Does your home feel impossible to sell? What to do with a 'problem property' and tips for a home sale slump

But that isn't the only type of home that can be difficult to sell.

A perfectly habitable Mansfield home can become a problem for its owner if it has sat on the market for months, several buyers have withdrawn, there are too many similar homes competing for attention or the property appeals to a relatively small group of buyers.

The problem isn't necessarily the house itself. It's that the normal route to selling it isn't working.

And with buyers currently enjoying more choice, that's particularly important.

The latest Hometrack UK House Price Index says the number of properties for sale nationally is 7% higher than a year previously, while sales agreed are down 7%. It says higher mortgage costs are making buyers more selective about both what they buy and how much they're prepared to pay.

Zoopla analysis also shows how often listings fail to result in a completed sale: 44% of UK homes listed over the past three years did not sell, meaning only just over half of all sellers successfully completed their sale*.

So, what can owners of harder-to-sell homes do?

First, identify the real problem

Don't settle for 'nobody wants it'. Try to establish why.

Has a survey uncovered things that need repairing? Does the home require substantial modernisation? Have previous buyers struggled to progress with the purchase? Has the solicitor identified issues with the title or local searches? Has the mortgage lender got a different view of the property’s value to you?

Or is there nothing technically wrong with the property, but simply too few buyers are willing to purchase it at the current price?

Those are very different problems and require different solutions.

Is it worth doing the work yourself?

If condition is putting people off, consider whether some of the work can sensibly be completed before selling.

That doesn't mean automatically refurbishing the entire property.

Concentrate on problems that genuinely prevent buyers progressing, rather than carrying out expensive cosmetic improvements that may not be reflected in the eventual sale price.

Sometimes fixing the more immediately visible issues can be beneficial as these can be the ones that cause a prospective buyer to think “if this needs repair then what else is wrong with the property?”

Get quotes and compare the likely cost, disruption, timeframe and potential benefit before committing money.

Does the price reflect the problem?

A buyer looking at a house requiring work isn't only considering the purchase price. They will also be mentally adding up the cost, inconvenience and risk involved in putting it right.

Hometrack's national research underlines how important realistic pricing has become. It found that 4 out of 10 homes listed below their estimated value found a buyer within 90 days, versus 2 out of 10 homes listed at least 20% above estimated value.

You don't necessarily need to be the cheapest home for sale, but buyers need to understand what they're getting for their money.

Are you marketing to the right buyer?

Not every house suits every buyer.

A property needing significant renovation might deter someone looking for somewhere ready to move into but attract someone actively searching for a project.

An unusual or rural property can similarly require a different approach from a conventional family home.

Talk to your estate agent about who is actually enquiring rather than simply how many people have looked at the property online.

What if it's been on the market for months?

Once a home has been marketed unsuccessfully for a prolonged period, simply continuing with exactly the same strategy is unlikely to make the proposition fundamentally different.

Review the price, photographs, description, agent and route to market.

Depending on the property and the homeowner's priorities, alternatives could include auction or a direct property sale.

A 'problem property' doesn't necessarily need fixing

The really important question is whether the problem needs fixing, or whether you need to find a buyer who's prepared to buy the property with that problem.

House Buyer Bureau buys properties directly for cash, specializing in homes where the owner chooses not to carry out work before selling.

That convenience comes with a trade-off. A homeowner may potentially achieve a higher price by successfully completing repairs and selling through an estate agent.

But for somebody who doesn't have the money, appetite or time to tackle the problem before selling, then having certainty that the sale will go ahead in a timescale that suits them, in a simple way, and for cash, can be compelling.

And a 'problem' property doesn't have to be falling down. If your house has been on the market for months, buyers have repeatedly pulled out, you're struggling to generate interest or there's simply something about the property that makes it harder to sell conventionally, it can be worth finding out what a direct sale might look like.

You can have a free, no-obligation chat with one of House Buyer Bureau's property buyers, explain the property and the problems you've encountered, and discuss the options available. HBB can then provide an indicative cash offer during the initial call.

Get a free cash offer from House Buyer Bureau

You don't have to accept it. The offer simply gives you another option to consider alongside repairing the property, changing the price, switching estate agents or continuing to wait for an open-market buyer.

A property becoming difficult to sell doesn't mean it's impossible to sell. Sometimes the solution is to change the property. Sometimes it's to change the price. And sometimes it's to change the way you sell it.

*Source: Zoopla, “Half of UK homes listed never sell” .