Struggling to sell your property in Northampton?
Struggling To Sell in Northampton?
Here's how to turn those house viewings into offers.
We know that it can be very frustrating for homeowners in Northampton if your house has been on the market for a while without attracting any offers.
If this sounds familiar, here are a few common pitfalls that could be preventing potential buyers from making an offer on your Northampton home, and how you can fix them.
1. Itâs Overpriced
A common mistake among homeowners is to want to overprice their home deliberately with the intention of letting a buyer haggle so they can get the true asking price that theyâll be happy with. The biggest issue with this is that when a property is overpriced it excludes a number of potential buyers. For example, a buyer with a ÂŁ300,000 budget wonât spot a property thatâs on sale for ÂŁ310,000, even if ÂŁ300,000 is the figure that the homeowner would actually be happy to accept. Itâs far better to allow your estate agent to price the property realistically in the first place!
2. Itâs Lacking Kerb Appeal
Be honest with yourself, does your property look attractive from the outside?
Research has found that a lot of buyers make their mind up about a property before they even step through the front door, so if your home is looking tired and worn on the outside, then it could be putting buyers off. You donât need to spend a fortune to improve the kerb appeal either. Just putting a couple of hanging baskets up and making sure the window frames are clean can make a big difference. It could even be something as simple as cutting the front lawn or moving the wheelie bins so theyâre not directly on show.
3. Itâs Not Being Marketed Properly
Letâs face it, most buyers will go online at the start of their property journey, utilizing social media, estate agentâs websites and property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Your estate agent should be advertising your property across a wide variety of media, both online and offline to ensure you are reaching a rounded audience. Check with your estate agent that your property is being listed to its full potential. If itâs not, then it may be time to find a new agent!
4. Itâs Cluttered
Few things are as off-putting to a potential buyer than a house thatâs packed full of clutter.
Buyers want to imagine themselves living in the property, so even though youâre still living there, make sure itâs as clean and tidy as possible before any viewings take place. As much as possible you should be aiming to give buyers a blank canvas to work with so they can picture where their own furniture and possessions might go, so keep it tidy.
5. Youâre in a Long Property Chain
If youâre moving into a property thatâs part of a long chain this could be enough to deter some buyers. Although this usually canât be helped, if thereâs anything you can do to get out of the chain, such as renting a property in the short-term while you wait for your purchase to go through, then it may be worth considering â especially if youâve been struggling to sell for months.
6. Buyers Arenât Seeing Its Full Potential
When youâre living in a property day to day it can be easy to forget how appealing it might be to a fresh set of eyes. Itâs vital that your property is working as hard as it can for you to be sold. For example, if youâve been granted planning permission for an extension but you havenât gone through with it, make sure your estate agent is aware. Similarly, if your neighbours have been granted planning permission with no problems then let your estate agent know about it. These might seem like insignificant details to a seller, but to a buyer whoâs trying to imagine the property in 5-10 yearsâ time, itâs great information to have.
And itâs not just big things like extensions either. Make sure your property is being displayed in its best possible light by making some subtle changes. Whether thatâs using bright and airy colours to redecorate, or hanging up a mirror to make a room feel bigger, some minor changes can make a major difference.
7. Itâs Poorly Maintained
Itâs easy to let things slide at home, particularly if the issues arenât causing you any major headaches. However, buyers will usually notice the little details that you have learned to ignore, such as a missing pane of glass, a wonky fence post or over-flowing gutters. Seemingly minor issues like these can be enough to put some buyers off, because they suggest that there could be bigger issues lurking too, even if you know there arenât.
So, before your next viewing, just make sure all those little odd jobs and easy fixes are completed, as they could be making a bigger difference than you realise.
If you believe your property could be guilty of one or some of the above, we strongly advise you to do something about it or risk your house being sat on the market and becoming old news.
If you're interested in selling your Northampton home or would just like a chat, get in touch on the details below