My Seller’s home has a steep driveway and three consecutive Realtors report that this is the ONLY flaw preventing their Buyers from making an offer on her Tulsa home for sale. 
This home is in the prestigious Southmont Estates subdivision, and ALL of the driveways in that neighborhood are equally steep.
Steep has me stumped. Home owners don’t notice the steepness, because they drive into their garages and enter the home from a level surface. Guests walk up a tiered walkway on the side of the home.
So, how do I overcome this objection?
Should I ask my Seller to clean out her garage and change the showing instructions to have the Realtor pull up IN TO the garage for showings? Should I place pots of flowers on the tiered walkway to bring attention to that?
Steep is good! Should I point out that with the home at the top of the hill, all of the water runs away from the house and in to the street?? Snow shoveling and ice is only a problem 2-3 times per year in Oklahoma, or I would consider offering driveway cleaning services along with the home warranty.
I’m sure the right Buyer will come along any day now, but this is an important reminder that there are some things you simply can’t change about a home – and I don’t think there’s an engineer out there who can un-steep a driveway!
But, I do have a positive “steep driveway story” to share. I showed a couple a home in Sunset Terrace last year that I had shown several years previously. Before we even got there, I told my client that his sports car was too low to the ground and would never make it up this steep driveway. We tested, and he was definitely going to bottom out. So, we parked on the street and checked out the house. Guess what? This couple loved the house so much, Jim made an offer that day and bought a new car a few days later.
So maybe I should partner with an auto salesman in selling this home with a steep driveway??!
Ya gotta love Realtors who spend sleepless nights trying to figure out how to sell their clients’ homes. If YOU need a Realtor who thinks outside the box and will work tirelessly to sell your home, do give me a call. Maybe by then, I’ll be able to tell you how I solved the problem of the steep driveway!! 918-852-5036
Content written and published by Lori Cain.
