Whether you are relocating to another town or country or you are upgrading your property to something bigger and better in Marbella – Costa del Sol, the most important thing you will need to do is selling your property in Marbella before you can move on to bigger and better things.

At Marbella Dream Living we deal with booth the sales and purchase of properties all over the Costa del Sol. Regardless if your property is a 2 bed duplex in Nueva Andalucia or a 10 bed villa in Puerto Banus, we have the experience and knowledge to guide you through the entire process making it a simple and enjoyable experience rather than a stressful and confusing nightmare!

Selling property in Marbella does not have to be difficult. If you set the right price and are prepared to do some easy and economic DIY renovations, you will soon find your property selling faster than that of your neighbours.

Here are a few tips on how to sell your Marbella property faster and with minimum effort.

When you start selling property in Marbella, or on the Costa del Sol, then you need every possible ‘edge’ to have any chance of success.

We recommend to all our sellers to prepare their property for sale by:

1. Maximising what they have
2. Focus upon ensuring that the critical first impression of a ‘buyer’ will be always positive.

This is not just about finishing minor repair jobs around the property; it is also about the subtle psychology of making your home look attractive and tempting which revolves around light and space, ‘feel’ and ambience.

Top tips on what you can do with very little investment are:

• Get rid of unnecessary clutter in your house, less is more!
• Tidy up the garden and plant some colourful plants on the driveway
• Use only plain and neutral colours if you are thinking of painting the property
• Wash the curtains and put scented candles in every room, make it smell nice and fresh
• Clean the windows! You would be surprised what difference a clean unobstructed view can make!
• Put small flower arrangements in each room, it gives a feel of a welcoming environment (fake flowers work too, just make sure they are not dusty and not too tacky! )
• Remove all personal items such as pictures, kids drawings and all those little trinkets you collected on your travels. Anyone viewing your property wants to imagine themselves living in it, and it is harder to do this when your personal stamp is still visible in the property.
• Do small repairs. Walk through your home and fix the loose tap, paint /fill the cracks in the wall, fix all light bulbs and replace broken floor tiles
• Tidy up the bathroom! It’s funny how many people make their home look great but then forget to put the toothpaste and brushes away! Make sure your bathroom is free of any personal items, put it all in a box in the cupboard so you can keep using it, but is hidden away when your potential buyer arrives.
• Print a few “fact sheets” about the property. e.g. where’s the nearest bus stop, what shops are in the area, what is remarkable about the area, points of interests, schools etc. Just write down what you like about living in the property. Leave the sheets on the dining table and give one to each visitor. They will appreciate the personal touch.
• Clean your pool, make sure it looks inviting and the water looks fresh and clean. Make sure the terrace furniture has cushions on them and roll up a towel on the foot of each sun lounger, make your visitor feel they want to jump in now!
• Declutter your kitchen. Take all your kitchen utensils, all your pots and pans you usually have on display and keep the kitchen surface completely empty (bar a basket of lemons and oranges for decor of course!). This way your potential buyer can imagine their own utensils in your kitchen, plus your kitchen all of the sudden grew in size! Oh, and don’t forget fridge magnets… no one wants to see those!
• Does your home have a great view to the mountains or sea but has recently been obstructed by that massive pine tree you never bothered to cut down?? Cut it down! It could be a make or break point in your negotiations!
• Do you have neighbours with teenage kids that make a whole lot of racket when they come back from school every afternoon? Make sure you schedule viewings only when they are not around. (it’s a bit naughty, but you got used to them and so will the new owners, plus… they will grow up soon enough!)
• When visitors come, leave the TV off, and make sure the dishwasher / dryer / washer or any other machines that make noise are switched off so they can appreciate the tranquility of your home.

Selling property in Marbella also requires detailed knowledge, preparation, determination and constant, daily attention. Marbella Dream Living has the experience and knowledge to bring both the seller and the buyer together.

Our pro-active business strategy incorporates one of the most leading property web portals in Europe, thus enabling us the opportunity to promote and sell your Spanish home internationally.

With over 90% of potential home buyer’s and investors now using online resources to find a property in Spain, our vast online marketing network provides us the exposure needed to find the perfect buyer for your Spanish property in the shortest time possible.

Top Tips to ensure your property shines online:

Great photography

It is better to have 10 amazing images than 20 images that don’t say much about your property. Research shows that a property with professional images gets viewed 90% faster than properties with average, mediocre or no photography.

Create a virtual experience

Many property buyers, especially in Marbella, will come from a different part of the country and in the case of the Costa del Sol, usually from a different part of the world. The first impression they will get from your property is by seeing it online.

You can give them the feel of being inside your property by providing them with a virtual tour of your home. A 360º tour will give your potential buyer the feeling as if he is inside your home and can look at every room from every angle.

Make a video

A short introduction video of your property can speak a thousand words. You can start with some shots of the area where your property is located, like local restaurants, the gold courses, the communal pools etc, and then have a few shots from inside the house. Don’t show every room, leave something to the imagination and ensure the client calls you for a visit because they want to see the rest.

Add a voiceover to the video explaining certain features of the property and add some relaxing background music et voila! You have yourself a professional presentation of your home that you can forward to friends, share on social media and send to potential buyers.

Following the Royal Decree issued on 1st June 2013 it is now compulsory for property owners in Spain to obtain an Energy Certificate.

Marbella Dream Living have an official authorised technician who can obtain the certificate but of course one is free to choose the technician of choice. What is important is that the property comes with a certificate so the real estate agent is allowed to sell or rent the property. Without the certificate, the property can not be put on the market.

Top Tips on Selling property in Marbella – Costa del Sol, by Marbella Dream Living

A various number of these may be evident, however if you can tick each one as done, then you are sure to have a better chance of selling property in Marbella quicker than any other property…

• Paperwork

Have all your property-related paperwork available (copia simple, escritura, etc.), in addition a set of copies prepared for us to take back to our office.

• Bills Paid

Ensure all your bills (utilities, property taxes, community fees, garbage collection, etc.), are paid up to date, and copies of all receipts are available for the realtors files.

• Accessibility

Be available for viewing appointments. If you truly want to sell, then you cannot afford to miss a single prospect.

• Keys

Do not shut us out! If you are going away, please, either give us a set of keys or let us know where we can collect them.

• Appearance

Display your home to maximum advantage. Make sure it is looking at its best for each and every viewing.

• Redecoration

If your property has seen better days, maybe it is time to consider some home improvements…

• Realistic value

Be realistic and straightforward about the price you are looking for. Just tell us what you have in mind. We will then do our market research and advice you on the price we would realistically be able to ask for.

Sometimes this amount might be lower but in some cases it might even be higher! Let our expert opinion guide you to the ideal asking price.

If your property is in need of a new kitchen and you have the funds to update this feature, we highly recommend you go ahead with this before the sale.

A simple kitchen worth 3000€ might add over 10.000€ of added value to your property, so it is definitely worth investing in if you have the funds.

Leave it to the experts

We can’t emphasise enough, when it comes to selling property in Marbella it is best to leave it to the experts to ensure you get the best deal and have the minimum amount of stress during the process.

You have an emotional attachment to your home, whether you know it or not, and this can seriously hamper a good sales pitch. Your potential buyer

might visit your property and make remarks about the outdated wallpaper that your late grandfather helped putting up. This is guaranteed to give you a bad feeling and you might even defend your position which in turn does not help the visitor in making any decisions.

You need to be away when the visitor comes to view the house so they can ask any question, knowing they won’t offend anyone, and equally won’t feel put down when they make suggestions on how to improve the home.

In a realtor’s opinion, when a visitor starts imagining on how they can “refurb” the home to their liking, the sale is already 50% on the way!

At Marbella Dream Living we know selling property in Marbella is not an easy feat, but can be made a lot easier if you follow the above advice. Of course, for a personalised opinion on your property in Marbella you can always contact us and arrange a free consultation about your property and the sales techniques we would use to sell your property in Marbella faster!