Tips on How to Sell Your Property Abroad Online
When listing your overseas property for sale on the internet, it’s important to know that prospective buyers browsing your property advertisement are likely to be comparing it to thousands of other overseas property advertisements that they will see online, in magazines, newspapers and at property exhibitions.
It’s also important to note that it’s not just couples and families that are looking to buy an apartment in Spain or a holiday home in Turkey. Investment companies and pension fund managers buy overseas properties to generate rental incomes and secure high returns from their overseas property investments.
Well written private property listings will really help to sell the property and focus in on the features that are likely to be important to your buyer. Having a passion for your property, and for the country that you are selling it in will also reflect well in your advertisement and help to sell your property online quickly.
Photographs of Your Property
People looking to buy an overseas property using the internet will usually ignore properties for sale that do not have any photos. The good news is that the Beat The Agent private property sales website makes it extremely easy for you to upload digital photos of your overseas property. However, if you would like us to list your property for sale, just send us your photos and complete details of the property and we can put your listing live for you.
When taking internal and external pictures of your property, pick a nice day when the sun is shining and a decent time of the day. Take photographs of property features which may be of interest to potential buyers, for example a sea view, an old fire place, a stylish bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. Photographs of bare floors and walls do little to inspire potential buyers so even if you have to borrow a few items of furniture to show off an unfurnished apartment, it will give the viewers something to compare the space to.
If you want any help to sell your property abroad, please contact us by e-mail or call us on 0871 716 7726
Pricing Your Property Abroad
The most important element when you sell overseas property is price. Most people will have a maximum figure in mind and automatically exclude anything outside that budget. Generally people will look for a property to buy in a specific country or region first and then by price so listing your property abroad as little as £1,000 too high, can have a dramatic effect on your internet exposure. It is human nature for people to think in round numbers when considering budget, by listing your overseas property at €101,000 you are likely to exclude many people who have convinced themselves that they will only look at property listings up to €100,000. Think carefully about pricing your property abroad. Take a look at similar properties on the market and their asking price. You may find someone selling a very similar property to yourself (particularly when selling a recently completed apartment in a development). Are you in a position to attract your buyer by offering a better deal on price? Discounted property sales can be a large attraction for overseas property investors.
Property Descriptions
This is where you can really show your knowledge of your property and its benefits.
Opening Lines of Text
Remember that you are trying to sell your apartment, house or villa so you should be looking to use colourful, persuasive language to entice potential overseas property buyers to ask for more information. For example "Old Cottage in South of France in need of repair" sounds so much more enticing when described as a "Seasoned Country Retreat in a prestigious area of the French Riveriera with huge potential". Try to leave any negative elements out of your opening lines. Encouraging potential buyers to read more about the property is paramount to your success.
Key Points to Selling Your Property
Think about the things that will make your overseas property stand out. When thinking about selling points, emphasis must be given to features which make your property different from other properties for sale in the same country or region. Many people writing their overseas property listing will not give thought to how these features are detailed, but the more descriptive you are here, the more chance you have of selling your property. Instead of saying "nice views", be more descriptive and persuasive by saying something like "Breath taking, uninterrupted views of the Pirin, Rila and Rhodophe mountains from two ample sized terraces". Look at other listings of similar apartments for sale for additional ideas.
Think – why would this person benefit from buying my overseas property? It does not have to be a specific feature of the property itself, as you will have a chance to select these from a separate list anyway. It should be more like the benefits of the location, or if your property is competitively priced or are there newly planned local amenities / infrastructure that the buyer will be attracted to.
Try to expand on why these key selling points are so good. Talk about the immediate vicinity of your property and local services and facilities. However, general information about the country and town/city is of relatively little interest here as this information is readily available on many other overseas property sites on the internet. The chances are that the potential buyer has already decided on a specific location anyway. Give a balanced overview of the property abroad, most importantly be truthful (people are more likely to believe and trust in a balanced and honest appraisal of the property for sale). The golden rule here is to not constantly babble on about irrelevant features, keep to the point and always ask yourself whether or not the audience would be interested in hearing what you are writing about.
If you require any help with selling your property abroad, please contact us by e-mail or call us on 0871 716 7726
The Follow-Up
It is important to be prepared for any enquiry when selling your overseas property. The reason why overseas estate agents make so many sales is that they speak to prospective buyers when they are "hot" (as soon after they have made their enquiry as possible). Regularly check your emails and try to get some "Email Tennis" going. It is much better to send and receive a handful of emails backwards and forwards as opposed to giving them one big email which they are likely to file away for a rainy day. Have other photographs of the property ready to send of different features and maybe even a small presentation of your property with more detailed information. Make sure that you know the exact dimensions of your rooms in sq.ft. and sqm. Ensure that you are able to readily pass on the details of someone who can assist in showing the person around the property abroad when they wish to view it if you are not local to the property itself.
Under Offer and Sold
Marking your property as "under offer" can sometimes encourage other potential property buyers to get in touch with you sensing a deal. You could ignite the interest of people who may have been considering making you an offer but have not gone to that stage. You may even find yourself at the centre of a bidding war!
Use these functions to your advantage. If someone puts in an offer, mark your overseas property as "Under Offer" and then give them a reasonable timeline in order to view and or pay you for the property before you mark it as "Sold". If you feel that a buyer is wasting your time, give them an ultimatum. You can remind them that until they pay you a deposit for the property, your details will still be listed on the advert and they could be gazumped at any time. Only mark your property as sold when you have received signed contracts and your final payment from the buyer.
Be aware, marking your overseas property as "Under Offer" means that other potential property buyers will still be able to contact you directly. Marking it as "Sold" means that you no longer wish to be contacted about the property via the Beat The Agent website. Before you mark the property as "Sold" ensure that you have exchanged contact details with the buyer…email, address, phone number etc.
You can change whether or not your property listing is displayed as "Under Offer" or "Sold" at any time by logging into your account and editing the details.
In Summary
Effectively, you now need to fill the role of overseas property professional as well as overseas property owner. Many estate agents out there have thousands of overseas property listings on-line, but do not have the time to inject the passion that you can for your individual listing. The Beat The Agent private property sales website is your online shop, and your individual property page is your online shop window. Make sure that you are proud of it. Your property’s web page has its own individual address which you can share with friends or post the link on other websites in order to further advertise your overseas property…because the web page belongs to you!
We wish you the very best of luck with the sale of your overseas property.
If you require any help with selling your property abroad, please contact us by e-mail or call us on 0871 716 7726
