Distressed Property Sales in Mallorca - A Comment on the Market For Distressed Mallorca Property

Due to the economic climate we are accessing for clients an increasing number of distressed Mallorca property opportunities. These forced sale opportunities offer investors the possibility of excellent long term returns or for lifestyle purchasers the chance to buy luxury Mallorca real estate at very low prices.

While we maintain that the Mallorca property market and the wider national and international economic backdrop remain "complicated" we feel that some buying opportunities are emerging particularly where current owner have over leveraged, have cash flow difficulties and are coming under pressure from the banks.

Amongst the opportunities now available in the market are - a spectacular 5* boutique hotel enjoying some of the best views in Mallorca; a luxury designer villa in Pollensa, a house with sea views in Costa de los Pinos, a luxury finca in South West Mallorca close to Andratx and a wonderful front line house near Porto Cristo.

The key for buyers is the availability of funds for the purchase as banks in Spain still have the lending tap firmly closed or at least loan to value ratios requiring equity inputs of around 40%, after costs, for non residents and 30% for residents.

Although unlike the luxury market, where asking prices are often far in excess of underlying values, asking prices reflect the urgency for a sale, thorough market research and due diligence is still required as not all forced sales are "cheap" especially where outstanding loans are in excess of the underlying value for the property. In these cases awaiting bank foreclosure may be the only option even if the paperwork is that much more complicated.

How Sellers Lose Thousands of Dollars Every Time They Sell a Property

Selling a home can be a very stressful situation for most people and you hire a real estate agent to relieve the stress from you. Unfortunately a common practice in real estate is to charge the vendor upfront marketing and advertising money which puts the financial commitment straight onto the vendors shoulders. This is done to make sure the vendor is committed to selling and the agent can easily condition the vendor down in price.

The question is if you are an agent that has been operating in the area for any amount of time shouldn't you have buyers already? So why do I have to pay for you to find more, and why would I pay advertising and then pay commission once the property is sold, that sounds too much like double dipping to me. You will find that the biggest part of any real estate advertisement is the name of the agency and probably a photo of the agent so you are actually paying for the agency to advertise their own profile.

Aside from advertising, another common trap is not putting a price on the property which you see way too often. The agent will say "its hard to tell in this market, its best to leave the price off and let the market tell us what its worth" This is a cop out because the agent is frightened of scaring you by telling you the truth about price and losing your business. Research shows that at least 50% of buyers overlook properties with no price, so in effect you are cutting out half of your inquiry.

That leads me to the next point which is over quoting the property value to get the business. Agents call this buying the listing and will then go through a process of conditioning the vendor in price which they refer to as "educating the vendor" There are many more practices in modern real estate which damage the value of property and cost home sellers tens of thousands of dollars each time they sell a property.

Sell Your Property in 3 Easy Steps

I guess you're wondering how on earth could it possible to sell any property in just 3 steps, when the financial world is in a state of meltdown, unemployment within the UK is at an all time high and to make matters worse the government who is supposed to lead us all out of this situation seem to enjoy spending our hard earned money or more important things like their second home allowance.

Seriously though for me and the 500 plus individuals who I have come in to contact with, the whole process of home selling has never been so easy. Well that's the feedback I have been receiving since writing this report. Say goodbye to broken chains, estate agents commissions, mass viewings with no results, time wasting so called buyers & months & in some cases years of waiting around. Say hello to the future a simple, free, easy & effective 3 step process that will give you all the insight & knowledge you will need in order to sell your property.

Step 1
Sorting Out any Debt

If you are like 95% of British homeowners you will have a mortgage with your home. You will need to contact your mortgage lender and find out how much you owe on your property including any penalty charges, if you do have a penalty charge for clearing your mortgage early it is worth while asking your lender how much it is and when it ends, as you may find out that for the sake of waiting a week or two you could save thousands of pounds in costs.

Step 2
Assess Your Savings

You now know exactly how much you need in order to clear your mortgage. If you have not done so already you will need to decide on what you plan to do when you move financially. Have you found a property to move in to? Do you need a mortgage? How much deposit do you have if any? Maybe you're going to rent or move back with your parents what ever you intend on doing questions like these will need to be answered. One of the main reasons I see people experience difficulties when trying to move is cash or lack of it, especially when in today's information age job security is a thing of the past. You must ensure that you're finances are in check & that you can with stand your move for at least the next six months.

Step 3
Find the Buyer

This is the easiest part of the process if you know where to go and what you want from the sale. When I sold my property over four years ago the whole process was as simple as making one phone call to someone who understood my situation and actually knew what to do and the rest as they say was history. After I contacted the buyer they sent two individuals to my house within 24 hours, which I much stress was a free visit. When they arrived they were polite & spent no longer than 20 minutes walking around my property taking notes, before they made me a firm and final cash offer there on the spot. I accepted the offer with a hand shake, and was then given a contract which stated that they will complete on the purchase of my property within a maximum of 14 working days, they also paid my legal fees in full. Even though this deal took place over four years ago when financially things were a lot better it took the whole process has not changed in fact it has got easier. It turned out that 7 days after I accepted their offer the deal was done and the remaining funds were in my account.

Listing Homes For Sale in the Newspaper

When you are listing homes for sale in the newspaper there are many things that you need to consider. These things include enticing the reader, contact information, and the type of ad you are going to list.

Listing homes for sale in the newspaper is difficult because you are limited on space. There are different ads that you can choose from and they all vary based on the size. The bigger the advertisement you want to use then the more you will have to pay for the ad. You can have an advertisement of the house with a photo and information or strictly text including the details. It is entirely up to you. A photo is beneficial if the house looks nice and is extremely attractive.

Enticing the reader can be really hard to do when you are limited on space. In a newspaper advertisement you will only be able to say about four lines of text about the home. The goal is to cram as much information into the little space provided as possible. Be sure to list the number of bedrooms and baths. Most people who are shopping for houses look based on the size of the house. The price should also be included. These three things are the most important. Anything else that is a benefit or an upgrade like a pool, hot tub, tennis courts, and other things should be included. These will help attract people who are interested. If you can fit it in the space also try to put the square footage because some potential buyers look by a minimum size of a home.

Never forget the contact information. There is no point of listing homes for sale in the paper if you forget to put your phone number for all potential buyers to call you. Put your preferred method of contact in the advertisement at the bottom and make sure that it is correct.

When you list homes for sale in the newspaper there are many things to consider. This advertisement is always limited to space so you must find a way to entice the readers by saying as much as you can about the home in as few words as possible. A picture of the house can be placed in the ad which is a good idea if your budget allows for it. Be sure to include the most pertinent information that buyers look for homes according to. Also, include the proper contact information or the ad will be of no use to anyone.

Listing Homes For Sale in the Newspaper

When you are listing homes for sale in the newspaper there are many things that you need to consider. These things include enticing the reader, contact information, and the type of ad you are going to list.

Listing homes for sale in the newspaper is difficult because you are limited on space. There are different ads that you can choose from and they all vary based on the size. The bigger the advertisement you want to use then the more you will have to pay for the ad. You can have an advertisement of the house with a photo and information or strictly text including the details. It is entirely up to you. A photo is beneficial if the house looks nice and is extremely attractive.

Enticing the reader can be really hard to do when you are limited on space. In a newspaper advertisement you will only be able to say about four lines of text about the home. The goal is to cram as much information into the little space provided as possible. Be sure to list the number of bedrooms and baths. Most people who are shopping for houses look based on the size of the house. The price should also be included. These three things are the most important. Anything else that is a benefit or an upgrade like a pool, hot tub, tennis courts, and other things should be included. These will help attract people who are interested. If you can fit it in the space also try to put the square footage because some potential buyers look by a minimum size of a home.

Never forget the contact information. There is no point of listing homes for sale in the paper if you forget to put your phone number for all potential buyers to call you. Put your preferred method of contact in the advertisement at the bottom and make sure that it is correct.

When you list homes for sale in the newspaper there are many things to consider. This advertisement is always limited to space so you must find a way to entice the readers by saying as much as you can about the home in as few words as possible. A picture of the house can be placed in the ad which is a good idea if your budget allows for it. Be sure to include the most pertinent information that buyers look for homes according to. Also, include the proper contact information or the ad will be of no use to anyone.

Top 7 Things to Do Before You Sell Your Home

Selling your home is a big decision accompanied by many smaller decisions. One of the smaller, but meaningful decisions to be made is how to get your home into showing condition. After all, a clean, presentable home will help sell your home far faster than nearby homes with homeowners who just slapped a for sale sign in the front yard without thinking ahead. Here are seven tips on what you should do before selling your home:

Clean the windows on both sides. - A big no no when showing your home is to have dirty, grimy windows. Depending on the climate you live in your windows may need to be cleaned more often. The worst thing that can happen during a tour of your home is for a buyer to look through the window and see the last three years of pollen instead of your beautiful backyard. Clean, clean, clean!

Power wash the exterior siding. - Buyers are very perceptive to even the most minor details about your home including dirty siding. If a buyer sees siding that doesn't look like its been cleaned recently they become set in the idea that you may not take great care of the rest of the home. Power wash the siding at least once every 3 months while your home is on the market.

Replace the kitchen appliances. - This isn't an absolute must but if your appliances are more than five years old and/or heavily used then your $5,000 investment into new appliances will pay off three fold when you sell your home. Often buyers look at your appliances and try to assess whether they'll need to be replaced soon after they move in. Take this worry off their mind so they don't take thousands off their offer price.

Professionally clean the carpets. - If you live in your home then you are almost guaranteed to have a few carpet stains from muddy days or accidental spills. Hire a professional cleaning service or rent a carpet cleaner from a home improvement store to freshen your home's carpeted surfaces.

Re-purpose multi-use rooms. - Everyone has a catch-all room that pulls double, triple or even quadruple duty as a home office, dining room and rec room. Redefine this room for a singular purpose so that home buyers don't need to think about what the space is supposed to be used as.

De-clutter workstations and busy places. - Have you ever come home and dropped the mail in one spot while you get settled in? That's a workstation. Mail drops, key hangers and other central stations in the house are prime clutter zones and serve as eye sores to buyers looking for the best value per square foot in a home. Keep these areas clean while showing your home and you're likely to sell your home sooner.

Put new comforters on all of the beds. - Comforters are a lot like family heirlooms in that they tend to stick around for a really long time. Sometimes it's a pass down from an older sibling or family member but after a while you'll end up with an eclectic collection of bed covers in your home. Spend a couple hundred dollars on stylish, up to date comforters that fit the ambiance of each room. Your guests and visitors will appreciate it!

Now that you have seven new ways to improve upon the first impression your home makes on a buyer you can get out there and get your home sold sooner with an offer price much closer to what you're asking.