The other day I had a listing appointment at a house that was in a great area of town, was in great condition, had lots of things to offer the particular buyer – and was in one of the worst locations one could think of for the neighborhood – they backed to a railroad track!  Now I know that Richmond, VA is a railroad town, and we do have a huge switching yard here in Richmond, but even with all that, most people don’t want to back directly to the railroad tracks.  The potential seller was looking for some advice on how to get their home sold, knowing that this was not the best market AND the best time of year to begin that process!  Here was my advice to them:

1. 1.       Make a list of all the things you love about the house!  By having this list available, it will help the listing agent know what things to focus on when trying to get the house sold!  It is quite possible that this home can offer a buyer things that they won’t find in other houses in the neighborhood at their price point!  Do they have an upgraded kitchen, do they have an oversized yard, is it a bigger house, etc.  These are the things that a listing agent can say to a potential buyer – yes, we know we back to the railroad tracks, but look at what you can get for your money here!
2. 2.       Make a list of the things that are great about the neighborhood!  If you have great schools, or there is a fantastic amenity package in the neighborhood, or you are close to the interstates, etc. – then these are the things that your listing needs to stress in any marketing that is done! 
3. 3.       Price your home well under the other homes in the neighborhood & area!  Because this home has such a big negative thing (the railroad) and that negative cannot be gotten rid of, it is very very important that the house be listed at a price that makes this a real bargain for the neighborhood!  In this case, if the average price of homes in this neighborhood were $300,000 and this home were listed at $260,000 but the buyer was also going to get a top of the line kitchen with a half acre lot (when all other lots were about ¼ acre) and you have a 3 car garage (when the others only have a 2 car garage), then there may just be a buyer out there who will want all of these items and want to be in these schools and this neighborhood, but just can’t go up to the $300,000 price!
4. 4.       Have the home pre-inspected and do all the repairs that are on the inspection report!  Part of the problem is that today’s real estate market means that sellers are having to compete not only with a lot of inventory in their area, but so much of it may be short sales & foreclosures!  Short sales & foreclosures will be priced very low, but they will be sold “as is” and will generally need some to a lot of repairs!  If you can say to a potential buyer that you have had the home inspected by a reputable home inspector AND you have gotten everything repaired by licensed contractors AND you can provide those reports to the buyer, then that buyer may be willing to buy your home, even if it backs to the railroad tracks, because they are now getting peace of mind with your home that they may not get with a foreclosure or short sale!
5. 5.       Have the home staged!  I know that the seller is still living in their home, and they may have small kids, but again, with the amount of competition that there is on the market place, half the battle of selling your home will happen within the first few minutes that a buyer is at your home.  From the time that buyer is getting out of the car and walking through the front door, they are making a mental decision on whether or not this is a house for them.  So make the house as comfortable as possible, remove the personal items such as pictures that can distract the buyer from looking at your home, put on the lights & soft music, pay the kids to keep their rooms clean and straight!  You want the buyer to be able to say “this is the home for me!” and write up an offer while forgetting about the railroad tracks behind them!
6. 6.       Anticipate the objections!  In this case, the railroad tracks are there – I can’t do anything about them!  Ignoring this and not trying to deal with it head on means that I am going to leave it up to the buyer’s imagination as to how this negative will impact them!  Perhaps in this case, I could call the railroad and find out just when the trains run!  I may find out that there are only 2 trains a day that go on that track and they run only during the day when, in all likelihood, the family will be at work and school!  If I can find this out and make sure the potential buyer knows this, I won’t be having the buyer thinking that the trains will come through at 2 in the morning each and every evening!
7. 7.       Make the home easy to show!  Every seller should keep in mind that the market right now is not always nice to the sellers out there!  You never want to say no to a showing, even if it really isn’t a convenient time for you!  So if you get someone who wants to show your home, make sure there is a lockbox and make sure that you allow that showing to occur!  This may be the one buyer who happens to be a railroad buff and really does want to live near the railroad tracks!
8. 8.       Be Realistic!  Keep in mind that the real estate market is not static and things are always changing!  It is not as easy to sell homes today as it was a few years ago, and the fact that you have a big negative (such as railroad tracks behind your home) doesn’t help!  So make sure that you keep on top of what is happening in your marketplace and that you make the adjustments to your home’s pricing as soon as you can so that you can stay ahead of the market trends for your area!  The last thing you want to do is to be in a position of chasing a downward trend!

Always keep in mind that you cannot change the location of your home and you cannot change the railroad tracks behind your home – what you can control is who you choose to market your home, the price & terms you offer to the buyer of your home, and the condition of your home while it is on the market! 

Good luck to the sellers out there!  Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any comments or questions on this!