At the end of November, the property known as “Podere Cervara” has been officially sold to an international couple. Today, after Hariet Nijhuis – the buyers’ consultant – we are going to meet Suzanne Van Ravenstein – the vendors’ one.
THE VENDOR AND HIS PROPERTY
The ex-owner of “Podere Cervara” is Italian. He purchased and started its renovation in 2007. His first intention, together with his family, was to permanently move in there. However, because of some personal reasons, he had to change his mind.
“Podere Cercara” presents some very interesting features. It is a very well-maintained farmhouse with a great renovation and an amazing location: between Orvieto and the Bolsena Lake, immersed into an oasis of tranquillity and a centuries-old oak forest (discover here the property).
The client contacted us for the first time through the GE website, but his property was already in the market both privately and with some agencies. For this reason, he decided to give us a free assignment for sale including a silver marketing plan and a drone video.
THE PROPERTY ESTIMATE
In 2016, I personally created the property estimate through our “The Best Price” system: our software suggested a value of about € 640.000. However, the vendor’s decision of selling with our Group came just one year later. His asking price was decisively higher than my estimate (€ 890.000).
Because of an almost total lack of interest towards his property, we had finally agreed a gradual price changing. In 2019, the asking price was of € 645.000.
MY FINAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE SALE
During this sale, I had to face a very “singular” vendor. He firmly thought that his house had a different and higher value than the final one. As already said, he purchased it in 2007, before the real estate market crisis. The price he paid was very important, while the renovation cost him a lot both in terms of money and effort. Then, because of some personal problems, he was not able to realize his life-project.
The vendor has always been present, kind and helpful until the moment we presented him the purchase offer signed by the buyers. After that moment, his attitude towards us has really changed: he started to comment on our Group and work.
A small but fundamental final explanation: with specific reference to the technical-urbanistic property documents, “Podere Cervara” had no certificate of occupancy. We were able to obtain it just at the moment of the purchase offer signing.
As already said by my colleagues, I want to underline that, if you decide to sell your home, it is mandatory – not just for us as an agency, but to avoid any problem during the whole process too – that all the urbanistic-cadastral-mortgage papers of the property are present, complete and available.
In absence of these documents and/or in presence of discrepancies, it is fundamental that the vendor makes a trusted specialist create a due diligence of his/her property: an essential aspect for the positive conclusion of a negotiation, something that many vendors are still underestimating.
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