Here in Europe the nights are drawing in, the skies are grey, summer is but a distant memory, sigh! So here is how to profit from the depths of winter and make an outstanding European property purchase/sale.
Listen up Vendors:
November is the month of the year when vendors of European sunshine homes feel at their lowest and most pessimistic about their sales prospects. The marketing season for your beloved second home, that you so desperately want to sell, has now tailed off and will remain quiet until the Spring. Showing your property to prospective buyers would be a risky affair – those views just aren’t the same on a grey day – usually it is best to postpone the visit until the Spring.
What does that mean for you as the vendor? Well in a nutshell, it is best to prepare yourself that you are unlikely to complete a sale of your house for well ……at least six, if not eight, months.
But, just before you give up hope on a 2016 sale, give one last ‘tickle’ to the most promising prospective buyers who visited the property over the summer. A short email or phone call – ‘have you thought any more about the house? We wanted to let you know that it is still for sale. For a quick sale we are open to a slightly higher level of negotiation than we previously advised....’. You’d be surprised how such simple words of encouragement can reignite interest.
Buyers, this is your moment:
So, you are a savvy property buyer, why not sweep in with that end of season offer!? You visited the property a couple of times during the summer months, you’ve given it some thought, now is the time to try your luck with that low offer. Yes that offer that you had thought would be too low, you’d been told there were other viewings scheduled, other interested parties, but the property is still on the market……. Go for it!
You would be surprised how receptive property vendors are, even to low offers, at this time of year.
Received an ‘end of season’ offer? What to do?
If you are the vendor and you are fortunate enough to receive an ‘end of season’ offer, here are the factors to consider to help you evaluate whether it is worth accepting or not:
- Do you have any rentals booked in for next season? Make sure your buyer is prepared to honour these bookings or read the rentals small print to work out if you can cancel and if so will you incur any penalties.
- Do the numbers on what is costs you to get the property spruced up and opened up for the summer? The gardener, the pool maintenance guys, new shrubs, shutters painting, etc. If you accept this offer, these are not costs you will have to cover.
- Also consider that you are only likely to have running costs for the house through to early Spring when possession will be handed over if you accept this offer, rather than having to run the house through until mid summer (at the earliest).
- How quickly can the buyer get to the point of going under contract?
- Make sure the offer is accompanied by a decent deposit – anything under 5% wouldn’t be acceptable.
- Have a local lawyer at the ready to oversee the contractual stages of the sale.
- Ask for proof of funds so you know the buyer really can complete as quickly as he/she says he/she can.
So what have you got to lose, make that property purchase to finish 2016!
Check out some of our fabulous European homes at www.the-viewing.com
And don’t forget we also have fabulous ski and winter sun properties too www.the-viewing.com
