Strategy for selling a house - what is the best way to proceed?

Hello everyone,

to make financing our new house easier, our current house is to be sold.

I invited 3 real estate agents for viewings.

The first one said right after the viewing that he would estimate the house at 340-350k.

Agents 2 and 3 took notes and each submitted a presentation on equipment, macro location, micro location, etc. Both valuations are each around 380-395k.

Recently, I was called by an investor in my street who learned that we want to sell. He would buy the property.

I then created an exposé for him from the agents' presentations and enclosed the valuations. He writes that he considers the valuations to be far too high (obviously)... and asks how much I would deduct from the price if he did not have to pay rent during the construction period.

How would you proceed tactically?

I have considered deducting the local customary rent (900-950 euros) from the average valuation (387,500) and naming him that amount. Do you think that is understandable?

The biggest advantage would of course be an uncomplicated transaction with no viewings, no expensive bridge financing.

We have not listed the house yet...

You could also ask him what his offer is.

I sold my house or the apartments on my own and honestly wouldn’t have known why I would have needed a real estate agent. Nowadays, it’s not a problem to find potential buyers, because every interested buyer searches online and with the common providers. My interest was, of course, to sell as well as possible but also under reliable conditions. I prefer to handle such things myself or directly, because an agent ultimately represents three sides of interest and therefore understandably does not represent only my side 100%. Once the buyer is found, you go to the notary and he does what is necessary, done. We were offered "expert evaluations" by agents, which ultimately were far from the actual selling price. In Germany, a feasible selling price can be found relatively well on your own and then it’s up to you whether you want to wait longer for a higher price or sell faster if necessary. Also, the location, condition, etc. of the house play a role. In our case, the buyer was found within one day; he was the first person to respond out of several. That fit, some negotiations and done. In my opinion, not having an agent also increases the number of potential buyers; some buyers prefer searching without agent involvement. In recent years, I have really met many agents and visited houses and apartments with them for various reasons, but in most cases, I was almost shocked at their knowledge about the property, the photos, descriptions, and especially the exposé. One idea would be to find someone who takes a series of good photos for you, not homemade phone pictures but something nice for a presentation; that can be done for little money. Thus, I sold honestly and without any skeletons in the closet or unaddressed defects and to people with whom I am still in contact today. I would reject investors outright since it is apparently too expensive for them, plus I don’t like that kind of attitude. If you have a good property that is also in good condition, it can be sold at a very good price; on the other hand, when building you also have to pay market prices. As soon as your exposé is online as a private seller, agents will run to your door anyway, even if you note that you do not want agent inquiries. You can earn this commission yourself, as fast as no other money and/or accommodate the buyer a little.

A real estate agent can be very practical. We are very happy that we had one. He did a great job and if you can't offer numerous viewings yourself due to lack of time, it is very helpful when this is taken off your hands. To be honest, we wouldn't have wanted to constantly hang around in the apartment and answer the same questions repeatedly. A real estate agent can do that much better; after all, it is his job.

recently sold her house as well, maybe she can also give a few tips? From what I followed here, it went quickly for her too.

A real estate agent can be very practical. We are very happy that we had one. He did a great job and if you can't offer dozens of viewings yourself due to lack of time, it is very helpful when someone takes that off your hands. To be honest, we wouldn't have wanted to constantly hang around the apartment and answer the same questions over and over again. A real estate agent can do that much better; after all, it's his job.

No question, that's one way to see or do it. For me, it was better this way. I made a last-minute decision, posted an online listing, and was skeptical. But then it worked immediately. Depending on the amount of commission, quite a lot of money is involved, and everyone has to decide for themselves what is better. It was not meant as a general criticism, absolutely not, yet I was really astonished at times; not least about the price estimate, which was ultimately 25% lower for the large apartment.