Expired listing otherwise known as an unsold home.
Chandler and Gilbert Homeowners find it difficult to be optimistic after their listing has expired. Most are excited and nervous when that listing agreement is first signed, hoping that their home sells quickly and for the most money. It’s frustrating to wait weeks or more like months in this market for an offer when that offer never arrives.
Thinking about trying to sell your home again?
Think about this. We have successfully SOLD every expired listing that we have ever listed! Yes you read that right. 100% SOLD!
Scroll to the bottom of this post to view our new 32 page sellers guide!
Check Motivation
The first step is to review your reasons to sell. If you don’t fit one of the 15 reasons listed, then you might want to revisit why you are selling. In other words, maybe you don’t have a reason to sell. Perhaps you should take your home off the market.
If you are not motivated to sell, you are not a seller. You’re a homeowner with a sign in the yard. Without motivation, you’ve got about as much hope for selling as an owner with a sign that reads, “Keep off the Grass.”
Review Marketing
Where is the business plan to sell your home? Review the marketing plan with your agent, step-by-step. Did your agent drop the ball? Did you? What worked, what didn’t pull ad calls or showings? Did you do a virtual tour, send out direct mail, put a lock box on the property?
Consider Condition
Go out and look at other homes similar to yours that are on the market to determine if your home is in the same condition as those actively for sale. Perhaps you need to do repairs or fix ups before selling. Maybe your home needs to be staged. Does your home scream curb appeal? Have you followed the top 10 home showing tips?
Look Again at Buyer Objections
What have the buyers said about your home? Review buyer feedback, which your agent should have obtained for you when your home first went on the market. Is there validity to what buyers were saying? How can you compensate for those objections?
Discount Sudden Activity
You won’t have to look too far to find agents because they’ll all come crawling out of the woodwork when your listing expires. Realtors are prevented from soliciting a seller when the listing is active in the MLS. But you’re fair game when the listing has expired.
You may wonder why your listing, now that it has expired, is so popular. Many agents specialize in contacting expired listings because they want the listing. Period. Moreover, realize that some agents will take an overpriced listing just to get a sign in the yard, don’t fall for that trick.
Contact Several Listing Agents
Ask the hard questions to determine if the agents are giving you the right answers. Find out what another agent might do differently. Do they really SELL homes in Chandler & Gilbert? Ask to see customer testimonials of the quality of service they provide. Are they full time? How long have they been in the business? How many homes do they sell a year? 75 means they are too busy and 2 means they probably are not very on top of their business or the current market. What kind of specialized training do they have that would help them best to sell your home?
15 Motivating Reasons to Sell
1) Home is too small. Home owners often outgrow their “starter” homes. Increased family size is the main reason home owners say they need a larger home.
2) Upgrade. The grass is greener on the other side. People often want what they don’t have and long for a bigger, more expensive and grander, upscale home. It’s the American way.
3) Fix purchase error. Owners might believe they made a mistake when purchasing their present home and want to rectify that mistake. Maybe they thought they could get by without a back yard but yearn to garden, or the dining room in the center of the house annoys them, or they no longer enjoy the underbelly of planes flying overhead within inches of their face.
4) Job transfer. Relocation makes it necessary for many to pull up roots and move. If the commuting distance exceeds an hour, most people would prefer not to spend two hours in traffic every day.
5) Personal relationships. Moving in with a partner or getting married can mean one of the parties will need to sell, especially if both owned homes prior to the commitment. On the other hand, break-ups cause owners to sell as well for three basic reasons:
- One party may need to buy out the other and not have the cash available.
- The home may not be affordable to sustain on one person’s income.
- The home holds bad memories, making a fresh start desirable.
6) Neighborhood changes. The neighborhood might have changed for the worse, economically, socially or physically. For example, maybe a freeway was constructed nearby. Maybe the next door neighbors receive visitors who arrive wearing striped pajamas at 2am. Or they have hung sheets over their windows while a skunk-like odor permeates the air.
7) Empty nest. The kids have grown up and moved out. The owners want a smaller home. The older you get, the harder it is to keep a big house clean.
8) See family more often. Some people want to be closer to their family as they age and will move to be near relatives. Parents want to be near children. Grandparents, near their children and grandchildren.
9) See family less often. To put more distance between the home owners and relatives. Some might move out of state to keep harmony within the family. Dysfunctional and fractured families have been known to blossom being separated.
10) Retirement. Active-adult communities are attracting many buyers over the age of 55. These planned communities have golf courses, club houses, workout facilities, week-end social gatherings, back-yard barbeque parties and more, all designed for people over 55.
11) Health problems. Physical ailments such as knee or back problems make it difficult for an aging population to climb stairs in a two story, so a one-story home may be more practical. A trade-off solution for many elderly people who don’t require round the clock care is to buy a condo or move into assisted living housing.
12) Deferred maintenance. Some people don’t want to put on a new roof, replace the siding or buy a new furnace, so it’s easier to buy a new home. When you figure the life of most home systems is about 15 years, it could make sense to get out before everything goes haywire.
13) Home improvement perfection. A small segment enjoys fixing up and selling, spending time, money and effort on remodeling, and once the work is completed, these people become restless because there is nothing left to do. Some of you may call these people obsessed, but for some, it’s a way to maintain balance while mastering a hobby.
14) Cash in equity. Some home owners can’t stand the fact their home is worth all that money because that money is not in their pocket. These people would prefer to stare at their passbook savings than stare at four walls with empty pockets. They. Just. Want. The. Money.
15) Lifestyle change. Others are simply tired of owning a home and would prefer to travel, pursue a hobby or be less responsible. We used to call these people misfits or boomers, but many past a certain age want to find a calling that is meaningful to them. So, for these people, home ownership loses its priority status and turns into the ticket for realizing dreams.
Lastly contact the West Home Selling Home Team to get your home SOLD!
To get started take a few minutes and go through this sellers guide to get an idea of what we do get our sellers homes SOLD!
Click on the Guide to read it.
