Selling a property: marketing your house or apartment
When selling a house, good marketing attracts the right buyers. Comparis guides you through the documents, home viewings and negotiations.
Gather your sales documents
First impressions are so important. This especially holds true for your home’s sales documents. Here you can find information on the necessary sales documents.
The more informative and attractive your sales documentation, the higher the likelihood that you can obtain the sales price you're aiming for. Some points quickly get forgotten though.
Basic documents include:
Floor plan
Existing rental agreements
Information on current mortgages
Put together a professional ad
A well-presented ad makes your property more attractive. Our tips will help you.
Good pictures can excite potential buyers. Bad photos, on the other hand, will put them off. Property photographers are usually the best choice for good pictures. If you decide to photograph the property yourself, the following tips may help you:
Quality of photos: use a good camera with a tripod. Take several pictures. This gives you a choice when editing your photos. The recordings become even more effective if you skilfully stage the living areas with home staging.
Photographing outdoors: choose a day and time with good lighting. The sun should be behind you. Focus on your home. Stand at a slight angle to the house rather than right in front of it. In addition to the daytime shot, an outdoor shot at dusk or night can make your home look warm and inviting. Leave the indoor and outdoor lighting on for this.
Photographing indoors: experiment at different times of the day. This way you can see which type of light brings the best out of your home. Tidy up, open the blinds and turn on the lights. The most important rooms are the master bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathrooms. Place the camera on a tripod in a corner; this helps you capture the most striking features of each room.
Using the right words in the listing can catch the interest of potential buyers and highlight the merits of the property.
Experience has shown that these terms are particularly attractive when describing the features of your property:
luxurious
well developed from a traffic point of view
renovated
tasteful
modernized
quiet location
beautifully landscaped garden
surrounded by nature
You will certainly find other suitable terms for your property.
However, only use these terms if they actually apply to the property. False promises can have unpleasant consequences.
Shoot a short video and present the most beautiful places in your house. This is how you give potential buyers an initial insight.
The video should last about one and a half minutes. In this short time, you will awaken interest in your property and create a welcoming atmosphere.
Create a virtual walkthrough and give potential buyers an immersive tour of your property. Use a smartphone with good video quality and a 360-degree app – or a special 360-degree camera.
In a logical tour, film all the important rooms and ensure that the camera is running smoothly and that there is sufficient daylight.
Upload the recordings to suitable software that creates an interactive tour – and link it in your listing or by means of a QR code in your sales documents. In this way, you can offer your prospective buyers a convenient online viewing.
What do I need to know about viewings?
A home viewing should inspire potential buyers on all levels. You’ll need to prepare your property for this phase of the sales process. This makes a successful sale more likely.
All sales documents at a glance
Do you have all the documents for the sale?
Successful negotiations for selling a property
Have you finished all the viewings, and already have some interest? Comparis helps you handle the upcoming negotiations in a professional way.
Determine your negotiation strategy
To be successful, it’s important to have a well thought-out sales strategy with convincing arguments. Comparis explains the different negotiation strategies and when it makes sense to make use of a bidding process.
Dealing with buyers who withdraw their offer
Sometimes buyers lose interest in a property during the final stretch. Not all is lost, however. These tips can help you get indecisive buyers back on board.
What to do if you don’t receive any offers
Have you received zero or very few offers? In that case, act quickly. The following measures can boost interest and offers:
Adjust pricing and marketing: to make sure your price is still right, go through the sales documentation. Also, have a look at your photos and description on the listing. If necessary, adjust these accordingly.
Carrying out renovations: Does your property make a good first impression? Does it convey the message that it has been well maintained and is ready for the new buyers to move in? If not, you need to: get your cleaning and painting utensils out – or turn to professionals for help. Comparis explains what renovations to consider in order to improve your chances of a sale.
What you have to disclose to the buyers
As a seller, you are liable for defects on the property if you deliberately conceal them or do not disclose them.
This includes anything that could negatively impact the use, value or enjoyment of the property. You should start with leaks, home improvements and plans for new developments in the vicinity. If you knowingly fail to disclose defects during a sale, you open yourself up to legal consequences down the line.
Finding the right buyer for your home
You are in the middle of selling your home and you have received your first offers. But who is the right buyer? Comparis shares some tips.
Choosing the right offer at the right time when selling your home is no easy matter. That’s because it’s about more than just the price. Apart from the price, clarify the following:
Is the prospective buyer already approved for a mortgage?
Will the buyer pay all of their own closing costs?
Will the potential buyer pay a reasonable amount as a down payment?
Is the buyer willing to give you a few days to move out after closing the deal?
