Everyone says it’s a tough market.  I guess it is - but it seems a lot of sellers out there don’t realize that.

When trying to sell a home in a market with a huge inventory (read: buyers have LOTS to choose from) it behooves a savvy seller to make the home available and attractive to potential buyers, if indeed, selling is the ultimate goal.

Listings requiring 24 hour notice, requiring that the seller or seller’s agent be present, or that are clutter-full bastions of filth and disarray will be much more difficult to sell than homes that are easy to show, and easy to walk through.

Tried to set up a showing the other day for a home that had 24 hour notice required.  I called ahead, and was told that no, I couldn’t show the house to my buyers on the desired afternoon.  The sellers were not going to be home.

I was asked:  Why not bring my buyers back later that evening, or one night during the week?  Oh, don’t think about next weekend, as that’s out too.  Oh, the buyers are from out of the area?  Well, they don’t have to travel too far, an hour and a half is no big deal…tell them to come during the week, and to look at the pictures on the MLS instead.

Huh?  Are you seriously trying to sell this house?  Are you aware that it’s not really a seller’s market anymore?

Or how about this - “Just look beyond the clutter, it’s a nice house.”

It is?  Sorry, but we didn’t SEE the house, just piles and piles of trash that would fill up two 30 yard dumpsters.

Let us know when you’re serious about selling, and we’ll talk.

Are You Really Trying To Sell Your Home? 

Or Are You Just Playing "House For Sale?"

Photo Credit: Andrew_J_W, via Flickr
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