Selling to a neighbor – that's why only use a real estate agent

"I'm so lucky!" thought Käthe Kirschner. She had told her neighbor, a friendly young father, about her plans: she was going to sell her house and move into a retirement community with her old childhood friend, Bärbel. And sure enough, her neighbor promptly offered her €250,000 for her house and even promised to help her move. It couldn't have been better, could it?

Käthe excitedly tells her friend Bärbel about the great offer from their neighbor. But Bärbel reacts differently than expected. "Don't you think you could get much more for your house? Don't you find it strange that your neighbor is surprising you so quickly with an offer? He probably thinks he can get a great deal from you because you have no idea what your house is worth!"

Käthe ponders. Since her husband died and she has had to manage all business matters on her own, she's made a firm resolution: I won't be ripped off! But when it comes to the house, she genuinely doesn't know what a fair price would be. She and her husband had a building society savings contract back then and built the house themselves. That was over forty years ago, so the prices from back then no longer provide any benchmark. To be able to negotiate a price, Käthe first needs to find out what her house is really worth today.

Bärbel's son is friends with a real estate agent. Käthe decides she'll talk to her. She's heard about a new law that prohibits offering real estate agent services to sellers for free. But she can always listen to what the agent suggests first.

The next day, Käthe calls the friendly real estate agent. The agent explains exactly what she will do to sell Bärbel's house for the market price. First, after a thorough inspection, she will have the property professionally appraised, meaning she will determine its current market value. Based on this, she and Käthe will set an asking price. Then, she will ensure that as many potential buyers as possible learn about Käthe's property. The more people interested in buying her house, the better for Käthe. She can then achieve an even better price if there is competition among several bidders.

A few months later, Käthe sits with her competent real estate agent at the notary's office and signs the purchase agreement. She sells to a wonderfully nice young family – and they are just as happy with the sale price of €360,000 as Käthe. Käthe is now truly glad that she listened to Bärbel's advice not to simply accept the first offer from a neighbor. She knows perfectly well that without the professional support of her real estate agent, the sale certainly wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Käthe considers it only fair and reasonable that she pays her agent half of the total 6 percent of the sale price as commission for this excellent work.

Do you want to find out if your neighbor's offer reflects the value of your property? Or if you could potentially get more? Contact us. We'd be happy to advise you.

No results found:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immobilienmarkt

https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/241517/umfrage/verhaeltnis-zu-den-nachbarnn-in-deutschland/

Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice for any specific case. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your individual situation.

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