When you decide to sell your flat privately you have to take into account some factors to make the sale of the property a success. Of course, knowing how to price your property is very important, but it is not the only factor. Therefore, we present the 6 most common mistakes that are usually made when selling a flat or house for sale privately.
1. Selling the flat at a higher price with the idea of negotiating it.
This is the most common mistake that is usually made when deciding to sell a flat or a house privately, and in most cases it is done more out of ignorance than out of greed. You should know that when buyers decide to buy a house, they start to search and compare between dozens of properties, getting to know the offer that there is. If your flat is not positioned on the market according to its real value, you will be wasting your time and in the end you will probably have to sell it for less money. Also, believe it or not, there are many buyers who avoid bidding for a property, which is far from what they would be willing to pay for it.
2. Value the flat according to your personal needs.
Many owners decide to sell their flat with the mentality of recovering the total price paid, the work they have done and the difference left over to buy the other property, plus a cushion. In the majority of cases, due to a lack of advice and knowledge of the market in their area, they make the classic mistake of overvaluing their property. The serious thing about this mistake is that when you realise this, you make the mistake of “Well, I can always negotiate” (mistake 1).

3. Creating poor quality visual marketing.
This is where the potential buyer's perception comes into play when they see your flat for sale for the first time online. When selling your flat, if you present dark photos, with animals walking around or underwear on display, I can assure you that you will not receive many enquiries, unless you do not have a very attractive price. Would you look at someone who does not get dressed up?
4. Writing an ad that doesn’t make you fall in love.
Write a standard ad with the characteristics of the property, such as “Nice 2 bedroom flat in one of the best areas of the city…”. It does not make you fall in love. When selling your flat you should create an advert that makes the potential buyer imagine what it would be like to live in it.
5. Not having all documentation ready.
When you decide to sell your flat you must have all the necessary documentation ready. For example, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is necessary to put a property up for sale, otherwise you could incur a penalty. A piece of advice… apart from having all the necessary documentation for the notary (CEE, certificate of habitability, certificate of outstanding debt if there is a mortgage, etc…), also have the invoices of the works that you have carried out on the property ready. This will help you to justify to a potential buyer the improvements you have made to the property.
6. Use contracts downloaded from the internet.
When the time comes to draw up the private contract, do not use standard templates from the internet. You must draw up a tailor-made contract for your purchase-sale in which all the clauses agreed between the parties will be included so that there are no surprises in the future. For this reason in our real estate agency we collaborate with DeSalvador, specialists in real estate law.
Conclusion
In this article we wanted to outline some of the points to bear in mind when you decide to sell your flat or house privately. It sounds easy, but it is a stressful process for many people, especially when you don’t have the necessary knowledge and time. Answering calls or emails in a short period of time is important, knowing how to speak several languages will help you to communicate with foreign buyers and knowing how to draw up the contract of sale with earnest money will help you to avoid future problems.
If you don’t know where to start or you are not clear about something, you can contact us without obligation and we will help you with the sale of your property in Mallorca.