BACK ON THE MARKET

Selling the house the buyer walked away from.

Sometimes, despite everyone's best effort, the deal just isn't going to go forward. What then? It's time to be aggressive with marketing before the house gets unjustly pegged as someone else's problem.

“When a house comes back, it's more apt to be stigmatized,” says Mike Forsum, western regional president for Bradenton, Fla.–based Taylor Woodrow Homes. “It's no different than someone who gets jilted right before the prom.”

First, assess where the house is in the building process and review the original buyer's selections to see whether they're a help or a hindrance to resale. Are the paint and carpet colors fairly neutral, or are they a bit out of the mainstream? Are the appliances too high-end to appeal to the average buyer? If changes need to be made, the forfeited deposit can be used to offset the costs involved.

Avoid the temptation to simply slash the price, which tends to get back quickly to other buyers who paid full price. Instead, offer buyer incentives that add value to the home or to the home-buying experience, such as assistance with closing costs or design-center credit for upgrades.

To market the house, prominently display photos in the sales center and on your Web site as the featured house of the week. Sales agents should go back to their file of prospective buyers who were interested in that floor plan and contact them to let them know it's now available for quick delivery.

And don't forget local Realtors. They typically work with buyers who are looking to move in sooner rather than later. Offer an additional bonus to sales associates or Realtors to move the house quickly.

“Spiff it on the sales side with the brokers and incentivize on the buyer side,” says Mark Hodges, senior vice president of corporate operations at Hovnanian Enterprises. “But you also have people in the market looking for a home, so advertise it as a ready-to-move-into house.”

Most important, don't get discouraged. “The home sold once; it will certainly sell again,” says Nanette Overly, director of sales and marketing services for Dublin, Ohio–based Epcon Communities. “The more a sales consultant believes that, the higher the probability they'll turn the home in no time.”