under a flight path. Soundproof windows could reassure some buyers.
4. Your neighbors are unappealing
We can’t always choose our neighbors. And yours could be holding you back from selling your home. There’s not much you can do in the way of fixing the issue, but you can soundproof a room that takes the brunt of neighbor noise. And, you can put up a fence to let the new owner’s know they will have privacy from the people next door who ask too many questions or have four corgis.
5. The carpet is dirty
Your carpets have been lived on. Vacuuming isn’t enough when you’re showing a house. If you can’t replace your carpeting with a hard surface, you need to wash them. You can rent out a carpet cleaner for the day and create a major difference.
6. Too many pets
When buyers see pets, they see pee stains and old vomit stains. One or two pets won’t put most people off, because they know they can eventually rid the property of what your pet leaves behind. If you have an aquarium, two cats, five hamsters, and… well, you get the idea… you might want to temporarily rehome part of your menagerie. Having too many animals in the home gives buyers a reason to look elsewhere.
7. The DIY looks bad
Did you try to save money by installing wood floors yourself? You think you did a bang-up job, but there may be gaps in the corner and uneven planks. It’s worth having someone come in to fix the areas you didn’t quite nail when you did the project yourself. This could include painting ceilings, installing a new sink, and other common updates.
If you still can’t sell your home and you need to move fast, California Family Homebuyers in Sacramento may be able to help. We buy homes in the area as-is and can often close in just a week or two. And, you can even choose your closing date!