Selling your home is often one of the most important transactions of a lifetime. And yet, some owners sabotage their chances from the start, sometimes without knowing it or intending to do the right thing. Olivier Frankfurt has been a real estate agent for 13 years at the Laforêt agency in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. He has seen them go by, sales that drag on, properties that remain advertised for months on end and owners who end up selling well below the price at which they could have sold.
” A way too personalizednot everyone likes it » : this is the first advice from our real estate agent. “In Paris, for example, it is especially parquet flooring that is valued. So a floor with a pattern that is too particular or exotic raises questions. A decoration that catches the eye too much, an apple green wall, furniture with strong connotations… when it’s not pretty, the good does not reveal its potential and that leads to missed sales”he assures. What is beautiful in the eyes of the owner is not beautiful for everyone.
Poorly realized potential
A property for sale must allow the buyer the possibility to project oneselfby highlighting volumes for example. A lick of paint to stop it looking dull and letting the light in can change things right away.
The same reasoning applies to the second tip: take care of the general presentation of the property, online for example. Poorly framed or dark photos cause a portion of visits to be lost before they even take place. A few hours of tidying up, a window open for light, or even a professional photographer, can make a real difference in the number of visits.
Neglecting small visible repairs is also a mistake not to make. A dripping faucet, a loose baseboard, a simple light bulb that no longer lights… During a visit, each visible imperfection raises a question in the buyer’s mind: isn’t there a bigger problem hidden somewhere else? Before putting it up for sale, a quick tour of the home with a buyer’s eye also allows you to spot imperfections.
Price too high from the start
This is a critical error. “Most of the time, seller clients want a price that is too high on the ad, thinking that buyers will necessarily negotiate and that they will thus land on their feet. They think you have to put 10 or 15 % above. » The problem is that this logic is based on a false assumption : that buyers necessarily negotiate. This is not what Olivier Frankfurt observes on the ground.
“Our fellow citizens are not seasoned negotiators, they are not comfortable »he continues. “Some prefer to move on rather than engage in a real negotiation. » But the problem goes even further. If the displayed price is too high, a good portion of potential buyers won’t even see the good : alerts on real estate portals are configured with price ranges, and an out-of-budget property simply does not appear in the results. The seller finds himself waiting for visits that do not come.
Multiplying agencies and poorly managing visits
“Some people think that by putting their property in lots of agencies, they will sell faster, but that’s not true”says Olivier Frankfurt. “Buying clients see property everywhere on the sites and wondering if there is a problema hidden defect ». A property listed by five agencies, sometimes at slightly different prices, gives an impression of desperation which discourages serious buyers. “We like rarity, not something you see everywhere”he recalls.
Have you followed these five tips and the visits are pouring in? Be careful, there is one last trap that you must not fall into. “Some owners are afraid that they will be accused of liars, it’s very French. So they don’t stop talking during the visit, even to say things that are of no use.”observes the real estate agent. “They mention a facade renovation which may have been vaguely mentioned, a possible roof repair in six years… Nobody asked thembut they still talk. »
The buyer is preparing to invest hundreds of thousands of euros in this property: the slightest doubt grows. “We must not frighten the buyer with things that may never happen, insists the real estate agent. Especially since all the useful documents are already provided: minutes of general meetings over the last three years, diagnostics, etc. » If a problem really existed, it would already be there.
