5 challenges when planning to sell a property: how to avoid mistakes

5 challenges when planning to sell a property

How to avoid mistakes?

The process of selling a property, which consists of a dozen or so stages, only seems simple. Merely deciding to sell a flat is not enough to achieve the results we are satisfied with. Remember that every transaction follows a set sequence of steps. If we neglect even one of its stages, we will not obtain satisfactory results.

Sellers' mistakes make the sale process longer or, worse, mean it never happens at all. Ill-considered decisions also mean that you do not achieve the maximum profit from selling your property. Owners often lose out because the price does not reflect the actual value of the property.

Below is a short guide setting out the most important points concerning the sale of a flat. This way you can avoid mistakes made by many sellers. As a result, you will sell your property much faster and with greater profit.

Sales strategy

The basic mistake made by most sellers is deciding to sell a property on impulse. A satisfactory transaction, thanks to which the property owner achieves the highest profit from the sale, requires a comprehensive plan of action. There is no room here for ill-considered decisions. Incidentally, following the opinion of people who do not have sufficient knowledge of selling property most often does more harm than good.

What is more, if we care about achieving a specific goal, the help of a professional in drawing up a suitable strategy may prove essential. Why? A good property sales plan takes into account all aspects of the course of the transaction.

Once we are sure we want to sell the property, the first thing is to gather all the documents that will be required during the transaction. It is particularly important to verify whether the legal status of the flat permits its sale at all. On the Silesian property market there are situations where owners realise just before completion that they do not have the right to sell the property.

Next, you should deal with the valuation of the flat and, on that basis, set the asking price. The next step is to prepare the flat properly for sale, including fixing defects, a general renovation and cleaning the space. These are activities that largely affect how potential buyers perceive the property.

After all this, you can create the sales listing and a list of places and portals in which to post it. It is certain that a listing without photos and a complete description will put off most buyers. Good promotion of the flat, which will translate into results, can be provided by marketing specialists and professional estate agents.

As you can see, planning a comprehensive property sales strategy is very time-consuming and requires specialist knowledge. All the activities that will play a very big role during the sales transaction must be taken into account here. Without this, it is hard to make well-considered decisions and even harder to complete a deal that will be satisfactory for us.

Choosing an estate agent

Although an estate agent's help is invaluable, note that not every agent is a professional. A person of doubtful reputation will not be very helpful and may even needlessly prolong the time it takes to sell the property.

A good estate agent, besides having an excellent grasp of the property market, keeps developing and looks for new solutions. What counts above all are their competence, professional experience, reviews and portfolio of properties sold.

If an estate agent is not committed to selling your flat and has no idea about the latest sales techniques, there is no point in continuing to work with them. On the Silesian property market there are many agents who are not competent to practise their profession. It is important to work with people who are reliable and trustworthy.

The optimal asking price

Selling a flat on your own often involves not thinking through the right price for the property. People inexperienced in selling do not fully realise that when setting the asking price you have to take into account such aspects as the technical condition of the property, its location, the market situation and demand. It must be pointed out that the common method used on the Silesian property market, namely searching for listings similar to ours and setting the property's price on that basis, is wrong.

During the valuation the help of a specialist, who will professionally assess the value of the property, will be useful. Determining the optimal price by someone who does not do this professionally is by no means simple. First, too high a price may put off most buyers. As a result, the sale process is prolonged, which is absolutely unfavourable for us. Drawing out the transaction translates into financial losses for the seller. It should also be remembered that prices on the market generally tend to fall.

You can also overdo it in the other direction. Too low a price, one that does not reflect the value of the property, reduces the seller's potential profit. On the other hand, it arouses distrust and wariness among buyers. Even if we are keen to sell the property as quickly as possible.

The flat listing

Many sellers think it is enough to post an ad for the property and the flat will "sell itself". Reality turns out to be brutal. There are so many competing listings on the market that nobody will pay attention to a listing that has no photos or, worse, shows a neglected and dirty flat. It is worth assessing the flat in this respect, arranging the space appropriately and only then commissioning a professional photo shoot. Sales techniques straight from the USA, such as home staging, will help here.

Only then can you turn to promotion. Unfortunately, merely putting up a listing will not bring the expected results. Making sure the listing ranks well is important and absolutely must not be neglected. Greater interest and reach usually bring a higher profit. It is worth using the help of professionals, as this increases the chances of selling the flat several times over.

It is also important that, once the listing has been prepared and published, you do not keep changing the terms of the agreement. A sudden change of price does not reflect well on the owner and may discourage potential buyers. That is why it is so important for the terms of sale to be well thought through beforehand, so as not to introduce unnecessary confusion later. Otherwise, with chaotic conduct you will effectively discourage those interested in the property rather than convince them that your offer is the best.

Your attitude

Deciding to sell a flat does not come easily to every owner. A place where we have spent many years holds sentimental value for us. Excessive emotionality and the owner's attachment to the flat can needlessly prolong the time it takes to sell the property. That is, if the seller has made up their mind to sell the flat at all.

First, buyers need privacy when viewing a property. Not every owner is able to grasp this; there are cases where the seller follows prospective buyers around step by step – telling them, of course, about private matters that are mostly irrelevant to them.

Another problem is how well the seller presents themselves. Not all owners deal with sales professionally, so they lack the skills related to communication, negotiation, contracting or completing the transaction. In that case an estate agent may prove useful, presenting the flat in a professional manner and bringing the transaction to a satisfactory completion.