SALES GUIDE

Selling a property cannot be improvised. It sometimes requires patience, an accumulation of stages and solid knowledge. In order to sell it at the best price and in the shortest possible time, it is also necessary to know the market, to advertise on the right media and to have an acute commercial sense in order to know how to achieve the best outcomes and enhance the property's presentation.

The different stages of the sales process:

1. An accurate valuation to define the price:

The first step is to have an objective valuation in line with the market.

To do so, one of the brokers of our agency will fix an appointment with you to visit your property, in order to collect a maximum of information which will help her/him to valuate it at the fairest price.

Thereafter a detailed valuation report of your property will be given, using several evaluation methods in order to minimize the notion of subjectivity:

Data from previous transactions carried out by our agency, as well as official records published by the French administration and notaries.
Several statistical tools that allow us to cross-reference data and take into account similar properties currently for sale.
Our knowledge of the market, current trends and future projects in the area.

2. Signature of a sales mandate:

The signing of a mandate makes your collaboration with the agency official and your decision to sell your property.

In this mandate, the main information concerning the identity of the seller, the property's identity, its legal and contractual situation, the price, the commissions, the conditions of distribution and access, etc. will be defined.

The sale mandate can be either:

Exclusive: only the mandated agency will be authorized to commercialize your property. There are several advantages to sign this type of mandate :
1. The agency will dedicate more important financial and human resources, in order to maximize its chances of selling your property in the best time and conditions.
2. It will work freely with other real estate players in order to have the largest network of potential clients.
3. You will have a single representative who will centralize all the requests of potential buyers and will perfectly know your property and the related information disclosed.
Co-exclusive: same principle as for the exclusive mandate but the exclusivity is shared between two real estate agencies. This may be of interest if you feel that two agencies can be complementary, particularly in terms of approach and clientele.
Simple : this mandate allows the agency and any other real estate players to act independently and in competition to represent your interests.

3. Displaying and advertising your property for sale:

Displaying and advertising your property for sale. For this purpose, we will take photos or call a professional photographer. If necessary, we can also assist you to maximize the value of your property by performing "home staging" and give it the best chances of seducing potential buyers, with minimal expenses. We will define the best marketing strategy and you will benefit from our various media (websites, social networks, shop window, local press, specialized press), our database of hundreds of potential buyers, intermediaries and prescribers.

4. Personalised visits:

Thanks to the flexibility of our schedules and our reactivity, the visits will be optimised. Organization of viewings with potential buyers always along one of our brokers. We will follow up weekly by letting you know about their feelings and feedbacks collected during the visit.

5. Buying offer and negotiation:

As soon as we receive a buying offer with a solid file, we will contact you to present it in detail.

Once the offer has been presented, the property is said to be "under offer".

In many cases, buyers will make an offer at a different price with more or less restrictive conditions precedent. We will help you to understand this offer and to lead the eventual negotiations in defense of your interests.

6. Acceptance of the offer:

As soon as you accept the buying offer, we will prepare and forward the necessary documents for the preparation of the preliminary sales agreement in coordination with the notary and the two parties.

7. Preliminary sale agreement:

The preliminary sales agreement formalises the commitment of the parties to the price of the property and establishes the conditions under which the sale will be made. It is at this point that the general terms and conditions, and any special conditions and conditions precedent of the transaction, must be specified. It is also in the preliminary sales agreement that the deadline by which the final deed of sale must be signed has to be specified.

Mandatory documents for the seller are:

A proof of identity, such as an ID Card or a passport.
Document regarding marital status:
- If married: a copy of the marriage contract in order to know the regime chosen and therefore the impact that the sale will have on his estate
- If civil union: certificate of civil union
- If divorced, the divorce decree
A copy of the family register

The seller must also provide a set of documents relating to the property, in order to inform the buyer of its details. The seller therefore has a duty of information and transparency towards the buyer.

Thus, it must provide:

The notarial deed or a certificate of ownership certified by the notary. This document certifies the name of the seller and the address of the property sold. It also contains the full description of the property, its surface area and the specificities to be known.
The property tax: an important element in the decision-making process, it informs the buyer of the annual taxes that must be paid.
Documents relating to the various works carried out: in the case of a renovation or extension which required a prior application to the town hall, it is compulsory to provide the building permit granted as well as the declaration of completion of the works.
If the property is sold rented, the landlord must provide the lease, the last three rent receipts and the tenant's inventory of fixtures.
In addition to these elements, there is the Technical Diagnostic File (DDT). This is the essential element for the signature of a pre-contract, the file brings together all the diagnostics attesting to the state of the property and what it contains. Depending on its composition and date of construction, each dwelling has its own DDT..

A complete Technical Diagnostic File must include:

Energy Performance Diagnosis
Report on the condition of the building relating to the presence of termites
Report on the state of the internal electricity installation
Report on the state of the internal gas installation
CREP: report on the risks of exposure to lead
Report on the identification of materials and products containing asbestos
State of risks and pollution (ERP),
And for a property in co-ownership, a diagnosis of the surface area under the Carrez law is compulsory.

When selling a property in co-ownership residence, the seller has to provide more information. As the property is sold in a condominium complex, the seller has rights and duties that are regulated by official documents

Some official documents must be provided by the owner and others are requested from the syndic by the notary:

The Rules of Co-ownership
Descriptive State of Division (EDD),
The last three years of the General Assembly,
The maintenance booklet,
The certificate of registration of the co-ownership,
The pre-dated statement,
The last three statements of charges.

The notary will draw up the preliminary sales agreement on the basis of these elements.

As soon as the deed is signed by the parties, the purchaser will have a period of 10 days to retract.

This period runs from the date of receipt of the preliminary sales agreement by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. During this period, the withdrawal will be made without any justification and without penalty.

During this 10-day period, the buyer must pay a deposit corresponding to a down payment of 5 to 10% of the price into an escrow account at the notary's office.

8. The final sale « acte authentique »:

Between the buyer's possible loan agreement (between thirty and forty-five days), the possible purging of the right of pre-emption (maximum eight weeks), the steps taken by the notary who gathers the information and documents required to compile the sale file (civil status documents, mortgage status, cadastral extract, town planning file, technical diagnosis, syndic's questionnaire, etc.) from the authorities, and the lifting of your possible mortgage, it will take about three months from the signing of the preliminary sales agreement before you can sign the deed.

As soon as you and the buyer sign the deed of sale, responsibility will be transferred to the new owner.

A title deed will be given to you later after the deed has been registered at the mortgage office. Legally, as long as the deed has not been filed for transcription, "third parties", i.e. persons other than the parties to the deed, cannot take cognisance of it.

Thus, between the deed of sale and its transcription, the property sold could still be subject to seizure by the seller's creditors. It is to avoid this kind of difficulty that the deeds are always filed very quickly for transcription.

Finally, you will hand over the keys to the new owner and receive the funds from the notary a few days after signing.

Being accompanied by a real estate professional is a precious help when you decide to sell your property. Apart from all the work you won't have to do, it is above all the assurance of selling at the best price, in the shortest time and without complications, thanks to our know-how and our network.

We will support you until the final deed of sale is signed at the notary's office and the funds are received, and beyond if you have a new real estate project.

Don't wait any longer, contact us without any commitment and in complete confidentiality to discuss your project and we will be delighted to help you make it real by guiding you through the different stages.