Many sporting events include a degree of difficulty - the higher the degree of difficulty, the more difficult the climb/dive/river rapids etc. If you want to sell your home, the concept of degree of difficulty may be one that can help you be successful.
There are several factors that help determine how quickly, or if a home sells - let's look at each with an eye for degree of difficulty:
1. Location - if you are on or back up to one of the busiest roads in town; have a neighbor who stores inoperable cars and their worn out tires in his front yard; are close enough to the river that part of the year you have "waterfront" property - give yourself a 10. There is a buyer for every property, but the pool of your buyers just shrunk as none of these location items comes up high on many buyers' search criteria lists.
2. Condition - if you have a front gutter hanging down over your front porch; if there is more moss on your roof than clear shingles; if several ceilings show large water stains - give yourself a 10. Buyers might still buy, but they will assume that the repair process will cost at least double what it probably will actually be - and they will want that discount plus more for the sheer hassle factor.
3. Staging - if your rooms are so crowded with all of your collectibles, excess furniture and stuff that there is only a slender walkway; if you have a different (and kind of grungy) color shag carpet in each room; if you notice visitors holding their breath to avoid the pet/smoking/dirty dishes/garbage odors - give yourself a 10. Again some buyers can see past these conditions - but they will not pay top dollar and they will be highly suspicious of condition elements they cannot see.
4. Accessiblity - if your showing instructions say that first an agent is to call your agent at least 48 hours in advance and then it may be possible for them to see the house if it is an even numbered date and they can come between 10 and 11 - and then after they make an appointment you call back to say it won't really be convenient as you realized your favorite soap opera will be on then - give yourself a 10. Unless your home is the only one that matches the buyers' criteria, they probably will never even see it as they will first look at everything that is much more easily accessible to them.
5. Price - if you told your agent to show you the most recent comparable sales and then you would like to "test the market" at 20% above those prices; if you add 25% for sentimental attachment to the home; if you calculate your list price based on what you want to net; if you add dollars to the price for things you have added to house or yard even though your agent (tactfully) points out that not everyone may value those in the same way you do - give yourself a 10.
And back to items 1-4 - location is not really changeable so if yours has some negatives, they can only be compensated for by a lower price than a home without those negatives. Items 2-4 are under your control - but if you don't want to make the changes necessary to get rid of the 10 you got on those items - back to price - and you guessed it - you must compensate by a lower price - maybe significantly lower.
Bottom line is to take a look (as unbiased as you can manage) and evaluate your home's degree of difficulty. It will relate very closely to the degree of difficulty you will have in selling your home!
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