How to Sell Your Home in a Bad Location

When it comes to real estate, location is everything, hence the adage, “location, location, location.” You could have a fabulous home, but if it’s in a bad location, its value can definitely suffer.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to sell your home if the neighborhood it’s located in is less than desirable. Plenty of sellers find themselves in this exact position but manage to sell successfully, and you can too.

Here are some things you can do to help sell your home despite its bad location.

Boost Curb Appeal

There might be little you can do about the block you’re on, but there’s a lot you can do to make your home stand out, in a good way. The first thing you can do to ensure that buyers like what they see when they pull up to your home is to give the exterior a facelift. Boosting the curb appeal of your home can do wonders to attract buyers and increase the perceived value of the home.

If you’re selling in a bad location, you’ve got to pull out all the stops to impress buyers the moment they lay eyes on your house. Keep the lawn mowed, remove dead leaves, prune the bushes, plant some flowers, paint the door and shutters, and wash the windows. If your home is adjacent to a home that’s not very well maintained, consider planting some hedges or erecting a fence to add some separation.

Have Your Home Professionally Staged

You’ve charmed buyers with your home’s exterior, and now it’s time to do the same with the interior. Buyers should be “wowed” as soon as they cross over the threshold if you want them to be able to see past the sub-par location of the property. To do this, you’ve got to have your home staged.

While you could always stage your home yourself, a professional home staging company will probably be able to do a much better job at understanding what local buyers want and staging the home specifically to cater to this group.

Staging involves presenting a home in the most positive light by choosing the right furniture pieces and accessories and positioning them strategically to optimize flow and visual interest.

Professional staging has a track record of helping homes sell quickly and for more money compared to homes that have not been staged. If your home seems to offer everything that buyers are looking for in a home, they might be more willing to place less weight on the negative traits of the surrounding location.

Price it Right

Pricing real estate properly is key to selling within a reasonable amount of time, especially for homes that may be a tough sell. With a difficult location, pricing appropriately compared to other homes nearby that have recently sold is important. Pricing too high will certainly scare off buyers, particularly when it comes to homes that are located in a neighborhood that’s less than desirable.

Your real estate agent will conduct a comparative market analysis on similar homes that have recently sold, and you’d be well advised to heed their advice. The last thing you want to do is drop the price a few weeks after your listing goes live because there are no takers. Selling in a tough neighborhood is difficult enough, and trying to convince buyers to pay more than what it’s worth is even harder.

Make Improvements That Will Bring You a Decent ROI

Sometimes it might be necessary to make some improvements to your home in order to impress buyers. Maybe the kitchen seems too small, or the hallway is too dark and dingy. Whatever the case may be, upgrading specific aspects of your home might be warranted. Just be very careful where you’re spending your money and how much you’re spending.

Consider how much you can realistically sell for and account for that figure in your calculations. You don’t want to spend much more than what you’ll recoup when you sell.

Spending money on a fresh coat of paint, repairs, new flooring, new light fixtures, updating kitchens and bathrooms, and organizing closets can be very effective when done right.

Heavily Market an Open House

Have your agent advertise an open house to maximize the number of buyers who show up, and try to host the open house shortly after listing the property. Interest is usually highest for brand new listings, so you need to capitalize on this window of opportunity. Having as many buyers present during your open house will show other buyers that they’re not the only ones who may be interested in buying your home.

Give Directions Through the Nicer Part of Town

When providing directions for your open house, direct buyers through the nicer streets, if any exist. While you don’t want to send people on a major detour, you also want to point out that there are some positive parts to the area, reassuring buyers that the neighborhood isn’t necessarily all that bad.

Offer Concessions

A number of factors play a role in whether or not a buyer decides to put in an offer, and sometimes offering concessions may be just what’s needed to seal a deal. If possible, consider offering concessions to sweeten the deal and make up for the lack of a desirable location. You might choose to pay for part of the closing costs, provide a credit to buyers to cover the cost of home improvements or offer a home warranty for a certain amount of time.

The Bottom Line

Selling a home in a bad location isn’t exactly ideal, but there are definitely some things you can do to improve the situation. There’s always a buyer for every home, even those that are not located in the best neighborhood.