A
archie159
New Member
Hello,
I have a question about the best method of selling a property, and hope someone could provide some useful advice.
The background is as follows: My wife (who is German) and I (British) own a small (relatively - 600 sq meters living area, plus cellar and attic, 10,000 sq meters property area) early 20th century neo-Baroque style "Schloss" (actually it is really more of a large Gutshaus, but is known by all and sundry in the region as a Schloss) which for various reasons we are thinking about selling. It is located about 35 mins drive east of Berlin Schoenefeld Airport, or 50-60 mins to central Berlin; Bad Saarow is about 15 mins drive, and there are numerous lakes and woods in the area, and local tourism is definitely on the rise. It is probably best described as partly-renovated, though in fact it is in amazingly good condition in and out, with a modern heating system (Viessmann boiler). It has never stood empty, and could comfortably be lived in today (we do this almost every holiday). That being said, almost anyone buying it would certainly want to spend a hundred thousand euros or so on redecoration and renovations (much of the inside was last renovated by a DDR-era concern for use of its employees, and the style shows),and there are a number of other renovations which, whilst optional, would probably be required by most people - these could cost a couple of hundred thousand euros more, or, if your tastes were expensive, a lot more than that.
What everyone who has seen it agrees is that it is an amazingly beautiful, well located property, in excellent condition for the circumstances (notwithstanding my comments above about renovations required),which could make a lovely large family home (or a home for a 2-3 retired couples),or a small country-house hotel, company out-post, conference centre or similar. We bought it about 3 years ago with the intention, in due course, of living full-time in about half of it, and creating 2 holiday apartments in the rest as additional income; in the meanwhile we have used it as a rather large holiday home (with plenty of space for friends to visit),and let other friends live in it for periods while we were away. However our personal circumstances have changed recently somewhat, and we are now not certain whether our original plan would still be the best one - I must emphasise that this would not be a sale out of desperation, we are not in a rush for the money, and it is still possible that we will decide to stick with our original plans. However we are both agreed that it would be sensible to consider selling - a major deciding factor would probably be how much we could sell the house for. And this brings me to my question!!
When we bought the house we were amazed at how badly it was marketed - we had looked at numerous similar houses over the previous year, had spent much time consulting with agents and on the internet, yet had never come across this house. We only heard about it via a local contact, and it was quite tricky to identify the selling agent. In comparison to the 20 or so other properties we had seen, it was unquestionably the nicest house and the worst marketed - I am sure that the agent had never sold anything similar. If we decide to sell it, I would like to find someone who specialises in similar properties, and who would know how to market it properly - I would see the main potential buyers as wealthy Berliners looking to move a short way out of the city (but still remaining close enough to make use of its attractions),Germans living overseas who wish to invest in a family home for when they return to Germany, possibly German or international investors or entrepreneurs, possibly a company looking for a place where they could hold out-of-town seminars etc, or a number of other clients; maybe even a London banker who wants to invest his bonus in a slightly alternative "country pad" (easy to reach by air from London for a wild weekend)!!! I have no illusions that selling it could be tricky, and is unlikely to be quick, yet we are constantly told by visitors (some of whom live in similar or larger houses) that it is a dream home. So: does anyone know of any specialist property sellers who might be interesting in selling this house? I would be initially after an estimate of what they think it might realistically sell for (without needing to rush the sale),and if their estimate was sufficient, we could decide to go ahead soon.
Many thanks for any comments/advice, and thanks for reading such a long post!
"Archie"
I have a question about the best method of selling a property, and hope someone could provide some useful advice.
The background is as follows: My wife (who is German) and I (British) own a small (relatively - 600 sq meters living area, plus cellar and attic, 10,000 sq meters property area) early 20th century neo-Baroque style "Schloss" (actually it is really more of a large Gutshaus, but is known by all and sundry in the region as a Schloss) which for various reasons we are thinking about selling. It is located about 35 mins drive east of Berlin Schoenefeld Airport, or 50-60 mins to central Berlin; Bad Saarow is about 15 mins drive, and there are numerous lakes and woods in the area, and local tourism is definitely on the rise. It is probably best described as partly-renovated, though in fact it is in amazingly good condition in and out, with a modern heating system (Viessmann boiler). It has never stood empty, and could comfortably be lived in today (we do this almost every holiday). That being said, almost anyone buying it would certainly want to spend a hundred thousand euros or so on redecoration and renovations (much of the inside was last renovated by a DDR-era concern for use of its employees, and the style shows),and there are a number of other renovations which, whilst optional, would probably be required by most people - these could cost a couple of hundred thousand euros more, or, if your tastes were expensive, a lot more than that.
What everyone who has seen it agrees is that it is an amazingly beautiful, well located property, in excellent condition for the circumstances (notwithstanding my comments above about renovations required),which could make a lovely large family home (or a home for a 2-3 retired couples),or a small country-house hotel, company out-post, conference centre or similar. We bought it about 3 years ago with the intention, in due course, of living full-time in about half of it, and creating 2 holiday apartments in the rest as additional income; in the meanwhile we have used it as a rather large holiday home (with plenty of space for friends to visit),and let other friends live in it for periods while we were away. However our personal circumstances have changed recently somewhat, and we are now not certain whether our original plan would still be the best one - I must emphasise that this would not be a sale out of desperation, we are not in a rush for the money, and it is still possible that we will decide to stick with our original plans. However we are both agreed that it would be sensible to consider selling - a major deciding factor would probably be how much we could sell the house for. And this brings me to my question!!
When we bought the house we were amazed at how badly it was marketed - we had looked at numerous similar houses over the previous year, had spent much time consulting with agents and on the internet, yet had never come across this house. We only heard about it via a local contact, and it was quite tricky to identify the selling agent. In comparison to the 20 or so other properties we had seen, it was unquestionably the nicest house and the worst marketed - I am sure that the agent had never sold anything similar. If we decide to sell it, I would like to find someone who specialises in similar properties, and who would know how to market it properly - I would see the main potential buyers as wealthy Berliners looking to move a short way out of the city (but still remaining close enough to make use of its attractions),Germans living overseas who wish to invest in a family home for when they return to Germany, possibly German or international investors or entrepreneurs, possibly a company looking for a place where they could hold out-of-town seminars etc, or a number of other clients; maybe even a London banker who wants to invest his bonus in a slightly alternative "country pad" (easy to reach by air from London for a wild weekend)!!! I have no illusions that selling it could be tricky, and is unlikely to be quick, yet we are constantly told by visitors (some of whom live in similar or larger houses) that it is a dream home. So: does anyone know of any specialist property sellers who might be interesting in selling this house? I would be initially after an estimate of what they think it might realistically sell for (without needing to rush the sale),and if their estimate was sufficient, we could decide to go ahead soon.
Many thanks for any comments/advice, and thanks for reading such a long post!
"Archie"
