Selling privately via the Internet in Spain can be a reality.
The Spanish property market is often blighted by bad news – thankfully, this isn’t always the reality and we want to bring you a “good news story” to give all sellers in Spain hope that their search for a buyer is never forlorn.
Creative Property Marketing help people to sell privately in Spain – the market is improving and with their use of the Internet, they attract buyers from across the globe. In this particular case, we have a family moving from Canada buying under the Golden Visa scheme.
The property being sold…
Charles and Suzie Randall own a lovely organic farm close to Almogia, Malaga and the whole family has been very happy there over the years. However, the children are growing up and it was felt a move was needed to find a home closer to higher education for the children.
The property Charles and Suzie were selling included a main farmhouse, two detached holiday cottages set within 10 hectares of land. The location is peaceful, unspoilt and yet just a few minutes’ drive to the village of Almogia. As you can imagine, they were rather reluctant sellers!
Sell privately or use an agent…?
Charles and Suzie had already instructed a couple of estate agents without any joy and were becoming a little disheartened. Then one day whilst playing golf, Charles was recommended to Creative Property Marketing by a friend who had successfully sold their home privately a few months earlier.
Charles was on the phone immediately but was a little skeptical that paying an advertising fee of €300 would actually deliver a buyer. With many estate agents charging a fee of 5% plus VAT on an asking price of €795,000, selling privately could save the family more than €40,000 – they felt it had to be worth a shot?
Creative Property Marketing were instructed to sell and went to work to produce the best possible advertising campaign for the farm.
Enquiries, viewings and then an offer…
To start with several viewings happened but they were not quite the right buyers for the farm.
Then a Canadian family enquired – they had been considering a move to Southern Spain for 7 years and were motivated by the improved education for their children. Having owned a farm in Quebec, they loved the look of this property and arranged a trip to Spain to see it first-hand.
From the point at which they first enquired and they actually visited, many weeks had passed but buyer and seller were in direct discussion and exchanged many messages backwards and forwards. Creating this relationship, answering questions and building up a rapport certainly helps to give everyone more confidence.
Eventually, the family arrived and because of the communication, it was everything they had hoped for. An offer was made, a hand shake took place and lawyers instructed.
Full asking price and a speedy sale…
One of the remarkable things about the sale is that the Canadian family paid the full asking price – this is unusual in two ways…
Firstly, most people would expect to negotiate on an asking price in Spain at the moment – whilst the market is improving, discounts of between 5 and 15% are fairly standard.
Secondly, the property is being advertised at the same price with agents – given that a fee of around 5% would be payable, it is great news that this was not knocked off the price.
Part of the reason the sale has been processed so quickly is that a number of updates were made to the paperwork – again, Creative Property Marketing spotted this at an early stage and suggested the owners, Charles & Suzie speak with their lawyer to get these things sorted. They did, the paperwork was updated and the sale was able to progress smoothly.
The power of the Internet… 
So, how else would a family living in Quebec, Canada ever find a new home in Almogia, Spain? There really is only one answer, the Internet.
The ability to place your property on a range of websites appealing to buyers from across the globe really is an attractive proposition. By advertising at a cost from as little as €300 for 12 month’s advertising compared with an enormous fee, what could be better.
Oh yes, and it works.
Canadian buyers are happy to be forging a new life in Southern Spain. Charles & Suzie are delighted to have sold and saved themselves in the region of €40,000 in fees and can now move on with their new life.
So, thinking of selling? Want to try selling privately? Want to save thousands in fees normally paid to an estate agent?
Contact Creative Property Marketing to see how you can advertise your property for 12 months from as little as €300.
Remember, there is a buyer out there somewhere for your property – it’s just a question of finding them.
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