6 Reasons Why Your Atlanta Home May Not Be Selling
You’ve had your house on the market, but three agents later, it still hasn’t sold. So what’s the problem? Is it the agent’s fault? Contrary to popular belief, that is not always the case.
As a home seller, you may have unrealistic expectations about the price at which you should list your home, or even what a great offer looks like. Or, perhaps the first two agents you worked with told you what you wanted to hear, rather than showed you the real-time market stats. Regardless, you’re three agents in and nine months later, you are still paying carrying costs among other things, on a home you wanted to see gone months ago. What happens now?
Below are six things you should avoid:
1. Getting emotionally involved
Your home, no matter how long you’ve spent in it, undoubtedly holds many memories. To avoid all of the issues that can come with staying emotionally tied to the home, it’s important to put on your business person’s hat. After all, your goal is to sell the home, isn’t it? Focus on the selling aspect (and moving on with your life) rather than the emotional (regardless of time spent in or on the house) in order to keep yourself in a realistic headspace.
2. Lack of effort with a corporate relocation
Just because your company may be offering you a buy-out—or you will be marketing the house without furniture due to timeliness of your job and family situation—does not mean you should not do all that you can to work with your Realtor® who is a certified relocation specialist or CRP® to make the home as marketable as possible. Many relocating Atlanta home sellers make the mistake of taking the sale for granted, which backfires in most situations, where either the home sits on the market for 120 days or more, resulting in a 15%-18% less net net to the seller.
3. Pricing too high
Just as mentioned above, a home holds many memories for sellers, and as a result, they often tend to price the property too high. Your natural bias can cause you to think that your home must be the best in the area, whether or not you did any of the repairs or updating yourself— just because of the feelings you have there. However, setting a realistic asking price from the start of the marketing period is key, so be sure to work with your Realtor® to set the best price, or, at the very least, look at competing properties in the area first.
4. Not taking listing photos seriously
As you know, nearly all Atlanta buyers begin their home search online, so your listing photos will make all of the difference in getting them to your front door. This is the first impression you will make on a buyer. Skipping this step—which includes cleaning up, making repairs, and staging prior to the photos being taken—could risk buyers passing over your property entirely. In addition, the quality of the photos sets the tone for the home visit. What you see online should also be what the buyers see in person. The professional photo shoot that Heineck & Company provides for each and every property makes the difference between getting on the “must-see” list, and not making it to the list at all.
5. Hiding property issues
Trying to cover up any issues the home may have won’t get you anywhere— in fact, the inspection will unveil anything wrong with the property, and could allude to your not being transparent, thereby setting yet another tone for the transaction. You have three options: Fix the problem(s) prior to listing, price lower to account for the problem(s), or offer a credit to fix the problem(s).
6. Getting too greedy
When the offers begin to come in, the last thing you should do if you truly want to move on, is to get greedy. Offers may come in across the board, but if they are even close to the asking price (or full asking price!), don’t turn any of them down because the house down the street sold slightly higher, or another home is listed for a little more. Remember, it has not sold yet. Each offer should be viewed holistically, as it’s not always about price.
Selling in today’s market is an art and takes preparation, education, and finesse. For nearly 20 years, I have been advising and guiding Atlanta home sellers on positioning their home in the marketplace to outshine the competition. If you are considering a job relocation, or a spring move, now is the time to begin the pre-market prep process.
Contact jill@heineckandcompany.com to schedule your consult today!
Jill Heineck
Associate Broker
Heineck & Company at Keller Williams Realty
Phone: (404) 418-9157
Email: jill@heineckandcompany.com
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