Selling a villa

[Globetrotter]

I am in the early stages of doing my research and wanted to pick the brains of any experts here.

So, any tips on how to sell a villa successfully? Commission rates? Who is the go to agency? How about for sale by owner...any advice on that?

What is moving in the market?

Thanks in advance.

[shanagarry]

Hi Globetrotter

I hope you are a patient person - as you could be in for a lengthy journey.

We had our property on the market for 3 years - at a sensible price. It is in a good location in perfect order with sea views. It had one major obstacle to overcome - it was offshore but in Malta. We were 'jilted' at the last minute on 4 occasions by people who changed their offers considerably at the point of signing the promissory contract - so we changed tack and it worked. It was that or run the risk of being charged with murder.

We have sold the property now, bought a new one and will be moving in on a permanent basis in May/June this year which did not involve estate agents or any agents for that matter.

I'm happy to explain privately the process we undertook - if it's of interest.

I am not anti-estate agents but in my experience it is an expensive undertaking and not always the most effective. We used 7 agents in all during the sale process and while they are all 'nice' people - I have serious doubts about their commercial awareness and ability to find buyers - in the field of property sales. In the end we settled on one, who we got to trust (having bought two properties through them) but all the time you are paying them - they are fair weather friends - when you reverse the process (selling) - they are different people. However, they did not manage to find us a buyer and we resorted to an alternative - based on something we did here in the UK 9 years ago. You must interview them in some detail to get a feel for their commercial flair and take up references - having first satisfied yourself that they are licensed to act as Estate Agents. Much has been written about this requirement elsewhere - so do your due diligence thoroughly.

Commission Rates range from 4% to 6% - depending on the value of your property and whether or not you are prepared to appoint an agent on an exclusive basis. It appears, from conversations I have had recently that the lower end (€75,000 - €350,000) of the market is active - the mid-range (€400,000 - €750,000) is pedestrian bordering on stationary and above that is open to opportunists. If you are in the latter league - you need to have an open mind and be prepared to listen to every proposition that comes your way - if you don't you could be waiting a very long time to sell your property.

In conclusion - if we have to go through the process again I would invest in a website and link it to the many property sites that have shot up in recent years. If you are a competent user of the Internet - you will probably Google for everything you need as that's what most people do now - so getting your site up the Google ratings must be a priority - should you go that route. The cost of a good website and Google ad-words will be nothing near the fee you would pay an agent - and it's about as pro-active as an agent. Estate agents, in my opinion have not moved with the times - they believe that placing a property in their window and on their website is the be-all and end-all. We are in a very different world now and buying/selling property is a process that will not conform to age-old practices anymore - be demanding in the extreme if you are going to use an agent.

If you need anymore - pm me and I wish you good luck with your sale - but be patient

[EMM]

I agree 2-3 years on the market is not unusual, we have NEW villas near us which have remained empty for at least that time.

The market is a fraction of what it was due to the recession and Sterling Euro relationship.

Things to consider, if you are selling to bring your money back to the UK the due to the exchange rate you can use the Sterling gain to " offer an attractive Euro price ". You will also reduce your Capital gains liability ( in PT ).

Do not as many do ADD the estate agents charge t ( 5 % )o the " market price ", if it is worth 300K then you wiill not get 315k.

Your costs come out of the " market price " .

Make a Good DVD showing your property in its best light to send to prospective purchasers, employ a good photographer to take your pictures rather than the agents who are far from expert.

AS the seller you will have to be pro active because few agents are.

[Globetrotter]

Thanks all. I was afraid of that re the real estate agents here. I find many are far behind the times.

Shanagarry, I will send you a pm in the next couple of days.