How to Deal with Obstacles When Selling a Home
Powerfact: Power Agents are Problem-Solvers!
By Real Estate Coach and Speaker Darryl Davis, CSP
As every agent knows, sometimes selling a house doesn’t go exactly as planned. So, what do you do when you have a house that is sitting on the market?
Diagnose the Problem
First things first, understand the reason for the lack of movement. Check the average time on the market for that price range and that area. If your house is still around or under the average time, then it’s a marketing issue. If the listing is way past the average time, then it’s a pricing issue.
Let’s face it – overpriced is overpriced and no amount of marketing (as good as it might be) is going to fix that. In a hot market like this, it’s the market that is going to dictate what the house is worth. It’s like stocks – the companies might think their stock is worth a certain amount, but the reality is, they are only worth as much as people are willing to buy them at.
The Obstacle
Let’s say that the house is priced well, but people are complaining about a specific issue, for example, a strong smell of “dog”. If you are getting feedback like this, and the issue can’t be fixed, then this can usually be cured by lowering the price.
The Solution
Your job as the seller’s agent isn’t to sell to the buyers as much as it is to sell the home to the buyer’s agents. If you have a home with an obstacle to its sale, you can offer a higher commission rate to the buyer’s agent to motivate them to show your home more often.
Make sure your marketing includes some great photos, a virtual tour, and a well-written description that describes the way the house IS, not the way you see it. If the home you are trying to sell does have an issue like the dog smell, I would even suggest including that in the description.
When you say its priced to sell, but it hasn’t sold in months, agents and buyers are going to think there is something wrong with it and avoid the house. You want to be upfront about it so that other agents don’t feel like you are trying to bamboozle them or be dishonest.
Even if you tell other agents about the smell, they aren’t necessarily telling their buyers, and then the buyers are taken aback by the issue because they weren’t aware of it. However, being upfront let’s people know what to expect, and with the price lowered accordingly, you will see more movement.
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