A LOOK BACK AT THE SALE OF THE HOUSE IN LIDMAN

The sale of the house in Lidman town ended up being a coveted success, but looking back on the whole deal, I can confidently say that it was one of the most difficult transactions I have had the opportunity to deal with. And how did it all start in the first place?

Every real estate story is unique. Many people who don’t have a greater understanding of the business may think that our job is to take pictures of a property (often by phone), advertise it and wait for a buyer to come along. The truth is that this represents only a few percent of everything. And that’s not even mentioning how to handle a quality promotion. If a real estate broker is fully committed to real estate, he or she is essentially functioning not only as a salesperson working with a strong legal department, but also as a marketer, sometimes a financial advisor and, if I may say so, a therapist/psychologist who must properly empathize with the needs of clients and, based on that, find the most ideal solution for them in a given situation. And the necessary basis for everything is communication. Not everyone has to be an extrovert right away, but there is definitely a need to be in regular contact with everyone involved and to respond to unexpected changes. This story just underlines everything.

I met the client (seller) and his partner at a viewing of another house I had listed. Even though it didn’t meet their expectations, we talked about their situation and came to the conclusion that they would need to sell their house as well. We agreed that I would come and take a look at it, assess the situation and maybe we could work something out. When we later got in touch to discuss a possible sale price and other details, the client decided to use my services, with the understanding that we would wait until the rest of the snow was gone so that my team and I could get to work. And because it’s a unique house, we really took the time to make a video. The filming then included barbecues, climbing the tower, archery… in short, we certainly weren’t bored. 😊

Then came the advertising, social media promotion and working with interested parties. The latter was not the easiest, as it required a slightly longer time investment than is normally necessary. I spoke with everyone on the phone, often for several dozen minutes, to prepare the person in advance. The reasons were the history of the house and its technical condition. To make a long story short, it was necessary to explain to everyone that relatives of the original owner of the house have a cottage located on a plot of land between three neighbours, including my client. However, they had lost access to the land as they simply did not want to deal with the council on this matter, even over many years when they had many opportunities to do so. They subsequently tried to negotiate it with each of the neighbours (again including my client) but got nowhere. So, they started to resolve it legally with the neighbour whose property is the easiest to get to their cottage. Fortunately for us, this was not our case, plus I had the solicitor check that we were safe. Since almost nothing is ever 100%, she gave me at least 99% clearance. In addition, then the meter for this house was located on someone else’s property, but the owner has always been absolutely great to deal with as far as access. It’s just that not everyone responded positively to this, and so we agreed with some before the viewing that the property would not be right for them.

It was March at the time. The conflict in Ukraine and slowly but surely rising interest rates made it difficult to sell. It was clear that the market was starting to cool down, but there was still plenty to work with. The house went on the market for 6.000.000 CZK, but there were noticeably fewer interested parties compared to last year. Some would finance with cash and some with a mortgage, but those who did were planning to take advantage of the fixed interest. In the end, we agreed with just such an interested party. And within two weeks of advertising, we had a reservation. The client was thrilled, so was I, and the buyer was looking forward to taking possession of the house with her husband in the coming months. But what made this transaction even more special was that, in addition to the mortgage, the money acquired from the buyers’ house being sold was to form part of the financing. Therefore, even though everything looked promising at the beginning, the sale gradually started to drag on.

The reservation contract was signed for three and a half months. During that time, the buyers stopped working with their unsuccessful cooperating real estate agent and embarked on the sale on their own. It wasn’t that we couldn’t get along, but unfamiliarity with the location, little time and the extreme distance unfortunately were simply against it. Fortunately, new people started to contact them slowly, but we were running out of precious time. Then other personal matters began to weigh on my client and the sale had to be postponed as soon as possible. And so we also reached a point where we were deciding whether to go ahead with the sale when the situation had not moved at all in the last few months. It was just apparent by then that finding new buyers who would fall in love with the house like those we were dealing with would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Interest rates had risen dramatically and the market seemed to have really frozen. When there was a buyer, it was mostly for properties up to about 3.000.000 CZK.

It was for this reason that it was clear that we had to bring this case to an end in any way we could, otherwise we could either drag the sale out even more if we started it again, or the client would probably have to accept a significantly lower purchase price. And while certainly not everyone would do that, it was the seller who suggested that if the buyers could manage to finance the house by the end of the year under certain conditions, they would be allowed to do so if all parties involved signed legalities that would make the seller as secure as possible and guarantee the aforementioned. Eventually, our wonderful attorney and I figured out how to handle the whole thing. It cost us several addendums, meetings with a notary, long negotiations with banks, financing in stages, arranging an extra loan, and most importantly, really strong nerves and some extra white hair to get it all done. But in the end, we did it. In the meantime, the buyers even managed to find a buyer for their house, although financing was not easy for them either. They’re all struggling with the same thing now. Either with too high interest rates on mortgages or with selling their own property to buy another.

As a result, we have arrived at the desired success. Our original plan to get everything done in a few weeks dragged on for several months. All in all, the sale took over half a year. But we were never going to give up. It was challenging, but if it was easy, it would be boring and everyone would be doing it. I hereby have to thank once again all those who lived through it with me, because without a concerted effort, keeping a positive attitude, and although it wasn’t always easy, keeping a cool head, we probably wouldn’t have made it to a successful finale. This was then made all the more beautiful when the selling client offered me a hug, and we haven’t stopped in touch since, and I’m confident that a truly long-lasting friendship will come out of this fierce business relationship. And that’s why I love this job so much, because even though it’s not always easy, the results it brings you are simply priceless…

If you too have been thinking about selling your property, or just are already dealing with some real estate matters, don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. We can have a good coffee, discuss your situation and find the most ideal solution together. And if we go into it together, as always, I’ll take care of everything so you don’t have to!