Salou Forum
Hi,
I need to sell my apartment and I need some advice and recommendations on estate agents that I could contact.
Also any advice on how I can get this sorted quickly.
I live in the UK but will be over soon.
Unless you REALLY, REALLY need to sell, I would advise you to hang on, and maybe try to rent it out.
One reason for me saying this is as follows:
I have a friend who owns several houses/apartments that he built himself over the last few years. He managed to sell off most before the financial crash here, but hasn't been able to sell the rest. Why? Because, even if you COULD find a buyer, and unless they have the cash to pay for it in one hit, they will need to get a mortgage. And the Banks are the almost unique way to obtain one.
And...the Banks have vast amounts of properties they NEED DESPERATELY to get rid of. So...when your prospective purchaser goes to the Bank to request a mortgage...the Banks immediately put several other EQUALLY as nice properties, probably worth MORE than yours on the table, and try to persuade the buyer to buy one of THEIR properties instead. At largely deflated asking prices. And the probability that the Bank will lend money to buy THEIR property...but refuse a loan on yours.
This is what happened to my friend every time he had a prospective customer. He became very puzzled as to why his 'buyers' suddenly lost interest in HIS properties (which are all almost Brand new), and bought another property instead.
He now rents out the properties to holiday clients: no problems with having too evict long-term renters who fail to pay the rent after a while, and he makes enough money to offset all the bills and maintenance he needed to pay anyway.
Secondly, I have Heard uncorroborated stories of vendors being offered ridiculous prices as a 'take it or leave it' deal, from Russians who want to buy, but won't pay the market value. I don't know how true this is...but it wouldn't surprise me. Depressions are the times when the Rich can make a killing, because people will sell up in order to simply not have to pay for, and maintain, a property they don't have to live in...and make huge losses in doing so. Just bear in mind...the person with the cash in their hand has the power, not the seller
Finally, the reality. House prices have been heavily inflated for years here, until about 5 years ago. Consequently, the housing bubble crash has left many people with mortgages far in excess of the real value of their properties, and are well into negative equity.Prices here, as a general rule, have fallen often by as much as 60%, although that is extreme.
But that has meant that people who want to sell, and buy another place, simply can't sell, or lose too much by doing so; so they stay where they are.
Yes, Tina...it is a veritable quandry to be in.
Perhaps there is a Venue Management who want to rent an apartment for their workers, who would be prepared to accept financial responsibility for the proper treatment of your apartment? Maybe they would be prepared to put down a reasonable sum as a deposit against any and all damages done, and agree to inspect the property on a weekly basis?
For instance: a deposit of 2000 euros in cash.. returnable in full upòn final inspection, PLUS a bonus of an agreed sum on top if everything is as perfect as when they first went in. For example: 2000 euros deposited in a fixed term account which is NOT accessible by either yourself or the renter, and a bonus of 500 euros on top, when final inspection proves aceptable to you. The account might earn a Little interest whilst the money is in there, and there is a guarantee that the money will not be touched until completion. Meanwhile, the Venue owner be prepared to pay a rebate on the rent paid by the staff during the season back to the staff, if the apartment is treated correctly, as an incentive for them to be responsible in their occupancy.
Just an idea off the top of my head, of course! But...might be a way to go?.
Another option would be to rent to holidaymakers via a respectable Agency, and pay somebody responsible to go and inspect the property at the end of the rented period..say 35 euros per period of occupancy/visit. Include that amount as an extra in the rental agreement, so it would, in effect, cost you nothing.
Other than kicking a few ideas around, I appreciate the dilema you are facing, and realise my thoughts may not be acceptable to you.
Long-term renting can be a real nightmare, and getting rid of bad tenants, a protracted and expensive experience. The ONLY way to retain any real power in these circumstances is to keep the electricity and wáter accounts in your name, and charge extra above and beyond the actual rent, so that you at least can cancel the power and amenities to the property and try to forcé them out in that way, should all else fail.
Do you have any equity in the property, in today's market? If not..you are in an awkward situation so far as selling goes, too.
I often am accused of being ultra-pessimistic in my replies...but at least you are able to discount my opinions as you wish, and soldier on as best you can. But I fail to see the benefit of painting a Rosy picture which just really isn't realistic: better to be pessimistic and hope things will turn out for the better, than to view the situation as being better than it really is, and being very disappointed
PS...if you have a mortgage on the property, it might well be to your advantage to talk to the mortgage holders, and see if you can reach an agreement for a fixed period of time, to simply just pay the interest, and hope things will improve soon enough for you to sort this out without defaulting, or getting into severe financial trouble.
