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

Hello everyone,

I'm "hijacking" this thread because it fits well with my current situation.

It's about a multi-family house (4 residential units) in a very good location in a German big city. Recently, an apartment became available and is in great need of renovation (initial quotes from craftsmen around €90,000).
Now I'm considering selling. After reading a bit, many advise a private sale without a realtor. However, since I have no knowledge of the matter and there are usually no public sales of houses or land in the area, I find it difficult to determine a price. Appraisals in this regard also cost a lot of money, and since a sale is not yet certain, that is too expensive for me.
I have already contacted realtors (large, reputable company) to get their valuation. Since it will be in the low seven-figure range (and I usually don’t deal with such sums), I am also quite "afraid" of making a mistake. A realtor always acts in their own interest (which aligns with mine: a high price), but they also have their potential buyers who then make their own deals with the realtor.

I’m simply hoping for some experiences or advice and am grateful for any responses.

So with a value of >1 million, 90,000€ renovation is nothing that you couldn’t quickly recoup with correspondingly high rent, especially if you can still depreciate? I would almost guess that you get more for the apartment afterward than the current price + investment.

But if you definitely want to sell:
- Free appraisal from the realtor is already good
- Are there really no reference points at all? Similar apartments in other similar areas?
- A realtor doesn’t necessarily have the goal of "high price," but "low effort for high profit." However, with this price, price optimization could actually be worth it for them :)

If it really is such a top location, you can also do an auction without your own price idea and then decide whether you want to sell (each interested party exactly 1 bid, max 1 renegotiation/match, depending on sympathy, if that is important to you). You will probably have many interested parties anyway.

We did something like this last year as well (with much less value, but we were also unsure about the price) and it worked well for us – we got more than we had in the optimistic estimates.

So with a value of >1 million, €90,000 renovation is really nothing that you wouldn’t quickly get back with a correspondingly high rent, especially if you can still depreciate? I would almost guess that you will get more for the apartment afterwards than the current price + investment.

If it really is such a prime location, you can also do a bidding process without your own price expectation and then consider whether you want to sell (each interested party exactly 1 bid, at most 1x renegotiate/match, depending on sympathy, if that is important to you). You will probably have many interested parties.

I may have expressed myself unclearly, not only the one apartment would then be for sale but the entire building. I think with €60k net cold rents (+ repairs arising over time, the building is not new) we can better invest the money elsewhere at a good price than in the property. Hence the consideration to sell.

A broker always acts in their own interest

Yes, that's probably true. That means you only have half a broker. The seller hires the broker. As long as that is the case, the broker is "on the seller's side." But when a serious buyer appears, the broker switches sides. Then the broker basically becomes the buyer's broker in order to make a sale happen. The broker's interest shifts from the seller to the buyer. You just have to know that the broker is no longer a friend when things get "serious."

A broker always acts in his own interest (which coincides with mine: a high price)

a malicious misconception. The broker will mainly try to sell the property quickly. The few extra euros from a higher selling price are not worth it for the broker, who would really have to invest time in it. Brokers basically live according to the Pareto principle: 80% result in 20% of the time.

A real estate agent always acts in their own interest (which coincides with mine: a high price) but they also have their potential buyers, who then make their own deals with the agent.

No, rather a realistic price so that the sale can be signed within 3-6 months.
If an agent fully performs their original duties, then under normal market conditions an unrealistic, i.e. too high price can cost the agent so much that the assignment is no longer worthwhile.
(Anyone who now thinks an agent earns too much anyway should inform themselves about the costs of self-employed people)

Regarding the question: I know it like this, that one calculates with the net cold rent over 20 years. The rent reflects the condition or value of the apartments. This results, together with the land, in a total sum.