What to do if your house or cottage doesn't sell?
If your home has been on the market for a while without selling, it’s best to put emotional issues aside and understand why it isn’t appealing to buyers.
You can’t understand it - you love your home and thought it would be snapped up when you put it on the market. But months have gone by and although there may have been a little interest when it was first listed, buyers have stopped coming around and the offers have dried up.
Owning a home or cottage that no one else wants to buy hurts, and hurts a lot. However, you need to put emotional issues to one side, understand why the property isn’t appealing to buyers and take the necessary remedial action. There are of course a number of reasons a home doesn’t sell, but the two most common are the actual condition of the property and the price.
No one wants to hear that their home needs improving, but if that’s what you are hearing, it may be time to put your pride in your pocket and put things right. Listen to what buyers don’t like about the home and see what you can do to make it more appealing. If the home needs painting, paint it; if the deck is looking tired repair it and if the garden is a little worse for wear, sort it. Remember that making small cosmetic changes can have a huge impact. You can take things further if there are aspects of the actual building that don’t appeal. For example, if the fact that your home only has one bathroom is putting buyers off, consider getting plans drawn for a second bathroom and estimates outlining the cost of the job. Buyers are scared of making the wrong decision, but will often be more open to negotiation if they are in possession of all the information.
The price: sellers are very quick to blame their estate agent if the property doesn’t sell and this isn’t necessarily fair no one, regardless of how desperate they are, is going to buy something if they don’t think it is up to par and/or the price is too high. Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because other homes in the area are being advertised at a higher price this automatically means you’re going to get a similar price for yours. Remember, homes don’t necessarily sell for their asking.
