Selling your Cretan house FREE e-guide How to sell your House in Crete Selling your house in Crete can be tricky – especially with competition from new developers with new-builds to tempt buyers. This Guide will help give you edge over the competition, getting more viewers, and turning those viewers into people competing to buy your house!

2008

Graham Yates www.completely-crete.com

1/1/2008

Selling Your Crete House e-Guide

Table of Contents

Motivation ...................................................................................................................... 4

Pricing – Make Sure the Price Is Right .......................................................................... 5

Getting your home ready to sell ..................................................................................... 6

Repairing and painting ............................................................................................... 6

Clean and tidy ............................................................................................................ 7

De-Clutter .................................................................................................................. 8

Dressing ..................................................................................................................... 9

Market your Property, properly ................................................................................... 10

Choosing an estate agent .......................................................................................... 10

Classified Ads .......................................................................................................... 11

Internet ..................................................................................................................... 12

Local Notices and Networking ................................................................................ 15

Advertising your home – Photographs and Writing Effective Copy ........................... 16

Writing Effective Copy ............................................................................................ 16

Photographs.............................................................................................................. 20

Common Mistakes to Avoid and Good-Photo Practice ........................................... 21

Showing people round and negotiating........................................................................ 23

Negotiating ............................................................................................................... 24

The Ridiculous Offer ............................................................................................... 25

The Reasonable Offer .............................................................................................. 26

Accepting the Offer.................................................................................................. 27

Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 28

© Completely Crete 2008

Selling Your House e-Guide

Do you want to sell your house in Crete?

Are you struggling getting viewers, or converting viewers to

genuine interest - and into BUYERS!

If so, then this Guide could be just

the thing that helps you realise

your sale.

We spent 12 months looking for our dream house in Crete

and we were amazed at the way some owners and property

agents went about the task of selling their home to us.

We sold our Cretan home within about 3 months of putting it

up for sale, and we spent those 3 months looking for

somewhere to rent.

We had some experience in estate agency in the UK, and we

felt that this gave us the edge. We knew what to do to

maximize our chances of not only selling, but also selling

quickly.

We found that very few sellers took any trouble at all

presenting the property in it’s best light. This was especially

true of the estate agents representing the sellers.

Often late, if the property was vacant, the owners or their

agent would arrive and open up a dusty, dark, and often

smelly property with unkempt garden, full of clutter and

rubbish.

Occupied homes were decked out with all manner of personal

knick knacks and no way could we imagine it being “our”

home and living there.

Motivation

Do you really want to sell? Sometimes,

people are a little reluctant to let go.

Perhaps you have to move, rather than

want to. Your motivation will matter how

easily or quickly your house will sell.

Someone who doesn’t really want to move won’t go that

extra mile to get the house ready, market it properly – and

even might give out subliminal signals to prospects they are

showing round (if they get anyone to view at all!)

Are you prepared to cover up or remove those things that

you are proud of or feel are a part of your personality in

order to get the property in a state that will appeal to a

buyer?

To be successful in selling your property you have to cease

regarding it as your home. It must become just some place

you are living in until you move. Let go of all your

attachments: emotional, historical and nostalgic. Look

forward to all the things you can and will do in your new

home. Think of all the things you will be able to do that you

can’t do living where you are.

Say goodbye NOW.

Make a commitment to sell. If you are planning to buy, look

for new properties by all means, but don’t pin your hope that

you can get that dream home you have just found before you

sell yours. Instead, buy something for your (yet to be found)

new home, picture yourself doing things in your new home

you couldn’t do in your old home, and wait until you sell.

This way you’ll know how much cash you will have and you

won’t be disappointed if you can’t sell as quickly as you

would like to. Don’t rush into buying – you can always rent

for a while until you find that perfect place.

Pricing – Make Sure the Price Is Right

Once you have decided that you truly want to sell, decide on

a price. You can do this with the help of an estate agent, but

valuations between agents might vary wildly. At the end of

the day YOU decide how much money you want to ask for the

property.

Always remember that the value of your property is the price

someone is prepared to pay for it.

Too low and you often get competing offers which will drive

the price up – but only if you are getting the exposure to

enough prospective buyers.

Too high and you won’t sell. In Crete you can “sign-up” with

any number of agents, so there’s no need to restrict yourself

to the one that gives the highest valuation.

Compare other similar properties of course, but this is only a

guide. If you do things right, you can make your property

more desirable than similar properties. This will do at least

one of two things – and hopefully both:

be more likely to convert a viewer to a buyer, and

enable a good sale price above the average

Getting your home ready to sell

There are a few steps required when making your property

ready to sell.

Repairing

Cleaning

De-cluttering, and

Dressing

Repairing and painting

The problem with living somewhere for years (or even a few

months) is that you get used to things: that light fitting

hanging off the wall, the damp spot in the kitchen, grubby

finger marks round light switches. These things become part

of the decoration. The nicotine hue of the once-white wood

furniture becomes the colour scheme over time.

Try to see the house for the first time and

make a note of the things that you could

put right, right away – and without any

cost.

A pot of paint will probably be the best investment you will

make when getting the house ready. White or pale pastel

neutral colours are best, so paint over any reds, purples and

pinks.

Replace cracked floor or kitchen-top tiles.

Fill holes in walls.

Fix leaky taps.

Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers

that jam.

Replace dead light bulbs.

If you have any rugs, make sure they are clean or

(preferably) new.

Clean and tidy

You want to create shock and awe with a sparkling, clean,

light, bright environment. Sparkling windows letting in bright

sunlight into a spacious tidy space will go a long way to

creating this image.

Things start outside – first impressions are vital. Wherever

possible, clean and tidy the approach to the property.

Tidy the garden if you have one. Think seriously about

painting the door and windows, including shutters. Blue

shutters against a white washed house look fantastic, and

evoke that sunny Mediterranean look

Place pots of plants near the door and try to

have flowers in the windows visible as you

approach the front of the house. Hanging

baskets full of red and yellow flowers look

great.

Inside:

Polish the wood and wash down the paint work, unless

it’s new.

Clean the mirrors until they sparkle, especially in the

bathroom, where the chrome should be gleaming.

Use a mild bleach solution to clean grout and to remove

any traces of mould.

Sweep and mop the tiled floors

Hang up fresh towels

Wash windows inside and out.

De-Clutter

Selling your house is a great opportunity to get rid of junk

that you have collected over the years. Remember that if you

haven’t used it for over a year, it’s probably junk and should

be thrown out.

Remove personal photos

Clear the kitchen counters

Clear bookshelves and shelves

Put away your little teddies, soft toys and other knick

knacks

Now imagine you are a prospective buyer who wants to

imagine themselves living their dream in their own house in

Crete – Your house!

It’s best to leave the viewers to have a look around on their

own, so don’t be surprised if they look in your cupboards and

drawers. So don’t pack them so full that everything spills out

when the doors are opened – keep everything neat and tidy.

Personal items, pets and children should be

removed because they tell buyers that this is

your home, and what you want to do is create

an image in their minds of them living their

dream in your house.

You want any prospective buyer to think “I can see myself

living in this house”. With your own personal photos and little

teddies strewn around, this might be hard for them.

Dressing

If you have been in a show house, you’ll appreciate how such

homes are presented. Although full of tasteful furniture and

fittings, you can tell that the house is not lived in. You want

to re-create that furnished homely feel:

Living areas spacious and light.

Kitchens clutter-free, light and bright with all counters

bare.

An open, airy and romantic master bedroom.

Clean, sparkling floors.

The dining room table or patio table with a centre

piece, flowers and a tray of drinks.

Go outside and walk up to the front door. Is it welcoming?

Can you imagine returning here after a day at the beach or

an evening at the taverna?

Once inside, note how light and airy the home is. Is it hot,

cold, too dark? Does it smell funny? Imagine how your rooms

will appear to a prospective buyer.

How is the furniture arranged? Everything is placed in a way

that suits you and which you have become accustomed to,

but is it arranged so as to show off the rooms in their best

light?

Arrange the furniture to make the best

use of the space, rather than just to

ensure that your favourite arm chair

is about 2 meters from the TV!

Are you asking yourself: What the hell

am I selling this lovely house for?

– You’re almost ready!

Market your Property, properly

It can be hard to resell holiday properties, especially in a

place where new-builds are the vogue, and when there is a

market slow down. However, properties will sell under these

conditions, and it’s just a matter of matching a buyer to your

property at the right price. It’s so important to market your

property properly and this means the two p’s:

presentation and,

publicity

You need to develop a marketing plan listing the media

through which you will get your property into the market

place and get the attention of prospective buyers. Things

such as:

Estate agents

Classified ads

Internet

Locally through notices

Through your family and friends’ network

- which one should you use? – all of them! (and more if you

can think of them).

Choosing an estate agent

In my home country (UK), selling a

property through an estate agent is the

norm. They charge you between 1%-2%,

and (usually) put the house on their

Internet site, in their window or shop

display, and often mail to their list of

targeted prospective buyers with the details of their new

property. They are your agent and work for you to sell your

property.

Estate agents in Crete work for the buyer as well as the

seller and will often charge both! This is especially true

when they promote relocation services to potential ex-pats

in the UK, Germany, Russia and Scandinavia, etc.

Don’t be afraid to get a few on board for maximum exposure

in the market. Commission fees will vary between 0% and

4½%.

Remember that your goal is to SELL (and quickly), so you

need to be doing whatever it takes to achieve this.

There’s no need to be too choosy about estate

agents. If they are rubbish then they won’t sell

your house anyway. You don’t lose anything by

getting them on board – just more exposure in

the market place.

For details of estate agents in Crete go to:

http://www.completely-crete.com/crete-property.html

Classified Ads

Many prospective buyers will browse classified ads in travel

magazines and newspapers in their homeland for overseas

properties.

I don’t see the value of advertising in local Cretan

publications, because your best prospective buyers won’t be

looking there. It’s unlikely that a Greek will look for a

property there either.

Greece Magazine is a popular choice, and a good example.

For about €150 you get a small advert in their classifieds

section. The magazine is printed bi-monthly, but each edition

gets good exposure and people often get enquiries long after

the edition they advertised in.

Most national, and some local, newspapers have extensive

foreign property pages to consider as market places.

Internet

The Internet provides a great opportunity to

market your property. Most people who are

looking to buy a home abroad start their search

on the World Wide Web.

You can access this medium by various ways:

Via an estate agent

On your own website

On a third party’s website

Estate Agents’ Websites

By far and away the greatest web exposure you will benefit

from is via estate agents’ websites.

Almost all good estate agents acknowledge the benefits of

advertising property this way, and a good website is their

best and most prominent way to gain exposure to

prospective buyers and sellers.

Quality of sites vary widely of course, but things are

improving rapidly. Exposure is what counts, and people are

only interested in finding the property they want to buy that

suits their requirements best. It makes sense to get as much

exposure as possible on as many estate agents’ websites as

possible.

Many estate agents farm out details to other agencies

throughout Europe, increasing exposure even more to a

wider audience.

On your Own Website

This is something you might not have

considered, but it really is a viable option,

especially if you consider the costs

comparison with estate agents commissions.

Estate Agents charge up to 4% of sale price, which on a

property valued about 150,000 Euros means a cost of 6,000 –

you can set up a website for 150-200 Euros!

The objective in website exposure is to get many people

looking at your property details. On its own, setting up a

website is not enough. You need to generate some traffic,

and this is not straightforward and can take time. An estate

agent has an advantage in that they will have an established

site, which might rank well with search engines.

When people do a search on property for sale in Crete, their

site might well come up high in the results page. Your new

site might not – not immediately.

However, this idea should not be dismissed out of hand for

the following reasons:

You have complete control over your personal site, and can

dedicate as many of your own targeted words and pictures

you desire in marketing your property.

Your site will feature only your property (or properties),

without the distraction of any competition.

If you develop a site properly, you can also use it to generate

income for yourself, and not just restrict it to selling your

property.

Our website Completely Crete was

created using Site Build It! ANYONE with

the help of Site Build It!'s easy-to-use

tools can build a successful online

website and business about something

they know and love.

In this way, you can start off by developing your own site to

sell your property – and end up with a profitable online

business!

Click here for more information on building your own web

site (no matter how experienced you are in web stuff).

Third Party Website

Another option is to have your property details hosted on a

third party website. This option is a showcase for your

property, involves one off or monthly fee in most cases, but

the hosts play no part in selling your property – and once

sold, there’s no web presence.

Examples include:

eBay

vFlyer

postlets

Other options in this category are relevant Crete websites.

Many sites offer space on their website for people to post

details of their property for sale, charging a small fee in

many cases.

Some offer this service for free, so what can you lose?

Do a search for websites offering this service.

Local Notices and Networking

Remember your prime objective at this stage is to get your

property out there, using whatever means are available.

There’s someone somewhere who wants your property, and

it’s just a case of putting the details in front of them.

Crete related, or ex-pat focused, forums on the internet are

quite popular, but most if not all don’t allow free property

advertising.

Notices on notice boards and in shop

windows might be just the means you

need to get to that very person who

wants your property.

Also, let everyone you know, (or even

don’t know), be aware that you are selling

your property.

It’s handy to prepare a flyer with your property’s details,

description and photographs for posting on notices and for

strategically leaving around in kafeneions, bars and cafés.

Advertising your home – Photographs and

Writing Effective Copy

Where you advertise and promote your property is important

of course. But how is also vital.

You need to ensure that you describe your property in the

best way possible. And that includes using photographs

effectively too.

Writing Effective Copy

Don’t rely on your estate agent writing the copy on

your property effectively. From our experience

of estate agents in Crete, there’s much you can

improve on when it comes to describing a

property. In any event, you’ll need a good

description to prepare a flyer.

Many estate agents here are happy to use your description of

the property – it saves them having to do it. You can

probably do it better, certainly with the help of this Guide.

Properly describing your property is an

art. You have to describe all its features

and benefits in a positive light, without

misleading prospective buyers. The

description you use must be accurate,

and when someone views on the

strength of that description, they must

not feel that you have misled them.

Instead, they should feel that you have

truly described the benefits of the property’s features and

benefits. Don’t describe a castle if you’re selling a stone

house for renovation.

Things you should mention in your description:

Headline

Avoid “House for Sale”. Instead, describe what it is,

examples:

Luxury Villa for Sale

Dream Holiday Home

New House near popular beach

Town House with Shared Pool

Apartment for Sale, 2 Minutes from Beach

Style, whether:

villa,

village house,

semi-detached, detached or Town House

new or renovated (or needs renovation)

stone, etc

etc

Location

...explaining it’s proximity to village, town, beach, main

roads, etc.

Price

...and whether offers will be accepted around this figure.

Size

...of total ground floor, because many people go off price per

sq meter. Also mention the size of garden, patio, and/or any

large balconies.

Number of bedrooms

Number of bathrooms

Year the property was built. Special features, such as:

double glazing

central heating

tiled flooring

garage

barbeque

fire place

outside brick oven

pool

fruit tree(s)

Major features or appliances included:

...such as kitchen appliances, washing machine, garden

furniture, etc.

Remember that there’s a big difference between accentuating

and exaggerating when describing the features of your

property.

People wanting to buy a home in Crete

have different priorities than people

buying just a regular home, say, in their

home country. They aren’t necessarily

looking for close proximity to schools,

dentists, or Tescos.

What does someone looking to buy a home in the sun want?

They want exactly the same as they want when going on

holiday: beaches, bars, tavernas, mountain walks, olive

groves, orange trees, etc.

Make sure that you emphasise the positive

elements of your property’s location. In

Crete you are almost always close to

something that will get a prospective buyer

excited and interested.

When describing the feature of your

property, try to illustrate the benefits of those features. For

example, a patio enables outside eating, barbeques or even

sunbathing:

Large paved patio, ideal for summer barbeques and alfresco dining.

An old stone built property has great seasonal advantages:

Stone property, cool in summer and warm and cosy in winter.

A taverna close by is a great attention getter.

Within easy staggering distance from village taverna owned by friendly owner [insert name, eg, Yiannis, Manolis, etc]

General terms are better than specific

ones when describing your home’s

features. It’s a good idea to give

dimensions, but make sure you have got

them right and that you reinforce them

with emotional and visual tags. No one

really knows how big a 202m patio looks

like, so tell them it’s at least “spacious”

too.

Spacious 202m balcony overlooking mountains/village/sea

Photographs

Nothing conveys what your property is all about better than a

well taken picture. And the best thing is – a good picture

makes your property look even better than it really is!

Remember that this stage of the game comes after you have

prepared the property for receiving viewers. It should be

bright, clean, tidy and uncluttered.

Look at these examples for how, and how not, to take

photographs:

Common Mistakes to Avoid and Good-Photo Practice

1. Ironing board left out

2. Evidence of

cat/sweeping

3. Personal photos of

loved-ones

4. Cluttered with appliances

5. Light not on

6. Blinds shutting out light

1. Lights on

2. Shutters open letting

light in

3. Fresh flowers

4. Basket of fresh picked

herbs

5. Soft background music

6. Bowl of fresh fruit

7. Jug of fresh orange juice

You should take a few good pictures and aim to have up to 8

to 10 of the best ones complimenting your description on

your internet posting, and that includes on your estate

agents’ websites.

If you create a flyer for your property, aim to have 4 to 6 on

there.

You don’t need a spectacular camera to do this job. A

reasonable digital camera will work OK. Try to borrow a

digital camera if you don’t have one.

Start with the outside and remember that this is likely to be

the first a prospective buyer will see.

Move the car and the dustbin, tidy up the path and ensure

that the sun is out!

Take a few pictures from various angles and some close-

ups. You can crop and zoom later on the computer.

Move inside. Fill the rooms with light by opening shutters and

switching on all the lights. If possible, have some flowers

arranged in the rooms you photograph as these always make

a picture look better.

Take loads from various angles and perspectives, and of all

the rooms, even if you think one particular space won’t

enhance your sale prospects! You’ll be surprised how things

look a lot better in a photo.

If you have any interesting features such as an old Cretan

fireplace, brick oven or chandelier – then take a close up

(perhaps not the chandelier).

Once the pictures are taken the next step is the editing.

You’ll need some editing software on your computer. If you

don’t have any, download Picasa, the excellent Google photo

editing software which is 100% FREE!

The object here is to refine your pictures by cropping out

unwanted objects or people who sneaked into the shot,

enhancing the light and reducing the pixel size to enable

proper web hosting.

Once you have a selection of good pictures, a well crafted

description, and a properly promoted property, it won’t be

long before you have people wanting to view.

Now is the time to convert these prospects into buyers!

Showing people round and negotiating

The object here is, as always, to try and get the prospective

buyer to imagine that they are already, or very soon could

be, living their dream in the house you are selling. Make

them feel as comfortable as possible, not like intruders into

your house.

To do this you need to pander to their senses and their

emotions. Senses stick with us and any visual impressions

they get coupled with positive impressions of scent, and

feelings will go a long way to creating a positive impression.

Don’t invade their space, let them be free to wander and

discuss without you being around.

Impress on them to take as much time as they want.

By this stage you should have taken the steps you needed to

in order to present your property in the best light. So make

sure that when you have viewers arriving, you:

Tidy up

Open all shutters

Turn on every light to make the home bright and airy

looking

If cool outside, close windows/doors and put some

heating on (or light a blazing fire!)

If hot, put air conditioners on if you have them (at least

in one room, creating a cool oasis in the property)

Put on some pleasant, unobtrusive background music

Remove all evidence of having a pet (including the pet)

Some advocate baking bread or making fresh coffee to

appeal to the senses of house viewers, but this is a bit twee.

Alternatively you could bring in some fresh herbs from the

hillside, and pile a prominent bowl full of citrus fruits.

Negotiating

There are no hard and fast rules when dealing with offers

from prospective buyers. It’s true that with property, unlike

any other commodity, the (certainly British) prospective

buyer feels compelled to negotiate. This means making an offer LOWER than the asking price.

Cars, loaves of bread, double glazing, tarmac’d driveway -

with all these things we are happy to hand over the asking

price, no matter how ridiculous.

But with a house, we have to offer less than we are asked to

pay.

You might say that this is because the cost of property is

greater than all these things, but remember that in Crete,

there are houses cheaper than some cars you can buy!

There are two types of reduced offers a prospective buyer

can make.

The Ridiculous Offer

One type of offer is the ridiculously-lower-than-the-asking-

price offer. This means that the “prospective” buyer makes

an offer that is literally thousands below the estate

owners/sellers valuation. I would place any offer reduced by

5%+ in this category.

This type of prospect is chancing their arm and is not really

interested in the property and will only consider buying it if

he/she realises a ridiculous bargain, and even then he/she

might not buy in the end.

Remember that you will have considered the property price

carefully, probably (but not necessarily) taken advice,

compared similar properties, etc. So it is unlikely that you

will be 5% or more off the base.

A good guide as to whether you have priced realistically are

the number of viewers you get. People will not waste their

time on property that compares unfavourably with similar

properties that are cheaper.

Double check with your estate agent(s) concerning price.

They will suggest a realistic price based on market and other

considerations. If they feel that they can get a sale at such

and such a price they will go with it – they will want to

maximize their commission.

If you are prepared to hold your nerve though, and at least

wait until a few viewers have passed through your home, you

can reject the offer by making a counter-offer.

Never reject an offer without making a counter-offer. Think

of something you can bolster your offer with, such as leaving

the patio furniture, including the chandelier, or appliances.

To make your counter-offer look more attractive, consider

1% below the asking price.

Your counter-offer need not reject their price. You could

accept their offer on price but exclude stuff you originally

included. Say you won’t be leaving the chandelier for

example.

It’s up to you of course, and if you need to sell urgently then

you might be inclined to accept this type of offer, especially

if it’s the first you get.

But, especially if it is the first offer you get, you might want

to consider continuing to wait for...

The Reasonable Offer

Even if a person wants your property desperately, and even

if they feel the asking price is very reasonable, and even if

they feel you are asking far too little, a prospective buyer

will still feel compelled to ask less than the asking price.

Everyone else does it.

Obviously, what you do will depend on the circumstances. If

you are receiving many viewers, then you are well priced

and your property is in demand. In this situation any counter-

offer you make will be in the region of your asking price.

If you are not getting many viewers and you want a quick

sale then you might be inclined to agree to the offer and

accept.

However, if someone makes an offer of 2% or less off the

asking price, then this means that they want your property

and if they want it, they won’t baulk over the odd thousand

Euros. Your asking price is the price you asked for, so don’t

be afraid of insisting you get it.

In all matters, personal pride is a significant factor. So it

might be prudent to sweeten your counter-offer (the asking

price) by offering something like the patio furniture, BBQ or

chandelier (if you can part with it.)

Accepting the Offer

So, you have meticulously presented and

marketed your property. You have shown

numerous interested viewers round your

clean, tidy home, and someone has made an

offer. You have accepted that offer, shaken

hands, and waved goodbye as your “buyer”

heads back to the UK/Netherlands/Germany

(or wherever they come from).

Success!

However, remember that as in most places in the world, a

verbal offer isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

What you need is the DEPOSIT!

Your agent (if you have one), who is also doubling as the

buyer’s agent, will want his/her commission. So they won’t

want things to drift. And neither do you.

Although you have received an offer, even if this is in some

written form (unlikely), the prospective buyer is under no

legal obligation to buy.

In which case, you should continue to market and promote

your property in the market place until you receive the 10%

deposit. This means that a legal pre-contract agreement has

been made, and the buyers will forfeit their deposit if they

rescind and back out at that stage.

Once you have word that the deposit has been received in

your bank account, you can truly relax. Even if the buyer

pulls out now, you’ll have made 10% on the deal and you can

start the selling process again.

Conclusion

Selling a home anywhere can be a difficult, worrying and

traumatic experience. But with the tips and advice here I

hope that you can get a little bit of an advantage over the

competition.

Treat selling your property as a full time job. Go the extra

mile, put in the hours, and work hard - and they will come.

And when they come they will want to buy.

GOOD LUCK!

© Completely Crete 2008