What to do if your Home Isn't Selling

Selling your home in a buyer's market can be very frustrating, to say the least. You can't slash your price, nor can you allow your home to sit on the market until it becomes stale. What are some steps you can take before you put up the white flag and surrender?

1. Videotape your house, inside and out. View the tape as if you were the buyer. Be objective about what you see and change the problems.

2. Ask your listing agent for feedback from buyer and other agent's who have shown your home. Ask the agent to be direct and to not sugar coat the comments. Listen and correct the situation.

3. Promote your home internet listing. Put the web address on your sign, brochures and in all print ad's. Add multiple photo's, with descriptive captions under each picture, take advantage of virtual video home tours, if they are available. The more information you can provide on your home ad webpage the better, then direct buyers to it for an upclose look.

4. If you are selling "by owner" consider putting your home inforamtion on your local and national Multiple Listing Service and still sell the home yourself. The new, "Flat Fee MLS services" offered by www.why6percent.com expose your home listing to thousands of buyers and buyers' agents for very little money.

5. Disappear if your home is being shown to a prospective buyer. If your home is listed with an agent, this is easier to do. Simply, put the kids and the pets in the car and drive away. If you are selling your home yourself, take a walk around the block or disappear to a back garden or side yard. The owners presence during a showing makes it uncomfortable and difficult for buyers to talk, look in closets, etc. which they must do before they will buy. Some special touches that can be left on a counter to make buyers more comfortable or stick around longer are cookies, nuts, beverages, pretzels. Anything that isn't messy and looks inviting.

6. Neutralize your colors. Most buyers prefer pale, light, neutral, calming color schemes. White exteriors outsell all other colors; interior preferences are off-white or white.

7. Work your Listing Agent. If your listing isn't getting the proper attention, talk to the agent or the broker. If you are working with a good agent, sweeten the pot by offering a bonus to the agents' and/or buyer with a full price offer.

8. Fire your Agent. If you are not receiving the attention or cooperation that you deserve, withdraw your listing from the market. When you put it back on with a new agent, the listing will appear "new" again, which also helps with the stall stigmata issues that plague homes that languish on the market.

9. Wait for a Better Time to Sell. If you've tried all the tricks of the trade and your price is in the market, wait for a better season of the year or more aggressive market to sell your home, if possible. If you are a senior citizen, consider using a reverse mortgage to get the cash you need now and postpone the sale for a more better time. If you must get out of your home, maybe you should rent it out until the market rebounds and gains steam again.