HOW TO DETERMINE THE PRICE OF AN APARTMENT?
Ana and Marko are a middle-aged married couple, they have grown children and a large apartment on the 3rd floor in a building without an elevator, which they want to replace with a smaller one, in a building with an elevator. Of course they want to stay in the same neighborhood.
Of course logically, the first step is to sell their apartment, because they finance the purchase of another apartment by selling their apartment. The first problem they encountered was when they needed to determine the price of their apartment. Looking through the ads, they came across the same and similar apartments, the price of which differs by as much as 500 EUR/m2. Some apartments are sold in multiple agencies, and some have several different prices. To really determine the price of an apartment today is very difficult. They decided to put a slightly higher price than the most similar apartment and posted an ad.
WHICH CUSTOMER TO CHOOSE AND WHICH OFFER TO ACCEPT?
Since the neighborhood in which their apartment is located is in high demand, the interest in the apartment was great. As soon as they posted the ad, they were immediately contacted by a neighbor and asked to be the first to see the apartment. In addition to him by the end of the day they had already agreed on several potential buyers. Unfortunately, the initial enthusiasm quickly subsided when they realized that the neighbor who asked them to come see the apartment does not actually buy an apartment at all, he just wants to see what their apartment looks like, how it is decorated and if he can fix something in his apartment. Of the other five interested, one did not even come at all, two were undercover real estate agencies, that is, people illegally engaged in the sale of apartments, without a license and the necessary knowledge, and only one was really a buyer. This customer offered them a 10% lower price, payment method: cash and the rest by credit, payment term 90 days because there is a lot of traffic in the bank. Out of ignorance of the matter, they were not sure whether they should agree to the offer? It seemed ok to them, they put a higher price anyway than other similar apartments in the ad. Since they do not know well enough the process of selling real estate themselves, they decided to seek help. Of course, a lot of real estate agencies called them, but inspired by the experience they saw in the advertisements that one property is sold by several agencies and with different prices, they decided to entrust the sale of their property to only one agency. The decision fell to our agency for several reasons. Since our agency is located in the same neighborhood as their real estate and that we have been in business for almost 30 years, they decided to entrust the business of selling their real estate to us.
WHY PAUSE SALES?
Already after the first meeting, we realized that we had to pause their sale. Why? Because Ana and Marco do not have another apartment they want to move into, and their customers expect to move into their apartment for a fee. The problem is that they do not have another apartment to move to, and they know exactly what kind of apartment they are looking for. Namely, there are no apartments as they want on the market, more precisely, there are very few of them, they are in great demand and they are sold very quickly. They have no alternative where they could be while we search for their new home. Sublease is not an option for them, and apartments offered for rent are offered for a period of at least one year, there is also a problem with furniture and this is by no means an option for them.
Fortunately, in our offer there was an apartment that could suit them, and the sellers of that apartment are looking for an apartment as they have. Of course both want to further arrange their new apartments according to their wishes. Fortunately the other owners are a little younger and have the possibility to temporarily settle with their parents, and our Ana and Marko have one room that they do not use and that they have given them to place their belongings in it. Both agreed that while waiting for the realization of the loan, they will allow the masters to start with measurements in their apartments, including adaptations of the type of replacement of exterior carpentry, etc.
Ana and Marco realized that today it is much more difficult to find a suitable property, especially in their case when they know exactly what they want, or more precisely what they do not want. It is much easier for young people to buy their first property because they are much more flexible in demand, easier to compromise, and even with the location. Often the location of the apartment in the building is not a problem for them, and especially for them the type of third floor without an elevator is not a problem. With elderly clients who change apartments, the situation is completely different. They know exactly what they want and what they don't want, so it is a much better option for them to first find the property they are moving to, and only then sell their property. There is also the option of financing a new property with a dedicated housing loan, so after the sale a loan-repayment closure. Ana and Marco did not have to use this option, although they have already investigated their creditworthiness with our credit broker.
If you are also in a position to sell your property and buy another, contact us with confidence! Almost thirty years of business in real estate is a guarantee that we will find the best option for you as well.