YOUR HOW to GUIDE Selling Your Home Privately in This Guide…
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YOUR HOW TO GUIDE Selling your home privately In this guide… - PREPARATION - MARKETING - SHOWING - COMPLETION - Weighing up the pros & cons - Pricing you property - Preparing for a viewing - The sale contract - Mandatory inspections - Broaden your net - Qualifying buyers - Statutory disclosure - Identifying issues - Professional photography - Seasonal interest - Capital gains - Maximise first impressions - Preparing a brochure - Negotiation tactics - List of English-speaking notaires in Languedoc The thought of selling your home privately can be daunting but it’s a lot easier than you think. In fact selling privately is a common practice here with around 40% of homes sold privately in France without the involvement of a real estate agent. The best way of identifying the weak aspects Preparation of your property is to get an objective set of There are a number of things you need to eyes in to have a look around. This may be a consider before making the decision to sell friend or neighbour, but it must be someone privately. who isn’t overly familiar with the property. In this section we outline the pros and Follow that by having a trained set of eyes cons to selling privately. We also cover look at the property in the form of a building mandatory inspections, fixing niggling issues, surveyor. and outline how to make your home look its It is important to first weigh up the pros best before putting it on the market. and cons. You may find that selling privately There are a number of things you will is not a suitable option for your situation. It’s need to do in the lead up to selling your house more involved but the savings make it worth to maximise your possibility of snagging an the effort. Here is a list to the main pros & interested buyer. "cons to selling privately. THE PROS THE CONS MASSIVE" SAVINGS You can save thousands LACK OF SELLING EXPERIENCE Agents on agent commission fees. bring to the table market & industry experience. MORE CONTROL You have the control over ADDED HASSLE If you leave the process up to who sees your property & when they come. the agent all you have to do is agree a price. WIDER AUDIENCE Advertising on the internet OBJECTIVE FEEDBACK Buyers may feel more opens up your net to an international audience. comfortable to give genuine (& valuable) feedback after an inspection when a 3rd party KNOWLEDGE & MOTIVATION You know your such as an agent is involved. home better and have more personal motivation when it comes to selling your home. (1) Mandatory Inspections - Dossier de Diagnostic Technique (DDT) " Having a “DDT” is a mandatory prerequisite to the formation of ALL sale contracts in France. It is not the same as having a building survey but it will cover you for a number of things such as termites, asbestos and electrical wiring. There are a number of inspections that must be included in the DDT as stated below: • Asbestos - This report identifies if there is the presence of materials containing asbestos in the property. This report is required for any property granted planning permission prior to 1st July 1997. • Lead - This report pertains to the presence of lead paintwork in the property and applies to properties built before 1949. The survey must be undertaken no more than 1 year prior to sale completion. If a survey already exists clearing any risk to health, then no further survey is required in a subsequent sale of the property. • Termites - This report identifies the presence of termites (or similar destructive pests) in the property. It is only required within certain parts of France so check with the Mairie as to whether it is required in your area. The survey cannot be dated earlier than 6 months prior to sale contract • Energy Efficiency - You must have an energy performance report undertaken on the property and the report MUST be shown with any advertisement of the property. The report lasts for 10 years. • Natural / Industrial Risks - This report is required if there is a risk prevention plan in place for the commune in which the property is located such as flood, earthquake etc. The report must not be more than 6 months old and must be updated if there is a change in the designation of the area. • Gas Installations - This report checks gas installations within the property. It applies to properties where gas has been installed for more than 15 years. The report is valid for 3 years. • Electrical Wiring - This is a report on the condition of the electricity supply in the property if the wiring is over 15 years old. The report is valid for 3 years. • Septic Tanks - Only required on properties which aren’t connected to mains drainage. WHEN TO GET YOUR DDT? Some of the inspections are only valid for a period of 6 months, so it is important to get these done "at the end of the preparation phase just prior to going on the market. If it takes a while to sell you home, it may mean that some of these inspections need to be re-done. BENEFITS? Despite being mandatory, there are a few reasons why having these inspections is valuable to the vendor. Although it is not a full survey, and a buyer may wish to pay for a proper building survey to be done on a property prior to signing the Compromis de Vente, at least it will show you if there are any minor issues with your property that could cause the sale to fall through and allow you time to get them seen to or organise a negotiation strategy when dealing with a buyer. HOW MUCH & WHO? You can a obtain quotes from certified technicians near you and organise a DDT for your property via the websites below. The websites are in French but you can enter the web "address into google translate to get an english translation of the website. http://www.diagnostiqueurs-de-france.fr http://www.dossier-technique-amiante.com " Recommendations from IAN MORRIS - expert qualified building surveyor here in France. " Ian Morris is a bi-lingual chartered building surveyor with 40 years professional experience. Based in Languedoc-Roussillon he has been carrying out pre-purchase surveys for buyers and advising on technical issues for property owners across southern France for many years. See www.french-surveys.com. “House for sale. New roof." I've lost count of the number of times I've seen this in sales particulars, or have been told this when planning to carry out a survey for a prospective purchaser. My first question, of course, to the selling agent, or the vendor, is what do you mean by "new roof"; are you telling me that all of the roof tiles have been renewed, or are you saying that all of the roof structure has been renewed: Or both ? Interestingly, I seldom get a straight answer. In most cases it transpires that some of the roof tiles have been renewed, or put back into place, and that none of the supporting structure has been touched at all. Those who remember the childhood game of “Chinese whispers” will have a clue as to how it "is that a "new roof" is not a new roof at all. So it is that a prospective purchaser (particularly one who has chosen not to have a pre- purchase survey carried out by a reputable professional) can be misled. They won't thank you when they find out the property, or at least the roof in this case, was not as described, and they might even decide to take legal action in order to have the sale rescinded. Far "better to be open about everything upfront. Prospective purchasers are naturally nervous, particularly if they are making a first purchase away from their home country. You, as the seller, should aim to remove any uncertainties in "their mind by being as “open” as possible and hide nothing. If there are cracks in the walls you should think twice about filling them in before putting your house on the market. Unless the work is done conscientiously, the cracks will be more obvious and you can give the building a far worse appearance that will frighten your buyers. It is often the case that cracks which looks serious are not serious at all, and cracks that you might almost ignore do in fact pose a potential problem (that can usually be remedied if the correct solution is adopted). You might usefully think about getting an appropriately qualified building surveyor to look at the cracks, or indeed any physical problem that you are concerned about, and to produce a brief report that you can then show to your buyers. A report of this kind might well say the cracks are not serious, or it might say that a potential problem exists but can be remedied in a certain way. In either case you will have removed any uncertainty in the mind of your buyers - and might at the same time have been able to give a sigh of relief yourself. If remedial work has been suggested you might like to obtain an estimate of the cost, and perhaps show it to your buyers. A demonstration "of honesty such as this could save an otherwise lost sale. Some buyers are really frightened about asbestos, or building materials containing asbestos, when revealed in the diagnostic reports that have to be carried out. A brief and independent report from an appropriately qualified building surveyor might point out, for example, that floor coverings sometimes identified as containing asbestos probably contain less than 5% asbestos and do not necessarily" pose a health hazard at all.