We know you’ve been there. You have a new listing that needs to be sold and no one wants to buy it. So what do you do when you need someone to buy a “fixer-upper” fast? There’s actually quite a few options to choose from that will help improve your success rate! Need some help? Read on for ways to sell a house that’s less than desirable:
Focus on the Best Features
When you’re trying to market a listing that needs a lot of work, our advice is to focus on the property’s best features. Maybe you’re trying to sell a character home with original hardwood floors that are absolutely breath-taking? Or you’re working with an open-concept kitchen and if the future owner worked on some minor improvements like re-painting the walls and renovating the floors, they would completely improve the room? Every home has great features… even the listings that are less than desirable. So focus on selling the charming aspects of a home that need extra work because yes, they do exist. You may just have to search a little deeper.
Honesty is the Best Policy
NEVER try and hide a home’s defects. This will only turn out badly for you and compromise your integrity as a REALTOR®. Make sure you’re upfront with your clients about serious issues with a realty property that may have them looking the other way. A great way to be upfront about house problems is to highlight them in the actual listing or in a blog related to that particular home for sale, that way you’re not taking any potential buyers by surprise when they go on a tour. This is a win-win for both you and the client, because this way you’re not wasting anybody’s time, including your own. If the property needs a roof or furnace replacement, make sure you indicate that in the MLS listing.
Price Reasonably
You can’t expect a potential home-buyer to pay an amount worth more than the house itself, especially when the interior and exterior need a ton of work. It just won’t happen. Once the house gets an appraisal, make sure to price fairly and competitively so that way you attract people who are willing to purchase a house that needs renovations which yes, they’ve already considered. Practicing proper pricing should help sell the listing faster and easier.
Target Investors
If the real estate property is in really bad shape, even a cheap price might not be enough to save it. This may be a good time to start shifting your target to a buyer whose job it is to take on these types of properties and fix them up. We’re talking about investors and flippers. These are the people who are looking for houses that are basically falling apart so they can renovate them from top to bottom and earn more money by selling it themselves. When you’re down on your luck, research investors and flippers in the area who may want to come by and check out the listing as an investment opportunity.
Struggling to sell a not-so-nice house? Perhaps it’s time to let the client know they made need to put in some re-modelling work themselves in order to sell it faster.
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