Top Ten reasons your home won't sell................

These are the Barsch Team's TOP 10 reasons your home won't sell....unless you check yourself!

This applies to Silver Spring Real Estate, DC Real Estate, VA Real Estate, and everywhere else!

10)     Clutter -  Do you realize when you put a sign on your property, you are now marketing a product for sale?  From unbiased REALTORS^®and no pun intended, put that junk in the trunk!  Buyers don't want to walk over mountains of junk, maneuver around furniture, or look at your collectibles.  The buyers are there to BUY your home, not the contents.  Put it away!

9)     Condition - This should be higher up on the list, probably one of the worst complaints buyers have about properties they view.  The condition of the property is not what you deem to be appropriate, but what the buyers will.  Spending a little bit of money on making small improvements such as new carpet (or refinishing hardwood floors), repainting trims & baseboards, fixing or replacing broken blinds, replacing the toilets or sinks that need replacing, and most importantly at the least of cost REPLACE THE LIGHT BULBS ...these things amongst others can improve your home in an instant.

8)     Curb Appeal - Even if you're a year out from selling your home, start working on the curb appeal now!  This is the first thing people see from the photo of the front of your home on the internet, to when they first pull up to your home.  If it's looking like a forest in the front yard, you better start trimming away!  Spruce it up with a little color in the front and back yards, and take pride in your home...it really does show.  If you have chipped or missing slates or otherwise, work on getting them fixed or replaced.  If YOU notice it enough to talk about it, then the buyer will notice it 10 times more.

7)     Showing times - You're doing NO ONE a favor, including yourself, your REALTOR^®, the buyer and the buyers agent to limit the times, days or otherwise folks can see your property.  When we take listings, that box is on and we get notified 1 hour prior to every showing to get you the seller prepared for "show time".  Selling your home is a full-time job, you have to be ready sometimes on moments notice when that agent driving by didn't see your listing and wants to see it RIGHT NOW!  I've been most impressed where on a moments notice upon arriving at a showing all the lights were left on, the soft music awaited us, and a candle being burnt.  WOW, that is pretty impressive.....beyond words....

6)     Open houses - My favorite lines from some sellers in the past "open houses are a waist of time" or "all open houses do is help your business" or "it won't sell my house" or "I don't want my neighbors to see my home".  These are direct quotes from previous clients of mine that I had to educate about why open houses are beneficial and crucial to selling their homes.  7 homes that I sold in the last few years were as a DIRECT result of open houses.  The fact of the matter is, you don't know WHO your buyer is, or WHEN he/she will see the home.  Open houses is one more element in the equation of selling a home. 

5)   Pets & odor - No you don't have to sell or give away your pet, BUT you do need to make it so that the presence of your pet is not known.  As a dog lover myself with two black labs, I would be heart broken if someone told me that MY dogs had to leave MY home for the day.  The truth is they do....EVERY SINGLE TIME you get a showing, those dogs better be at a friends house, or out on a walk.  Same goes for birds, cats and every other lovely creature you may have in your home.  There are a million reasons for this and I list the two most important: fear & allergies.  On the odor topic, it's not what YOU can't smell ............... it's what other people CAN smell!  If you have pets that shed hair or otherwise...........the hair needs to be picked up daily, and you need to make that home smell good and fresh for EVERY showing.

4)    Brochures - The brochures, comps, statistics, and whatever else that was left by me or your agent on the table is there for a reason.  These items are there so that the buyers can reflect back on YOUR property, and they can remember how great YOUR property is.  Honestly, the "marketing" is the least of our concerns....we have a job we were hired to do and that is to sell YOUR home.  So even if it hurts, and even if you have to hide it every time someone leaves...........YOU MUST put those brochures front and center so that YOUR house can stand out.  Yes, you have to leave the basket of candy out for the buyers too.  I promise, I will buy you a bag of goodies when you settle!

3)     HOME OWNER - Yes, YOU!  Maam/Sir I love the fact that you want to get your home sold, I really do.  No one in the world wants that home sold for the highest price possible, with the least amount of days on the market then me.  YOU have to do me a favor, LEAVE THE HOME!  When the buyers are coming over, please leave RIGHT NOW.  Do not standby and try to "meet" the buyers, they do not care too much what you have to say AT THIS POINT.  A lot of times you may think you're "trying to sell the home", whereas you might be DIGGING A HOLE.  Even if THAT buyer were to buy your home, you may be giving up A LOT of information for your negotiations.  Let me your trusted REALTOR worry about the buyers, I promise we will get a great offer for you and soon!

2)   Personal items - It would behoove you to remove personal items such as photographs, awards, certifications, yearbooks and anything else that says something about YOU.  The best homes I have ever been into were homes that were lived in, but you couldn't tell by who or how many.  I understand you might have a new born, and it really isn't feasible to move all the toys out of the way...I'm a realist.  However, you really do need to work your best to make it a product for sale, and NOT a personal shrine.

1)  Guess?  Yes....PRICE!  I'm not here to offend you, I'm not here to low ball you, I'm not here to lie to you, I'm not here to tell you what isn't gold.  I AM here to tell you what your home is worth, I AM here to tell you what your home will likely sell for.  I AM NOT an appraiser, nor do I care to be an appraiser.  However, I am a REALTOR that has sold millions in real estate, and I am a REALTOR^® that has made a significant amount of money in my personal real estate.  With that being said lets go to the bullets below..................

• Comps do not lie - It is what it is.  Appraisers will look 6 months back at properties that recently sold, and properties that resemble your home the closest.  The 6 month period is the time that YOUR home is being appraised by a buyers bank.....so if you're selling your home in March 2011, and get a contract in May 2011, but the comp is from October 2010 it will NOT be valid.  It must be 6 months from the time of YOUR appraisal.  The appraisal is based on square footage (taxable living area, does not include ANY PART of your home that is underground front, back or both), condition of the homes, and the distance of the subject property from the comp.
• Higher offering price does NOT make your home look attractive- You're waiving bye bye to those potential buyers that are ready, willing and able to buy your home....because you didn't believe my first bullet.  You don't get extra credit for a new toilet, you don't get extra credit for new blinds, you don't get extra credit for a stained deck, you don't get extra credit for new carpet --------------------these items HELP make your home saleable, NOT raise the price.
• Don't chase the market- This goes to the last bullet, don't start your sales price off at $500,000 because you're in disbelief the home is no longer worth that much.  Then 3 months from now you drop it to $450,000 where it should've been all along.  Only to find out that now that 3 months has passed, the real market value now because of comps and other trends is $425,000 and then you end up selling it for $400,000.  See how that can go bad real quick?
• TRUST YOUR REALTOR^®- Not because I said so, but because I am being hired to accomplish the task of selling your treasured home.  YOU hired ME, because YOU trusted ME.  I'm not your enemy, I'm your best of friend...........HELL call me your BFF for a few months!