When it comes to selling your home there are a number of things which you should take into consideration if you want a successful and affordable sale. Increasing the saleability of your home means looking at the condition of the property and the costs involved in selling property, to ensure that you get a fair price and avoid excessive expenses in order to make your sale.
When selling property for the first time, make sure that you know what your goal is. We asked a few of our past clients why they sold their property and what they hoped to get out of it, and the answers fell in two categories:
There are lots of factors involved:
Our clients all stressed that it’s very important that when selling your first property you don’t end up feeling like you could have gotten more afterwards – both you as the seller and the buyer should walk away feeling like you got the best deal possible.
For instance, if you’re selling a property you bought as a pure investment, your goal is probably to maximize your return. If you’re moving to another country or are buying a second home in a different location, your goal should be to sell fast. These different goals often overlap, but knowing what your priority is as a property seller is crucial so you can work with your agent to adjust your marketing strategy and know what buyers are looking for.
In our experience, it takes some effort to sell a property. Once you have made the decision to sell, it is in your best interest to prepare your property for market attention.Here are a few quick tips putting your place up for sale and making sure that it’s sold quickly:
The most important part of the selling process is the asking price. As a seller, you want to get a fair price for your property and recoup any expenses incurred while bringing it to market.
At Dhalia Real Estate Services, all of our consultants are highly trained and keep up to date with the state of the property market. Each consultant specialises in a particular geographic area of Malta, which allows them to constantly update their market information and present clients with highly accurate estimates. As professional property consultants with experience in both buying and selling, Dhalia estate agents know the ins and outs of the business. Their focus is on all aspects of selling property, from the legal requirements to the architectural and environmental regulations. To put your mind at rest and be sure to get help from the best, you can trust the professionals at Dhalia Real Estate Services.
Once you decide to list your property with Dhalia, one of our property consultants will visit the property in order to prepare a valuation. This service is free of charge and is determined with reference to the property’s location, size, type, age, and an in-depth market analysis, as well as other factors. The relationship between the property’s valuation and the asking price are often the determining factors when it comes to how much time the property spends on the market. Your consultant will be able to guide you in selecting the most appropriate asking price, in order to avoid excessive time on market leading to unnecessary revisions in the asking price.
When placing your property on the market you may run the risk of over-pricing or under-pricing it. Overpricing normally leads to a reduction in price and imposes a delay in selling your property. You may want to avoid paying agency fees. Do keep in mind that you could end up with less in your pocket at the end of the day, through extended time on market and lack of negotiation skills. As an established real estate agency, we provide considerable experience and skill in assessing market value. This enables us to conduct a competitive market analysis thus providing you with an accurate valuation of your property.
The advantage of using an agency to sell you property is undoubtedly the level of experience one brings to the table. Most people do not know the details of what is required when transferring property. Details such as the energy performance certificate, tax requirements, and what demands a buyer can make can be challenging.
If you are thinking of using an agency, you now must decide whether you will be listing your property with only one agency (sole agency, as it is called in the business), or whether you will list with many agencies (known as open agency). If you choose to sell your home in a sole agency agreement with Dhalia, then this gives the agency an exclusive right to promote the property on the market and dedicate more resources to it, while the agency fee is lower than the standard, at 3.5%. A sole agency agreement is often limited to a timeframe, not less than 3 months. Over 70% of properties placed with Dhalia on a sole agency basis have been sold. With an open agency agreement, multiple agencies will have access to the property and the agency fee is usually set at 5%.
Dhalia consultants have a network of clients which is refreshed each day with new enquiries. We also have a robust and effective marketing strategy to engage property buyers. Every day, we receive a constant high volume of property enquiries. These requests are processed and sent to our property consultants.
All these efforts result in viewings of your property. After securing a viewing request, the consultant will give you a call to arrange a viewing appointment at a date and time which is convenient for you. During the appointment, the consultant will show your property to potential buyers.
After the viewing, the consultant will receive feedback from the potential buyers. If everything goes smoothly, and the buyers are interested, then the negotiation process begins. At this point, the consultant negotiates a fair price that suits both parties.
When both parties have come to an agreement on the price, a promise of sale agreement is drawn up. This binds the parties to the transaction on satisfaction of certain terms and conditions. At this point, a 10% deposit is paid by the buyer and held by the notary. The promise of sale agreement will be limited to a term, during which the notary carries out searches on the property to determine legal title. At the end of the term, and once both parties have fulfilled the conditions set out in the promise of sale, the final deed can be signed and the ownership of the property is transferred.
hen selling your property, an energy performance certificate is required by law and must be presented to the buyer. This document informs the buyer about the energy performance of a building. It also gives recommendations for cost-effective improvement to upgrade its current energy efficiency class. Certificates are prepared by a qualified assessor who is registered with the Building Regulation Office. The certificate is valid for 10 years, unless there are significant changes made to the building. The assessment will take into consideration the property’s construction, finishing material, the quality of insulation and double or triple glazing.
More information can be found here.
The tax that is charged on the sale of a property is called withholding tax or property transfer tax. This tax is paid to the notary on the signing of the final deed, and the notary passes it on to the Inland Revenue department. The seller must pay the final withholding tax, usually amounting to 8% of the value of the property. However, there are different rates for different situations. Details of this regulation can be found here.
Property flipping is the business of acquiring a property and adding value to it before swiftly selling it for a profit. Property flippers look for property with potential that may require some work to bring it up to standard. Often, they limit their search to areas which are highly in demand. This kind of arrangement works well for those with a good amount of capital readily available, however bridge loans are also common. Flippers can benefit from the wide ranging network of clients available through Dhalia, from finding their property to selling it quickly.
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