Selling your home in today’s market can be a challenge, depending on your location and what you’re offering. If your property has been listed for months and you’re just not drawing the offers you want, here are some potential problems that may be driving away buyers.

Dirt, Grime, and Fingerprints
While of course your house isn’t filthy, it may not be as clean as it needs to be to attract the right sale. Astute buyers are looking at baseboards, wall switches, light fixtures, and ceiling fans for signs of poor housekeeping. To attract great offers, you need to clean the property to a high shine. Hire a cleaning service to help you, if needed. Polish every surface and better offers will result.

Glaringly Dated Decor
Your house doesn’t need to be an up-to-the-minute showplace, but the groovy shag carpeting in the den needs to go, and so does the old floral wallpaper in the guest room. If your home is carefully maintained, with an intentional retro vibe, put that in your listing. Otherwise, update signs of decades past and bring your house into the current century.

No One Knows You are Selling
If all your realtor has done to advertise is plant a For Sale sign in the yard, potential buyers who may love your house may never know it’s available. Your house should be on a real estate listing service online or even in the local newspaper, complete with attractive photos and accurate details. Make sure your house is available to view online to get more potential buyers in the door.

Lack of Curb Appeal
If your house is in a more rural setting, it may not even be visible from the road. If this is the case, consider installing a welcoming flower bed with your house number on a cute stand, leading the way up the drive. For suburban houses, the lawn needs to be well-maintained and edged with plantings carefully groomed. City houses should have a clean and inviting stoop or entrance. You want buyers who are coming past to see a cheery, clean, inviting home.

An Offensive Odor
Perhaps you can’t smell the moldy odor in the basement or the cat’s litterbox in the garage, but your potential buyers can. Invite a trusted friend with a good nose to give you an honest assessment of your home’s smell. It might take more than a few candles, but once you find the source, you can work to give your house a fresher smell.

If your house has been sitting on the market without attracting good offers, one of these issues may be the culprit. By putting these tips to use, you can get a fair offer for your home in no time.

Why You Aren’t Getting the Buyers You Want by Brooke Chaplan | Realty Biz News