Property Buying, Selling, Renting Selling Your Greek Home
Selling Your Greek Home
As thousands of foreigners begin their new life in Greece, there are also a certain amount of foreigners, who decide to relocate back to their home country or elsewhere. Reasons for leaving Greece may vary, the causes can be anything from financial difficulties to feeling home sick, or you may just want to move with in Greece. Whatever the reason, here are some tips on selling your Greek property.
Make your home a house
The usual saying of 'make your house a home' doesn't really apply here, as property viewers may be put off at the site of a wall covered in family photo's. On the other hand, your house should not look cold and unwelcoming, so it is important to get the balance right. The buyer must be able to imagine themselves living there, so the property should still look habited. A few pictures, ornaments or decorations are ok here and there, but should not look as though they are trying to distract the buyer from the interior of the property. It is always difficult to pack away some of your personal belongings when you are in the process of selling a property, but remember that what are valuable, sentimental possessions to you, are seen as clutter to a potential buyer.
Think Realistically
If you are trying to sell your Greek property and it isn't selling, there are two main reasons. It is overpriced or you have chosen the wrong selling strategy. Successfully selling your property means you need the best marketing strategy, the best agent and a realistic price.
Don't be greedy on price. We all try for a high price, it's only human nature, but often this can waste the first few weeks or months which are the prime selling time.
Greedy vendors are usually the main cause of a stagnant property market but those people soon have to take stock of current conditions. Sometimes, though, it is too late and potential buyers have already seen the property on the market and dismissed it as being too expensive. So, when selling how can you make sure you are choosing the right way to sell as quickly as possible?
Price it Right!
You need to be sensible and reaslitic about how much you put your property on the market for, especially if you are selling in an area with many resales on the market at the same time.
Avoid the big trap of just duplicating prices other properties are advertised for. Where you have more vendors than buyers, these prices are not at all the prices at which the properties are actually sold. In a buyers market, ask the agent what price they believe your property will sell at in the shortest time. Let the agent be absolutely honest with you. Beware, some agents will give you a lower price than what you had preferred, simply because they want the property to sell fast and receive their commission. Go with the agent who discusses the reality of the current market situation with you and is frank about your chances to close a sale.
Spend a little, gain a lot!
It might be time to spend some money on your property. Perhaps you really should chuck out that old carpet, reupholster your armchairs or update the bathroom. Whilst, this might sound strange, spending can actually give you a better return, as it can result in so much more saleability. Even just a new lick of paint can add that wow factor for potential buyers and make them choose your house over another.
Go Global
These days you really have to be online to market your property effectively.
It is very much the first place any buyer will turn to before deciding to view. Having your property listed on the right site with high search engine ranking is critical. Don't forget to check with your agent which sites they also list their properties on. Not being found on the best web sites will reduce your chances of enquiries and viewings. Take great photos and use your property's unique selling points. The internet is vast and finding your property amongst millions of other Greek properties for sale is difficult for potential buyers.
Contact
You must keep in touch with your agent to ask about response to their advertising. If the property is not selling it is important for you to have feedback from your agent as to why this might be. If you have had viewings but no further interest, identify what is causing this quickly and take action straight away to resolve it. Don't let things go on and on, act quickly and decisively.
Keep the deal
Between the buyer making their offer and signing the preliminary contract is a high risk period. Buyers can easily change their mind. You have only an agreement even when the preliminary contract is signed, remember, you do not have a sale.
A non refundable deposit will sort out the serious buyers from those who may be just wasting your time. Keep lines of communication open with your buyer. Once the preliminary contract is signed keep in touch regularly with your solicitor to make sure everything is on track for the signing of the final deeds.