It’s frustrating when your Orlando, Florida home is on the market and instead of calls from eager buyers requesting to see your house, all you hear is crickets.

As sold signs go up on your neighbor’s properties and months of no-shows turn into a trickle of unmotivated buyers, the entire sales process may seem futile.  

Before you throw your hands up in defeat, read on and find out the top reasons why your home may not be selling and recommendations on how to fix them. Following our advice will greatly improve your chances of selling your house in a reasonable time and at a top price. 

After viewing this video, continue reading for more in-depth information

Not marketing correctly

It’s not enough to get exposure for your property. You need to market your property correctly. Target your property to your ideal buyer’s interests by using keywords in your marketing that will attract them. Highlight your Orlando home’s features and the benefits that your buyer will enjoy from owning your house.

For example, if you’re selling an older house that needs repairs you could include words such as “handyman special”, “fixer-upper” or “great opportunity for first-time buyer” and highlight its best-selling features such as large lot or great location. Finally, you could point out some unique benefits, such as great money-making opportunities or remodel the home to your taste.

By speaking directly to your likely buyers and arousing their interest you’ll get requests for house showings and increase your chances for an offer. 

Poorly taken photographs

Photographs are an integral part of marketing an Orlando home. The only way you can persuade a buyer to pick up the phone and schedule an appointment to see your house is by enticing and copy and alluring photographs.

To take a great photograph, you first need to set the stage properly. That doesn’t mean you need to hire an interior designer or spend thousands on redecorating your house. Cleaning, painting, and decluttering can go a long way toward making your home’s pictures more attractive.

In addition to the above, make sure that your pictures have plenty of natural lighting and emphasize each room’s best feature.

Inflexible showing schedule

One sure way to discourage buyers from looking at your house is to insist on an unreasonable advance notice—anything over 24 hours- to schedule an appointment or to forbid showings on weekends or weeknights.

Given our busy and limited schedules, buyers don’t always have the luxury to request each house showing days in advance. So, if you make it difficult for a buyer to see your house, they’ll simply cross it off their list or leave it for another day.

Make it easy for buyers to schedule an appointment to see your house and be flexible with last-minute showings. It is common for buyers to block out an evening or weekend day to view several homes with their agent. If they see a house along the way that interests them, they may request to see the home at a moment’s notice.

Dirty and cluttered Orlando home

You may not consider your home cluttered or dirty since it is organized, bathrooms sparkle, beds are always made, and the floor is vacuumed and polished.

In this section, we are not talking about the general cleanliness or clutter of your family’s living area, we’re referring to specific areas of the home that sellers sometimes overlook. Starting from the exterior of your house, power wash the walkways, foundation and siding.

Look under porches, crawlspaces, behind your detached garage and sheds. These are areas we often use as a catchall for leftover building material, automotive parts and gardening supplies. Thoroughly clean out all these areas and discard any toxic materials appropriately.  

Once you’ve completed the above, look up. Here we mean literally look up. Clean out your gutters, trim overhanging tree limbs and replace missing or torn roofing shingles.

Then move inside and clean and declutter your closets, basement, foyer, mud room and attic. Don’t forget to clean under the bathroom and kitchen sinks, near the kitchen exhaust fans and around HVAC vents.  

Once you’ve finished inspecting the entire house one last time before kicking up your legs and checking off cleanliness and decluttering from your list, inspect your house from the most demanding buyer’s perspective. Clean areas you may have overlooked and remove any furniture or personal items that may take up space or block the natural flow of one’s movement.   

Foul odors that make your buyers cringe

Bad odors produce an intense and automatic revulsion that stays in our olfactory memory for a long time. In fact, just the memory of an offensive smell can conjure up adverse physical reactions.

GIF SOURCE: https://tenor.com/view/he-cant-figure-out-who-gif-6073952

Given this deep-seated defensive response to foul odors, there is no faster way to stop buyers dead in their tracks than a house with an offensive pet or cigarette smell.

Unfortunately, when you live with pets or are a smoker, you become used to the smell and may not notice something unpleasant with your house.

Start by asking a friend or relative who does not live with you to give you an honest and objective opinion. If they confirm that your house indeed smells, then you’ve got quite a bit of work cut out for you.

Since unpleasant pet odors and smoke can penetrate carpets, drapes, furniture, and even your walls you should replace carpeting, throw out drapes and smelly furniture, and meticulously clean and paint ceilings and walls.

Scary curb appeal

Make your buyers feel welcomed with a beautiful curb appeal. That includes well-pointed and clean walkways and stairs. A bright freshly painted front door and shiny and rust free hardware on your home’s main entrance.

Prune your hedges, replace old or overgrown bushes, add colorful flowers and neatly mow your lawn.

A pleasant curb appeal will draw buyers into the house and set the tone for what they expect. Make sure you use that to your advantage. 

Unrealistic asking price

We have saved the most important reason an Orlando home does not sell for last. Even if you correct all the six reasons we have discussed above, your home will not sell if it is overpriced.

Pricing your home too high is why your Orlando home may not be selling.

If you have been overpricing your house to negotiate down to the market price, you’re using a failed strategy.

You’re failing in two ways. First, buyers who are interested in houses with your home’s characteristics, such as age, location, size and condition will never see your house. Buyers normally set a top price limit to homes they are willing to look at. If homes that are comparable to your house are priced around $200,000, and you are asking $230,000, chances are that it will never make it to the list of homes they will consider purchasing.

Second, your house will fail compared to other homes on the market in the same price range as your asking price. In other words, all the correctly priced houses that fall at or near your asking price will be better than yours. Those buyers that look at your house will not be interested at all in what your house offers.

So if your house is priced too high, immediately lower it to the market price. If you’re not sure how to price your home correctly take a look at this blog Sell Your Home Fast at Top Price–Expert Advice Orlando/Florida

I have followed all the advice on Reasons Why My House Is Not Selling & How to Fix them and still can’t find a buyer

If all your efforts to find a buyer have failed, there is still a way to sell your house, guaranteed! Call Fix and Flippers, We are local real estate investors with years of experience helping sellers who can’t sell their house the traditional way.

We’ll buy your house no matter its condition. Even if it is fire-damaged, water-damaged, has open code violations or has suffered termite damage or roofing problems.

Sell your Orlando house to us fast. We’ll walk you through the entire sales process to make your transaction smooth and headache-free. On top of that, we’ll save you a bundle on real estate commissions. We don’t charge a commission or fee for our service. You will receive the entire sales price amount on the day of closing, not a penny less.

Call Fix and Flippers at 858-386-0949 to get a top-dollar cash offer today. Count on us to understand your needs, solve your problems and deliver exceptional service. 

For a quick visual recap, look at the Reasons Why My Home Is Not Selling And How To Fix Them [Infographic] below.

More Tips and Resources to Help You Sell Your Orlando, Florida Home

• Tips for a Successful Real Estate Photo Shoot via huffingtonpost.com
• The Ridiculously Thorough Guide to Decluttering Your Home via budgetdumpster.com
• Exhaustive house cleaning checklist to sell your home via homelight.com

Contact us