Are you taking on the challenge of selling your home on your own? Then you have a lot to think about. With our step-by-step plan, you won’t overlook anything!
How much is your property worth?
The most important factor in a sale: the price. To set that price, you first need to know the value of your home. There are several ways to calculate the value of a home. You can estimate the value yourself, do a valuation online or choose a professional valuation:
- Estimate value yourself – To get an idea of value in an easy and inexpensive way, you can compare with prices of similar homes in your area. You should take into account the location, type of home, total area, age and condition of the home, degree of finish and number of rooms. On the site of the FPS Economy you can find info on the average price for different types of homes.
- Online valuation – Just google and you’ll find a lot of programs that allow you to estimate the value of your home online. The principle is simple: you enter some data about your home and a tool calculates a value. The more data you have to leave, the more accurate the estimate. Take a look at immoral, immoweb or zimmo.
- Professional valuation – Not much confidence in the above options? Then enlist the help of a real estate expert such as a real estate agent or a surveyor. Such an expert will prepare a comprehensive report and take into account all the necessary factors. Unlike a DIY or online valuation, a professional valuation is usually not free. Typically, you pay about 250 to 300 euros for an appraisal report, but get that amount back if you have the real estate agent or notary handle the sale. A surveyor or independent expert usually works with an hourly rate, so their price can quickly reach 500 euros.
The sales file
To give potential buyers assurance about the condition of your home, you must be able to provide a number of certificates. These include an inspection certificate of the electrical installation, a soil certificate, a certificate for the heating oil tank, an EPC certificate, info on flood susceptibility, a post-intervention file, and an urban planning and cadastral extract. Do these terms all sound like Chinese to you? The website of Flanders offers help.
A sales strategy
The best strategy to sell your property depends on a number of factors. Ask yourself which target group you most appeal to with your apartment. Depending on that, choose the most appropriate way to do publicity. Will you place an online ad or will a signboard suffice? In addition, you need to determine which of your apartment’s plus points are best highlighted to appeal to potential buyers.
Getting the apartment ready for sale
Want to sell your apartment quickly? Then make sure your home looks cared for. Wallpaper hanging loose or a closet door that won’t stay closed? That’s a no go. A lick of paint can do wonders, and small defects can be fixed in no time with a little effort. Give your home a thorough cleaning and you can welcome the first visitors. Is more work needed to make your home attractive again? Then you can always hire an interior decorator.
Good photos
With images, you attract attention. So, now that your home is ready for sale, it’s time for some good photos that highlight the plus points of your apartment. Just make sure your photos are truthful. Using a wide-angle lens may make your bedroom look gigantic, but potential buyers can only be disappointed. Not a born photographer? Some quick tips:
- Clean up before you start photographing. A tidy room gives peace of mind.
- Provide some atmosphere and coziness through mood lighting, plants and decoration.
- Take your photos from the corner of a room to best capture the space.
- Emphasize beautiful details with a close-up.
- Use a quality camera.
- Take your photos during the day, preferably at a sunny time. The right light is hugely important.
A compelling description
Provide a compelling description with your apartment. Nothing more boring than a mere enumeration of the properties. A smooth – and error-free – text with a personal touch convinces faster and gives people a feeling of confidence. Of course, the content must remain relevant. Be specific, always stay honest, mention recent renovations, highlight your home’s potential and describe the neighborhood. Does your home have beautiful open spaces or unique features? Then definitely don’t skip that in your description either.
Visitor reception & mediation
If you’ve followed our tips for the photos and description of your apartment, you’re probably getting responses from interested parties quickly. Time to invite some prospective buyers to view your property. For potential buyers looking for a new home, it’s important that they also feel right at home when they enter your property. So first and foremost, put them at ease and let them view everything at their pace. Emphasize the unique elements of your home during your tour and also emphasize them during the price negotiation when your visitors make an offer. Tastes differ, so keep in mind that advantages for you are not necessarily advantages for your prospective buyers. When negotiating, always remain calm, but also stand firm. You deserve a fair price.
Sales Agreement
Did you accept an offer? Congratulations! Time to make the sale official with a sales agreement or compromise. Although we are talking about a preliminary sales agreement, the document does count as a final sale and is binding on both parties. It is therefore best to consult a notary to ensure that the content of the agreement is correct and complete. In the compromise you include all information about both parties and the property sold and the price. The document forms the basis for the later notarial deed, sealing the legal sale.
Notarial act
Within four months of signing the preliminary sales agreement, the notarial deed must be drawn up and signed. Such a notarial deed is drawn up by a notary public. The notary first looks for all necessary information about the seller and the sold property and puts his/her research results together with the preliminary sales agreement in an authentic deed. You and the buyer(s) are then invited to have the deed executed, which means nothing more than the notary reading out the contract and both parties signing it.
Time for cava! 🥂
Or champagne, of course. Prefer something non-alcoholic? Might as well. I’m sure you can find some recipes for tasty mocktails. In any case: congratulations on your sale! Are you currently renting out the house or apartment you want to sell? No worries! You always have the freedom to sell it.