A different way to sell?

[Mikep]

We tried a different approach to selling our alpine property in a slow market, which although eventually not succesful, made good progress and might work for others thinking of moving back to the UK.

We had a good idea of where we wanted to end up (Derbyshire Peak district) and decided to advertise locally in that area for a possible property exchange - permanently. We buy theirs, they buy ours. On the face of it, it's ridiculously unlikely, but we felt that there must be someone, somewhere in that area wanting to move to France, but unable to sell their current property. It seemed unlikely, but we found one couple who nearly went the distance. They visited us (twice) and liked our chalet, even meeting the local Maire to discuss setting up their business. They were happy to go ahead, but when we visited them we found their garden more than we could handle. Ironic, since we currently have half an acre on a 30% slope in the Alps which we are starting to find too much, but theirs was even larger and steeper.

Still, the approach would have had many advantages: no agency fees (5 to 6% on a high-value property), low cost (£150 for a large ad with photo), no problems of timing (even share a removal van!), possible exchange of equipment (washer/drier, lawn mowers, even 4x4s), and I could have project-managed their move and business set-up. Also, little or no currency exchange.

Sadly, it didn't work for us this time, but others might be interested in the approach.

We've been here for 15 years for an active retirement, and loved it!

[LEO]

Hi Mikep,

Do  you have any other  ideas that don't work?

[Dave&Olive]

your best quote yet   Leo

 

 

[:)]  Dave

[bubbles]

Oh, come on!!

It nearly worked.

[Cendrillon]

but.................................. nearly is a long way off!

[bubbles]

Just thought Leo was being a bit harsh.

OP was sharing an idea which I thought was generous of him.

[Mikep]

What a rude boy Leo is!

Perhaps a little more background would have helped. We had spent the previous twelve months with Sotheby's International agency, which generated just one (useless) viewing. We were on their international website but only as one of 90 other properties, with no proper search function. They were on a 6% commission - 48,000 euros! Against that, one solid prospect for a £150 ad seemed like progress.

I just thought it might help someone else, but if you don't like it, keep paying the commissions!

[Chancer]

It was, and still remains, a great idea. It did what you intended it too, found you someone where you wanted to move with a property that seemed to suit you and whose owners wanted yours, thats a success in my book! The fact that the garden turned out not to be the one for you could equally have ben the case with anything that an estate agent took you to see.

Not everythng in life works 100% right first time around, I wonder if those who mock are all still on their first marriage?

Thanks for sharing your experience

[Russethouse]

I've pretty much decided that if my mother has to go into a home or passes away I'm going to advertise the house in the Times or Telegraph property pages - seems a pretty simple solution to me.

Why go to all the trouble of looking for a swap when an ad, in the right place, might do the trick ?

[P-D de Rouffignac]

It is always useful when trying to sell a (French) property to have an idea of the type of buyer you think might be attracted - young couple, first-timers, both working; parents with family, husband working, spouse possibly spending a lot time at home; (British) person looking for retirement property, possibly offering a source of income; and so on. The needs of these and other groups are entirely different, and by selecting your target(s), you can tailor your property description, advertising media - even choice of agency, some having a strong local connection, others more oriented towards non-French buyers.

These points are highlighted - and forgive me for mentioning the programme again - in 'Maison à vendre' (France 6 TV) which is largely concerned with preparing your home for sale, but emphasises for example that an older, old fashioned property might have to be refreshed before sale, as the likely market could be younger families needing several bedrooms but wanting modern furniture and decor. 

Some targets are easier to spot - if your property is in an area noted for walking and cycling, then an ad in the specialist magazines might be more effective than a general announcement or even websites boasting 10,000-plus French properties.

I think the OP's idea is basically sound and worth trying in similar circumstances.

P-D de R.

[Mikep]

P-D de R put it better than I could. We just felt that a very specific ad in an unusual place was more likely to evoke a response than a routine one in a usual place alongside 10 or 100 other similar ones. Or, at least worth a try. The idea was originally suggested by a friend after a few drinks, and I scoffed at first, but came round to it slowly. I can confidently say we were the only alpine chalet advertised in Bakewell last year!

Incidentally, the market seems to be coming back to life. We've had three other serious viewings in the past few weeks - one bought after two visits to us, but unfortunately not ours! He and his wife loved it, but their kids wanted bars and nightlife. Our village closes at 8.00pm apart from the restaurants and hotels.

[starbuck]

Trying different ways to attract buyers is better than just waiting for an agent to find one, so all though this didnt work, i think it shows initiative.

on the subject of house swaps, iam currently looking to buy a place in Brittany, as we want to change holiday home locations so our holiday home in portugal is for sale, if any one wants to move south maybe we can swap houses.

[Debra]

I'm seriously looking into this and have found numerous properties I'd consider swapping with on various sites where the ad sounds as if they'd like my home too - but I've never had a reply!  Has anyone ever received a reply from a property swap advert enquiry?

[Montybird]

Have to agree, these are hard times and folks are looking for alternatives and compromising on lots of aspects of their life.  I for one am quite prepared to try something new and open to suggestions.  We've got our place (house with 2 gites) advertised for sale or swap on numerous sites and with agencies.  We're ideally looking to downsize back to UK but will consider anything smaller or even similar from the Vendée Northwards.  We've had quite a few enquiries for swapping but haven't yet found a suitable property. Although our place is priced sensibly for sale it's in a price bracket (500,000 €) with few buyers but competing with lots of 'similar priced gite property'.  Everyday I check several sites for property both for sale and wanted 'just in case'! Fortunately we're not desperate to sell and so prepared for the 'long-haul'!

Another aspect of this is that I think immos/estate agents should wise-up, be more flexible and look-into this as offering a more 'complete service'.  We had an email enquiry from one of our immos recently and it started off  "Please don't think I'm crazy but...." she'd had one of their UK clients enquire about swapping their property with ours? Actually the property sounded very interesting to us but unfortunately we've heard nothing more... Typical!  I didn't think it was crazy at all and told her so - it's just another aspect of the way the whole 'property market' is evolving.  Perhaps it's a 'step-to-far' to expect them to adapt and evolve with the market conditions!

[EmilyA]

Would be interested in knowing which are the good websites for swapping? The only one I found is linked to an estate agency and would presumably cost the same in agent's fees. Also to the OP, where did you actually advertise in your UK location?

[Rabbie]

Seems a great idea in theory, and IMO well worth trying. The only drawback I can see are the complications introduced by the fairly large difference in property value across the channel. But if it works, great.

[Debra]

Leggetts have one but that's one of those I've had no replies from.  I think they would expect their usual fee for both houses too, so it would be expensive.  I found a couple of others by googling 'house exchange france' or 'international house exchange' or 'swap' rather than 'exchange'.  I think I'm going to try this one http://www.internationalpropertyswap.com/ as unlike the others its a one off fee (£29.99) until a swap is arranged rather than expecting you to renew it every 3, 6 or 12 months.  I got an answer from them when I emailed them so they are looking good already!

 Anyone else found any that look good or that you actually get replies from?

[Renaud]

It was the OP who nixed the swop sale.

Their problem is that they have an Alpine property they can't sell. Why didn't they go through with the swop sale, which would have resulted in their having a sellable house in the UK? They could then have sold that and bought something more to their taste.

PS full marks for lateral thinking though.

[Debra]

I thought that too, Renaud - at least they would have been where they wanted to be.  The too big garden could have been permanently loaned to a neighbour!  I think you need to have a bit of flexibility.  I've stopped thinking in terms of swapping like for like (mainly because of the price differences) and started thinking that even if I swapped for something that wasn't big enough for our family, we could then let it to use the rent to rent somewhere else that is big enough.

[Mikep]

Fair question, Renaud. We have a 2,400 sq metre garden in the Alps on a 30% (1 in 3) slope. Mrs P has osteoporosis now (after fifteen good years in the Alps) and already has one hip replaced, but is a keen gardener. The possible swap in Derbyshire turned out to have a larger garden on an even steeper slope, just under Frogatt Edge. It might have been a little easier to sell, but with the garden and punitive stamp duty of £24,000 in real money (not just added to the mortgage!), it was not an attractive proposition.

As it happens, we've locked up the chalet for the winter and bought a small house in the Isle of Man, five minutes walk from historic Castletown and 50 metres from the sea. Everyone speaks english (although they all wear woolly hats) and tax rates on pensions are even lower than in France. Not a flake of snow all winter!