7 Delays You Can Face When Listing Your House and How to Avoid Them

Listing your house can be a long and drawn-out process. There is usually a laundry list of tasks that need to be handled before you can even put your house on the market, followed by months of showings, offers, and potential delays before finally closing. This can be a lot for homeowners to deal with. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of possible delays in the listing process so you can prepare yourself for the house-selling journey. We have also included a few of the best ways to completely avoid delays, including how to sell without listing your house.

1. Investing in Repairs

One of the first delays you can run into when selling your house comes before you list: you have to invest in repairs and updates. Ensuring that your house is in good condition is the best way to attract more potential buyers and higher offers. Because of this, most homeowners invest time and money into both major and minor repairs before they list their property. Some of the most common repairs include electrical and plumbing work, replacing HVAC systems, or repairing roofs, as well as smaller DIY projects, like fresh paint and new door knobs. Depending on what kind of work you decide to complete on the property, the delays you face at this stage could be lengthy.

Of course, you always have the option to list your property as-is in order to avoid this delay. However, there is a lot to consider with that option. For example, is the condition of the house bad enough to impact your buyer’s financing? They may be disqualified from loans based on certain unfixed issues on the property, and this could further delay or completely stop closing.

2. Getting the Property Market-Ready

Whether or not you decide to invest in repairs, it’s important get your property market-ready before listing. Once again, the extent of the work you do before listing your house is up to you. Getting the property market-ready can simply mean taking time to rake the yard and box up unnecessary clutter, but it can also mean investing in professional landscaping and staging.

Even if you go for the simplest option, getting a lived-in house to look market-ready is no small job, and this can be a bigger delay than you expect. It’s best to outline a game plan before you jump in. Here’s a base checklist to get you started:

• Tidy the yard. Rake any leaves, mow the lawn, sweep the sidewalk, and consider adding bushes, mulch, or pine straw to freshen up your curb appeal.
• Remove any personal items from surfaces. You want to make the house into a blank canvas that any buyer can imagine themselves living in, so stick to generic décor and wall hangings.
• Clear out any clutter. This make spaces look both tidier and roomier. Do the same inside of your cabinets. You can bet that homeowners will want to see what kind of storage space they would have, so be ready for buyers to inspect inside closets and cabinets.
• Rearrange the furniture so that each room is inviting.
• Clean, clean, clean! It’s a lot easier for buyers to fall in love with a clean house than a dirty one. You’ll want to wash windows, scrub bathrooms, remove dust bunnies, and clean everything else.

3. Waiting for an offer

After listing your house, the biggest delay can be simply waiting for an offer. The amount of time that you spend waiting for an offer depends on the condition of your property and the state of your local housing market. In Georgia in 2024, 55 days was the median amount of time on the market after listing your house, so expect to wait for an offer for 1-2 months.

During this delayed period, it’s important that you continue to keep your property clean and tidy for any open houses or showings with potential buyers.

4. Inspection Contingencies

Once you accept an offer, it’s not always smooth sailing towards closing on your house. You may run into several delays, including an inspection contingency. This is a stipulation in the buyer’s offer which states that the offer depends on the result of a home inspection, which is arranged by the buyer’s agent. This is an expected practice that protects the buyer’s investment.

This contingency itself usually doesn’t create additional delays (the inspection is typically scheduled within 7-10 days of accepting the offer) unless the inspection goes poorly. If the inspection finds that repairs are needed on the property, the buyer can renegotiate their contract to lower their offer or to require that repairs be made before the closing. Regardless of how the matter is settled in the end, a poor inspection has the potential to seriously delay closing on your house.

5. Low Appraisal

Another delay that you can run into after listing your house and accepting an offer is a low appraisal. Along with an inspection, the buyer’s agent will schedule an appraisal to provide the property’s fair market value and ensure that the buyer isn’t overpaying. This step is usually required by the homebuyer’s lender to ensure that the mortgage loan isn’t higher than the property’s market value (this is assuming the buyer isn’t making a cash offer, in which case no bank financing is necessary). If the property’s appraised value is lower than the buyer’s offer, this can cause delays in the buyer’s financing until you reach a resolution, whether that be by negotiating a new price or by the buyer paying the remaining price in cash.

6. Financing Contingencies

Another delay you can run into is a financing contingency. This is much like an inspection contingency in that it stipulates that the final sale is dependent on another factor. In this case, the sale is dependent on the buyer being able to secure financing for the purchase. If the buyer runs into difficulty obtaining the funds to close on the property (these delays can come from a low appraisal, being unable to find a lender, difficulty being approved for a loan, or exceeding a maximum interest rate), then this can delay closing until the buyer can secure financing, or it can completely stop the sale altogether.

7. Unable to Sell

The worst-case-scenario delay you can face after listing your house is being unable to sell. Luckily, Georgia is a seller’s market, so it’s unlikely that you’ll find yourself in this position, but it’s not impossible. If you find your property on the market for 3-4 weeks without receiving any offers, work with your agent to come up with a new strategy, possibly by lowering the asking price or marketing the house differently. This will hopefully revitalize some interest in the property.

The longer a house is on the market, the less interested prospective buyers will likely be. This is because they will think that something must be wrong with the property that has prevented it from selling. Not only will the delay be lengthened with every day on the market, but this delay itself can be a never-ending spiral if you don’t take action.

How To Avoid Delays When Listing Your House

Now that we’ve covered the most common delays you can face when listing your house, let’s figure out how to avoid those delays. You can do this in a number of different ways, both by staying on top of the listing process and by not listing at all.

Be prepared and organized

The best thing you can do when listing your house is be prepared and organized. Selling your property can be a lengthy process, but staying vigilant and ensuring that everything on your end is handled is the easiest way to avoid delays and ensure a quick and easy sale. While there are plenty of aspects that are out of your control during the selling process, there are still tasks you can take on to make sure things go smoothly:

• Research your local market to see what comparable properties are selling for and what kind of condition they are in. This will give you a ballpark price range and ideas for repairs or updates.
• Interview listing agents to find someone who is qualified and who you can see yourself collaborating with for an extended period of time.
• Handle all of the finances of the property. Pay off any property taxes and outstanding liens, and ensure that you you have the loan payout information for your mortgage.
• Make a game plan for cleaning and decluttering the house.
• Consider having an inspection done to see what, if any, repairs are necessary. This way, you’ll be much less likely to face any surprises when your buyer orders an inspection.

Even though much of the process of listing your house is a waiting game determined by your buyer and their agent, doing your due diligence is the best thing you to get ahead of delays and avoid a delayed closing. Discuss with your real estate agent to see what else you can do to help things run smoothly.

Accept the most reliable offer

The first offer or the highest offer that you receive on your property might not always be the best. When reviewing offers, keep in mind your selling objectives. What do you value most: selling fast, being assured of your buyer’s financing, or getting the highest offer possible? It’s important that you select the offer that will help you get what you want out of the sale.

If you’re looking to avoid further delays, consider accepting an offer from a buyer who is pre-approved by their lender or who has fewer contingencies.

Avoid Listing Completely

An increasingly common way to avoid delays when listing your house is to bypass listing completely by making a direct sale to a local real estate investor or professional homebuyer. These companies and individuals make market-value cash offers on homes as-is, completely eliminating the costs and delays that come with listing. This method allows you to arrange a showing with the buyer and close within a week, without being delayed by repairs, bank loans, or waiting for offers. This is incredibly convenient if you want to offload a property as quickly as possible.

However, this convenience does come at the expense of a higher selling price. Because you will not invest in repairs, updates, or the services of a realtor, the offer you receive from one of these buyers will likely be at the lower end of your home’s market value. If you are in a situation where final profit comes second to speed, then selling to a professional homebuyer could be a serious consideration.

Summary

When listing your house, there are bound to be delays. It is almost impossible to avoid every roadblock between you and closing on your property, but knowing what delays are ahead and being able to prepare for them makes the entire process much easier to handle.

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