Stressed About Your House Not Selling? Here’s The Reasons Why.

If your property stays on the market month after month without attracting decent offers, no matter how far you cut the price, it’s common to feel stressed about your house not selling. The key reasons for houses failing to sell despite the owner’s best efforts often come down to overpricing, using ineffective agents, needing repairs/upgrades or a declining local housing market.

Whether selling an inherited ramshackle house, unfinished renovation project or previously unsellable home, these common pitfalls can be avoided by seeking guaranteed help from professional cash buyers. These companies represent the most straightforward way to finally secure an offer and escape the stress of a long-drawn-out house sale.

Get Help Selling a Hard-to-Sell House Affordably

Selling a property can be one of the most stressful events in your life. Here at Cash House Buyer Guru, our goal is to guide stressed sellers through affordable sales options when they need to sell problematic houses that aren’t selling, quickly.

Selling via traditional estate agents risks hefty upfront fees and lengthy processes without a guarantee of actual buyer, yet quality cash investors offer fair pricing despite flaws and can complete sales rapidly.

Read on for an overview of the key reasons that your property fails to sell, different sale options to consider, and tips on finding a reputable buyer, to give you hope that there is still light at the end of the tunnel!

Why You May Be Struggling to Sell

Let’s begin by analysing some of the most common reasons a home can stay listed for sale without attracting suitable offers.

Overpricing The Asking Price

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is having unrealistic expectations of property value. Just because you have grown emotionally attached to your house, doesn’t mean buyers will be willing to pay you more money than it’s objectively worth.

Overpricing often happens when homeowners rely too heavily on online estimated valuations without verifying against sold prices in the local area. Make sure you thoroughly research similar properties that have recently sold near you. Price your home appropriately in line with the current market. A RICS registered valuation surveyor will be able to tell you what it’s worth.

Setting the price too high means only a fraction of prospective buyers will even consider a viewing and those who do view won’t take you seriously enough to make a decent offer. They’ll assume you expect to drop the price later on.

Using Bad Estate Agent

Your choice of estate agent plays a pivotal role in how quickly your property sells. Unfortunately, not all agents are made equal regarding marketing expertise and sales skills.

An inexperienced or lazy agent who makes little effort to showcase your home properly or generate buyer interest can severely limit the number of viewings. Poor photography in the listing and weak advertising reach will also fail to attract offers.

Take time selecting a knowledgeable agent with good reviews who will work hard to secure a fair sale price. Don’t simply choose the agent promising the highest valuation or the smallest commission cut and don’t be afraid to move on if they fail to meet your sale needs. Vet them thoroughly to ensure they have the necessary resources and motivation to sell your home swiftly.

Property Needs Repairs or Updates

Even if your home seems perfectly fine to you after living there for years, fresh eyes may notice issues you are now oblivious to. Small fixes to update fixtures, solve damp problems, a deep clean, improve the garden, or add a lick of paint can make a big difference and ensure that your property is far more enticing.

Be wary of overspending on non-essential improvements at this stage though and only tackle repairs that are major turn-offs for buyers, not just nice-to-haves. For example, updating an avocado bathroom suite from the 70s will get more interest than installing solar panels or a hot tub. Focus on basic repairs that boost curb appeal and maximise return on investment for a better first impression and chance of a quicker sale.

Specific property issues affecting your sale? How to sell a house with Japanese knotweed can help!

Poor Listing Photos and Description Put Of Prospective Buyers

The old saying about first impressions rings especially true when capturing a potential buyer’s interest online. Ensure that you showcase your property in the best possible light by taking good-quality photos. Decluttering rooms and taking pictures on sunny days can both help to secure interest from a potential buyer.

Hire a professional property photographer if you lack photography skills and good lighting and editing will also make a huge impact compared to dark, blurred, awkwardly angled amateur shots. When writing the listing, be sure to highlight your home’s unique features and benefits without seeming exaggerated to strike an honest yet appealing tone in the write-up.

Declining Market Conditions

On rare occasions, no matter what you try, local market decline results in very few active buyers. This most commonly occurs during housing crashes or when particular areas suffer rapid population decline.

If the wider market conditions cannot support profitability for investors or decent amenities for homeowners, even decent properties fail to sell quickly. When whole regions face housing market crashes or uncertainties over factors like zoning regulations like this, buyers take a ‘wait and see’ approach. They become reluctant to purchase until conditions improve in case further property price drops occur.

In these cases, hoping for a quick sale is unrealistic until demand returns. Be patient and pursue other options like renting out your home short-term or if you need to release the cash value of your home you can contact local, ethical cash home buyers for a fair offer and escape the burden of an unsellable property in as little as 28 days!

Weighing All Your Selling Options

Before throwing in the towel with your house sale, carefully consider all potential sales methods available beyond just using estate agents. Weigh up the pros and cons of less conventional routes like cash property buyers and auctions.

One factor to think over is how quickly you want or need to complete the sale. Sellers requiring urgent transactions often lean towards more straightforward buying processes with standardised offers and flexible timeframes to reduce the chance of stress levels rising unnecessarily!

Selling With a Cash House Buyer

For those struggling to secure a buyer after several months of listing with traditional means, cash house buyers can provide a fast and relatively fuss-free alternative. They purchase properties directly from the owner, taking on all the stress of finding mortgage finance and conveyancing.

Cash buyers value properties based on end market value to other investors, not just resale potential. This valuation strategy facilitates purchasing houses needing repairs, unfinished renovations, or in areas with currently slow markets. Their extensive industry knowledge supports buying almost any residential property type.

They have funds ready to invest and can complete deals in as little as seven days if necessary. This ability provides a lifeline for stressed sellers plagued by a seemingly unsellable house for whatever reason.

Pros of Using Cash Buyers

Speed – much faster sales process than selling traditionally or at auction. Often completed in under 28 days.
Certainty – guaranteed completion once an offer is made and accepted. No buyer pullout risk.
Flexibility – cash buyers purchase as-is. No required repairs beforehand or upheaval from viewings.
Convenience – handle all legal work and conveyancing meaning less involvement is needed from the seller.
Cash incentive – fair cash offers reflecting true market value and there are no chain or mortgage limitations.

Cons of Using Cash Buyers

Tend to offer below-market listing prices to account for refurb costs and onward sale but this is still usually more than auction sales might attract.
In rare cases, dishonest buyers fail to complete after an offer is accepted if they find major structural issues or contamination. Reputable firms overcome this through thorough surveys and completion guarantees.

Who Cash Buyers Suit Best

Selling to a cash investor makes the most sense if you:

Urgently need to relocate or release funds tied up in a property
Own a rundown fixer-upper requiring major refurbishment
Already attempted selling through traditional means without success
Want to entirely delegate the sales process to a third party
Need to sell a probate property to settle accounts

Selling via Estate Agent

Listing on the open market with an estate agent remains the most common way to sell a house. It offers the widest pool of potential buyers. If priced keenly, presented immaculately, and marketed well, most properties should attract some level of interest.

Pros of Using an Estate Agent

A good estate agent can generate maximum exposure among general public home buyers via portal listings. Reaches those unable to buy at auction or directly.
Allows you to test the true upper market value via sealed bid offers.
Agents often have pre-registered buyers already lined up and waiting for new listings matching their property preferences via automated alerts. So some viewer interest usually occurs rapidly after listing if priced reasonably.
Gives you oversight of who comes to view the property if security is a concern letting strangers inside your home.
Creates interest and competition among viewers that can often lead to bidding wars and best-final offers.

Cons of Using an Estate Agent

Requires paying thousands in commission and marketing fees upfront without guarantee of sale. Complete loss if the property fails to sell.
Can take many months from listing to completion, often missing key seasonal windows for the highest demand.
Sales can fall through instantly if the buyer’s mortgage gets declined or the chain breaks. Back at square one.
Must keep property immaculate at all times for regular open viewings which can be very inconvenient if still occupying the house.
Buyer mortgage lenders require professional surveys. You may need to drop the price or pay for repairs identified before they proceed.

Who Estate Agents Suit Best

Pursuing the conventional process of selling a house via an estate agent makes the most sense if you:

Own a modern desirable property in good decorative order without needed repairs
Are not in a rush to complete sales or tied to set time constraints
Want the maximum chance of achieving the highest sales price the market can bear
Don’t mind open viewings and keeping your home constantly tidy
Can afford agent fees and potential reductions if surveys reveal required fixes

Selling Your House at Auction

Auctions provide another alternative method to sell property rapidly. They help offload difficult houses failing to generate interest on the open market.

Properties are listed in an auction catalogue with set reserve prices and a specific auction date usually around 4-8 weeks later. Buyers must exchange contracts and pay deposits upfront before bidding starts. Final prices depend on bids placed on the day, with the highest bidder purchasing the property.

Pros of Auction Sale

Creates urgent buyer interest and competitive bidding given the limited available stock in the catalogue
Dramatically reduces chances of sales falling through as buyer funds get verified before auction day
Allows tricky properties needing repairs to still sell with buyers factoring in required work
This can occasionally lead to a quick unexpected profit if buyer emotions take over the bidding process

Cons of Auction Sale

Irreversible once the hammer falls – even if the winning bidder offers well below market rate or your reserve price. Contracts get exchanged on the day.
Costs from listing fees, brochure entries, legal pack creation and the auctioneer’s commission.
Mostly cash buyers and investors participate, massively limiting available buyers compared to traditional listings
Very high chance of selling below reasonable market value as bidders try to steal a deal.
Still may not generate any bids above the reserve price, leaving you no better off but out of pocket.

Who Auctions Suit Best

Auction sales best suit those who:

Need a quick guaranteed sale above reserve price more than maximising sales revenue.
Own rundown investment properties just requiring a fast exit.
Have experience attending property auctions and setting realistic reserves.
Want to dispose of inherited properties requiring work to settle estates.

In summary, cash buyers provide the fastest and hassle-free option for offloading hard-to-sell homes. No wonder increasing volumes of stressed vendors turn to them after hitting brick walls using conventional sales channels.

But what key drivers underpin this growing popularity exactly?

Speed – Crucially cash buyers purchase properties astonishingly fast compared to typical months-long timescales selling traditionally. Their ability to exchange contracts and complete them within days delivers immense value when urgency matters most. This velocity removes reliance on unpredictable buyer mortgage approvals and chains too.

Certainty — Alongside lightning-quick transactions, reputable cash home buyers guarantee purchase completion with written contracts. This cast iron assurance of sale, subject to fair disclosure on the property itself, contrasts heavily with the instability of traditional purchases dependent on the buyer’s continued ability to fund a mortgage. Chains can break instantly despite months wasted.

Convenience – Cash investors also handle virtually all conveyancing legal work to transfer deeds and titles across to the new ownership. This convenience frees stressed sellers from paperwork hassles and appointments with solicitors or estate agents. Your involvement in the mechanics of the actual sale becomes minimal – just answer queries promptly and bank the funds!

Proceeds – While cash offers may sit fractionally under full market rates achievable via open listings, carefully vetted buyers aim to make realistic evidence-led valuations to let you walk away with fair proceeds. There’s no risk of losing thousands paying estate agent fees upfront without any guarantee of actually attracting a buyer.

Get A No Obligation Cash Offer From A Guru Approved Cash Buyer

The guru has painstakingly reviewed and analysed the house buying companies in the UK, assessing them against his strict best practice criteria.

In short the hard work has been done for you, if you want a no obligations cash offer from a genuine cash house buying company with best in class service use the guru recommended service below to be matched with the right buyer for you, your house sale could be just a few clicks away.

Not sure if a cash offer will work for you? Find out what you could get in under a minute without having to enter any contact details.

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Click the button to get an idea of what an offer from a cash buyer would look like in just a few clicks.

If the offer could work for you we will match you to a Guru approved buyer.

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Key Takeaways To Avoid Being Stressed About Your House Not Selling

To conclude, one of the most stressful aspects of moving to a new house is when your property stays stagnant on the market despite your best efforts to sell. In this scenario, Cash homebuyers can help to reduce stress by providing a fair offer and completing a stress-free sale even with complex properties requiring work.

Their combination of speed, convenience, guaranteed completion and fair pricing makes the selling process to reputable cash investors an appealing lifeline for worried sellers chained to unsellable houses draining money.

Remember the following best practices when selling your home to avoid the stress of your house not selling:

Research local sold prices thoroughly to set realistic pricing from day one of listing your property
Take time vetting estate agents on expertise before appointing and make efforts to maximising listing quality
Tackle any obvious repairs or cosmetic fixes buyers keep highlighting early in the sale process
Weigh up more direct sales options beyond just traditional listings to access wider buyer pools with fewer restrictions
Evaluate cash buyer offers very carefully, questioning valuation rationale in detail before accepting
Rigorously validate credentials, registrations and reviews to weed out rogue traders from ethical cash home buyers
Never pay upfront fees before exchanging contracts and ensure legally binding agreements get signed
Be patient but persistent in contacting reputable companies and provide all necessary property information to facilitate smooth offers

Stay calm, take things step by step and a decent outcome can still happen even when feeling stressed about your house not selling!