Moving is a virtually inevitable part of life and the reasons why people decide to change their residence can be varied. It could be a lack of space for a growing family or, conversely, too much space after the children have left home. Changing jobs and the need to be closer to a new job is another common reason. Whatever your motives, we can advise you on how to make the whole process go smoothly and without unnecessary complications.
Setting the right price.
The first important step you need to take as a seller or tenant of a property is to determine its offer price. When selling, it is not enough to just look at the listings; you need to set the price according to the actual properties sold in the area. You also need to take into account the condition of the apartment, the layout, but also where the view from the windows leads to, and what condition the house and common areas are in.
“Most buyers watch the offers on the market regularly. And because there are a lot of offers, they only filter for properties added in a certain period or have watchdogs set up. The moment a new listing comes up, the buyer gets an alert and decides whether to look at the offer in detail. But if the price is high, he will not open the advert,” says Petr Bulan, a real estate broker at Century 21, a Czech real estate agency.
“Even if the price is then reduced, the bidders will not jump up a second time. In the worst case, the property can become a so-called lager, which has been on offer for several months and buyers already know it and are actually waiting for the price to fall. As a result, the owner can then sell for a much lower price than if he had offered the apartment at an adequate price from the beginning,” adds Bulan.
The pitfalls of renting.
For rentals, the situation is even more complicated. Unlike sales, there are no records of the actual prices of rentals, so the best method is to compare offers for similar apartments and houses in the area. If you exclude the cheapest and most expensive ones, you will very quickly find out what the approximate rent will be. However, it is always important to compare the rent including fees. In some places the heating is district heating and paid for as part of the house deposit, elsewhere there may be its own gas boiler and the gas meter is transferred to the tenant who pays for the consumption separately. The tenant doesn’t care what the exact ratio of rent and deposits is, he is mainly interested in the total monthly cost of living including all utilities.
You should also make sure that the security deposit is set correctly. It always depends on how well equipped the apartment is and what the risk is of damage or failure to pay rent on time, but also, for example, on how large a deposit the tenants are able to pay for a particular apartment. The law states that the maximum security deposit is equal to three times the monthly rent. Unfortunately, even this is sometimes not enough to cover the damage that can occur in the apartment.
Homestaging, photography and advertising.
You have determined an adequate price, and now you need to create an attractive advertisement. The photograph often determines whether a prospective buyer opens or skips the advert. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is clean the apartment. “The best recommendation is to clean the interior as if it were a hotel room. You also don’t have personal photos and magnets on the fridge in a hotel. The apartment should free up space as much as possible and the design should be clean and simple. Let the prospective buyer imagine their own accessories in the apartment,” says Petr Bulan.
It is advisable to take photos of the interior in sunny weather, especially if there is a balcony, garden or terrace. Don’t forget to take photos of all the living rooms, ideally from the door to the windows. The choice of camera is also important – nowadays it is possible to use a phone with a wide-angle lens, but you need to know how to compose the shot correctly. However, a professional photographer who specializes in real estate will always achieve a better result.
Finding a buyer.
You have an attractive advertisement on all real estate servers and interested viewers flock from right to left. What now? Definitely set aside plenty of time for viewings and try to schedule it during daylight hours. This can sometimes be a complication to reconcile the owner’s and prospect’s time outside of business hours. Also, prepare all necessary documents, such as the current utility bill and utility bill for the past year, in the case of apartments, the energy performance certificate from the HOA, the current status of the repair fund, or information about planned repairs. It is also advisable to provide the so-called owner’s declaration, which is a document that clearly identifies which accessories belong to the apartment. In the cadastre, usually only the apartment is registered, but you will not find, for example, a cellar, garage or loggia in the cadastre. The owner’s declaration describes exactly what belongs to which unit.
Choosing a suitable tenant.
If you are renting yourself, be prepared for the fact that communication with interested parties will take even more time than in the case of a sale. Let interested parties know that you still have more viewings, but don’t delay making a decision once they have all taken place. Interested parties won’t wait forever and if you take too long to decide, they may find another alternative in the meantime. “Ask the client how many people will be living in the flat, how they will fund the rent, if they are employed where and for how long. You can also find out a lot of information if you ask why the client is moving,” Bulan adds more tips on viewings.
So be prepared for a big time investment. You’ll be making phone calls and emails with prospective tenants, scheduling viewings and considering which tenant would be best. You will see all the prospective tenants in person and can form your own opinion of them, which may not always be the right one. If you find a reliable broker, they will take care of everything and it will be up to you to just hand over the keys to the apartment. The extra commission is usually paid by the tenant, so hiring a professional will be more cost-effective for you than the time and money investment in presenting the property, advertising, viewings and all the communication with interested parties.
Advantages of a real estate agent.
The process of selling and renting a property is complicated and lengthy, and while it is possible to go through it alone and without help, using the services of a real estate agent can make everything much easier. A broker can prepare a professional presentation, has the capabilities and budget for expensive listings, and is trained to negotiate with interested parties. In the end, this will save you a ton of time, and they can often sell for a higher price than the owner would sell for. In addition, if a problem arises, the broker can deal with it immediately and more efficiently than the owner. “After all, this is his profession, so he devotes his working time to it, unlike the owner, who has to deal with everything beyond his own activities,” concludes Petr Bulan.
Source: Century 21
