woolybanana Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The Woolybanana is on the move, so this house will be sold. It has been a while since I did this and was wondering what strategies folk have been using to get their places sold?What strategy was successful for you?Which selling sites are the most productive? Is it possible to link to, say, a blog, to add a ton of extra photos etc?I have had an agent round but feel that I would like to try other strategies first.Any thoughts welcome, svp.And no, Norman, I am not buying you reserve barrel. Talking of whom, any news of the old rugger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 We've found that the best method is to firstly de-clutter, tidy the garden, do any decorating etc etc, then look and see which agents are the most popular in the area and have them do a valuation. Then decide the selling price depending on what they say, but make it clear that you want to sell, not just be up for sale! Take your own photos as you can take your time and make sure it's sunny. Tell the agents that you won't sell exclusively through them. Go with no more than 3 agents and only one board at a time. Advertise on Leboncoin, PAP, all the British free selling sites at the 'net vendeur' price.Keep the house sparkling clean all the time and wait for the rush! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 We sold in 2009 and put it on the market in 2008 (because we always, always manage to get things just 'wrong').We tried all sorts of things, including some of these international companies, which cost, and we only had people from Abidjan making enquiries. In the end we went with a local estate agent and sold. I admit that this board sort of swayed me into wondering if our house should have been available to anyone, anywhere, and the details in english. Basically our village was french and french people bought it.What I did do was negociate how much the estate agent would charge any prospective buyer, they didn't want to, but did it never the less. I agree about a decluttered home. I'm rather messy, and hate living with everything 'just so', but I understood that people have to see what could be 'their' living space and not mine.Good Luck[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 If there is anything at all that you think could hold up a sale, then get the problem sorted. For example, OH has a friend who has an excellent chance of a sale (people with money, etc) but it is now found that his fosse is of inadequate capacity.It seems that the earliest the new fosse can be done is August. That's the sort of thing I have in mind.Also, get the energy report done tout de suite. Even if the rest of the diagnostics won't be done until you have a buyer. It's not that buyers are necessarily swayed by a good energy report, it's just that you will be endlessly asked if you'd had the damn thing done.Don't know about your furry friends because, as we all know, attitudes are so different in France. But the last house I sold in the UK (yes, of course, sold by me moi meme), I always got OH to take doggie out and hid all the bowls, mats, toys, smelly blankets etc before a viewing.There are misguided people about that don't actually care for domestic pets[:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Wooly,I wish you luck - we've been trying to sell our old house ever since we move to this one .. which is rather too long ago to be happy.Tried all the usual suggestions, think it has rather more to do with the house and its type, location etc, and the buying market than many of the other things, and of course, our house is now empty!I am told that the market is dead at the moment .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 [quote user="Judith"]Wooly,I wish you luck - we've been trying to sell our old house ever since we move to this one .. which is rather too long ago to be happy.Tried all the usual suggestions, think it has rather more to do with the house and its type, location etc, and the buying market than many of the other things, and of course, our house is now empty!I am told that the market is dead at the moment .... [/quote]I am sorry to hear your news, Judith. In my area, several properties have been sold in very recent weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 At the end of the day, price is the deciding factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I thought that you had only just bought a few years back WB.Price is very important of course but so is location.I had two places 4 years ago, one much bigger with more amenities and in better condition, but that is in the centre of Béziers and almost unsellable as a result.The other in a pretty village sold in a few months for twice as much as even the most optimistic valuation of the town one.I recently bought a flat as you know in the Ariège and places in this town move quickly, whereas in a larger but rather derelict town up the road nothing is selling.Make sure that there is a smell of coffee not dog wee in the air,a bowl of fruit on the table, and that the lighting is nicely arrangedhttp://homebuyinginstitute.com/staging/http://www.frontdoor.com/photos/room-by-room-staging-strategies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Norman, glad you are back and thank you for the help, as with all you other guys.Have you moved your barrel nearer to the girls' school again, now you are better or have they kept you in hospital until the trial?Remember you bail conditions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Wools, Norman may indeed be better but he hasn't had his op yet so you will have to treat him a little more gently for the moment. When he comes out of hospital is when you may be rude to him again[:D]I found those "staging" tips in Norman's links quite interesting but there isn't that much that commonsense won't tell you. Of course, people's tastes are very different and some of those tips I would say are more suited to American homes.We had a fabulous 1930s home in the UK, all white walls and very avant garde for its day. A friend told me to seriously consider getting rid of all the "old-fashioned" fireplaces! But they were one of the features that I found most endearing about the house and I ignored all advice to get rid of them.So, what I am saying is, there's no need to be too ruthless about getting rid of quirks as they might be the very thing that would make your house stand out from others. What attracted you to the house when you bought it has every chance of attracting your potential buyer.Have the courage of your convictions. My present house has a tremendous advantage of lovely, open views and a veranda looking out on them. Now I am replacing the kitchen and fitting out le dressing so that, should there be an exodus of us immigrants after a UK referendum on Europe, I hope I'll already have an advantage if I needed to sell in a hurry[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Thanks Wooly,Not sure how to reply! Some of it is location - the village it's in is in a flood plain area renowned for flooding (but not always!) just like all the villages around, it's also a large house, huge garage with huge sun terrace above, but no other outside space. Not the sort of house the French like, and not cheap enough for the English to do up a ruin. So caught in the middle. Keep reducing the price, but it's the sort of house you hate or love. Hubby loved the sunbathing terrace, I hated the number of difficult stairs (in the end when hip(s) started playing up). Does anyone have experience of selling houses by auction in France??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 [quote user="woolybanana"]Norman, glad you are back and thank you for the help, as with all you other guys.Have you moved your barrel nearer to the girls' school again, now you are better or have they kept you in hospital until the trial?Remember you bail conditions![/quote]Am going in on the 12th May for a 'biggy'....cutting bits of my liver out, so the barrel won't be rolling along for a couple of months or so after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Some friends of mine in the UK were told to take down all pictures from the walls (which of course they then had to repaint - the walls, not the pictures), to depersonalise the place. Seems a bit OTT, unless you have wildly unusual decorative taste.I think daily hoovering up of dog hair in the moulting season may be the biggest chore for the wooly one.Also, working out how to describe any view of the village's chateau - i.e. on a winter's morn, standing on one leg with a head sticking out through the kitchen skylight...Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 You only need 1 person to like your house to sell it.As to removing pictures etc, it depends on whether viewers can see the potential. My OH cannot see potential but I can so I describe what could be done after a viewing. Get all viewers not able to see potential and you then need to have a house exactly what they want. Perhaps better to present a blank canvas.Loiseau as for descriptions, one house we viewed stated 'view of the Pyrenees'. Could not see it so queried it with the agent. We went to the top of the house, I stood on a chair and looked out of the roof light and there was the view - shame they did not speify what could be seen with a very powerful telescope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Doctor Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We've just sold our apartment, and certainly in our area the market has definitely picked up, the £/euro exchange rate has probably lured a few Brits to consider second homes again. We marketed with a few local agents who were worse than useless, but used two internet-based agencies, who were much more successful (lots of visits and feedback afterwards).As for prepping a property for sale, others have made all the sensible points. You can't change the size or location of the property, but you can de-clutter, you can freshen it up and you must know about any existing problems and put them right. I'd recommend getting all the diagnostics done, not forgetting a certificate of the surface habitable. Finally, patience is needed, it might take 3 weeks or 3 years for a buyer to come alone, all you can do it make sure that the property is appealing as it could possibly be to the widest range of potential buyers, then make sure there aren't any nasty unknowns that could scupper a deal once the magic buyer materialises! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexter Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Good luck with the sale, my partner sold her house last August. A beautiful stone house set in it`s own grounds in a rural setting. Totally renovated, the only things that were not brand new were the outside walls and roof. As with Daft Doctor local agents were next to useless and she advertised it herself on line where the sale eventually came from. If you do decide to try it yourself do your research with the online agents, their fees can vary quite a bit, she spent a fortune with one company that promised the earth and delivered nothing more than any of the others. It`s a buyers market at the moment, not helped in my opinion by programes such as A place in the Sun which seem to suggest that a "cheeky" offer is the way to start negotiations. A couple of the offers that my partner received were more downright insulting than "cheeky"Not a bad time to put it on the market with the summer on the way so the outside of the place should look as near to that "ideal little place in France" as you can get it.If you want I`ll PM you the details of the online agents my partner used.Dexter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 Dexter, would be grateful for the names of the online agents mentioned please. Can you indicate which one was less than satisfactory?Thanks you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Doesn't it depend on who your market is?We really had to be going for the french market and for all we tried the 'international' one, our typical french and rather nice village is not where foreigners go for. Locals bought ours.So wooly, who are your neighbours, what nationality are they, how many etrangers are there in your village? What about the notaires too. http://www.immobilier.notaires.fr/jahia/Jahia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 There are a lot of Brits in Wooly's village already actually, idun. So well worth a try to market it in UK.It's also commutable to three nearby towns, so popular with French too.Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 [:D]Sounds like the french market is also a good option.I cannot say that I found french estate agents 'good', but I did ask around and took the one that was most recommended in our area and they did sell ours, whereas no one else did[Www] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 There are good and bad, but all have one thing in common which is excessive charges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Some immobiliers are charging less; I've got a feeling that Inter Immobilier charge 4% - still a lot but cheaper than some.There's nothing cheaper than selling privately though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I don't know how effective leboncoin is, but they have plenty of houses of all kinds on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I have bought lots of things from there and my most recent flat was a consequence of an ad there (I bought from an agent there, but not the place he was advertising, another one not yet officially on his books.)It certainly gives a good picture of what is around in a certain area, and can do no harm to advertise there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Having viewed a few properties recently I would de clutter and then do it again.....if you have bright colours either make sure everything matches spot on or paint them white or cream.Use reed air freshness, some of the houses I viewed had a very individual odour...Good luck...I hope this is a happy move and not something you feel forced into... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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