Selling a home: the power of intangibles
We give you the keys to value the real intangibles of a property beyond the stories of each owner.
You go to a visit and your eyes go one way ("nice room"... "so much light!"... "with this rococo carpeting, I can't believe it"... "I can't believe it! for sale not in 3 years!") and your ear on the other, when the owner tells you something like....
"I grew up in this house, you know? I had such a fight with my brother in this bedroom playing Sinking the fleet. He had been sitting at his desk for I don't know how many hours, waiting for the series to begin. Happy Days. In the kitchen I discovered Colacao and I still remember my mother ironing while she was watching The right price. I remember my father when he tried to change the blind straps and how my mother made fun of him. I remember the cot and the coloured lights. Or when I would stay up at night to watch my father hide the presents under the tree in the living room. And I really thought it was Father Christmas... blessed innocence. And my brother when he woke me up because it was snowing...".
Be careful what you think or say, because that same owner already has a preconception about you that goes, more or less, this way:
- You are one more of the ruthless horde of estate agents in SpainYou're stalking for your share of the pie, and you won't accept any comments. What do you know about MY HOUSE...
- Promises and more promises. Every estate agent thinks he or she is better than the last. They harass you with calls, messages, emails and even smoke signals, if they could... But once they have your flat, there is silence and you have no idea how the sale process is going.
- And they want to charge me for doing that, when at the end of the day I can sell the flat on my ownWhat I could save in commission!
He is partly right. This sector earned its reputation during the bubble years and we are still paying the price for it today. The way to reverse this, as we have always advocated, is with a service based on excellence, honesty and a sense of humour.
Intangibles: added value for the future buyer
The key to the successful sale of a property is based, in large part, on an elaborate balancing act between the ability to identify and project the daily life and needs in that house that is looking for new stories and the good attributes that it objectively has. For the owner it was the ideal home and their experience will be of great help, but will it be for the prospective new tenant?
As a real estate agent you must study the area and take advantage of what it has to offer. It triggers needs and desires in the potential buyer that they may not be aware of.
What are the elements that objectively help to make that house the perfect new home for someone else? If we order them from the inside of the house itself to the outside:
- Good distributionWith all due respect to the load-bearing pillars and the master walls, the home may (or may not) have the best possible layout and it is our duty to give alternatives and guidance on how you can get the most out of the square metres you have available. The owner might not be too happy if you fantasise about taking out his childhood bedroom, but you'd be left with a hell of a kitchen if you did...
- Light (and sunshine, hopefully)A house with good natural light is an excellent prelude to a happy sale. Life is better without so many light bulbs and with the savings on your electricity bill, you can have plants, which add to the charm (and oxygen) of the home.
- OrientationThe amount of light it receives is related to the amount of light it receives, but we also value it on the basis of the heat or cold it will provide us with. Be careful, that terrace where your client spent the best summer afternoons of his life would not be the same if it received direct full sun at those hours... Cross ventilation is another good attribute to take into account.
- TransportA good public transport connectivity puts your property (never better said) on the map. If it allows the client to dispense with the car to get to the office (or to their favourite restaurant) you will win a lot of points.
- Services and shopsSome people are looking for peace and quiet and to be away from the hustle and bustle, but let's put the famous "close to everything" under the microscope to see how true it is. Having a pharmacy, supermarket or doctor 20 minutes away by car is not very appealing. Study the area and make the most of what it has to offer. Provoke needs and desires in the customer that they may not be aware of.
Pre-market assessment will help us to put a figure on these and many other aspects, which will help to reinforce (or not) the owner's sentimental arguments. For everything else, real estate.
The immovations: when the m2 fall short
The #viviendasbonitas are so for a reason. And that something, in many cases, is thanks to their owners. Because it is no use having a house with excellent attributes if you do not know how to fill it with life.. This is where we highlight the experiences and memories of the owners, who share with us part of their experiences while we visually tour every corner of the home.
Selling flats is done by many; change hands in this way very few of us do so.. But if you are reading this you must already know... right monaparter ;D? By the way: if you want a free valuation of your property, without obligation, reasoned and without generating false expectations, request it for free. here.
