Top tips for an easy sale

Why do some properties sell in a flash when others take a lot longer? If you are the owner of a property in the French Alps and you want to sell your property for a competitive price then here are some top tips for an easy sale:

• Tidy up - it may sound obvious but unmade beds and dirty bathrooms definitely make buyers feel the property is unloved.
• Lighting - a dark and gloomy property is not welcoming to buyers. Investment in decent overhead and side lamps can make all the difference.
• Provide keys to cellars, ski lockers and garages - buyers do want to see what they are getting.
• Remove any non-essential furniture to provide a sense of space - particularly in smaller apartments.
• Arrange your furniture - show buyers there are defined areas for dining, watching TV and sleeping - particularly in smaller properties.
• Create a home - warm fabrics and neutral tones make a property feel welcoming and appealing.
• Be realistic - if you have asked an estate agent for a valuation be realistic if it does not match your expectations. We want to sell your property at the best price too but we also can't achieve miracles if the sale price is way beyond the market rate.
• Be honest - tell us about any flaws or issues related to the property. It is better to inform the buyers up front rather than losing their trust later down the line.
• Be informative - if you let the property out tell us how much for, when it is let and how you market the lettings. Include any website and future lettings in the sale of the property - many buyers also want to make a rental income as soon as possible.
• Consider selling furnished - if you don't have a second holiday home to move into then you could include the furniture and equipment in the sale - one less expense for you (shipping back to the UK) and one less expense for today's price-conscious buyer.
• Be flexible - buyers today expect to negotiate so factor this into your finances in advance and let us know if there is room to manoeuvre.
• Choose the right agent - make sure your sales representative is fully qualified and licensed to sell property in France, a member of a recognised trade association (such as FNAIM) and has a clear and competitive commission structure - be cautious if your agent has no office, can only be contacted via a mobile phone number and is not an qualified estate agent - would you want to hand someone like this the keys to your investment?

For more details on how Ascendant can help you sell your alpine property please contact us.

Releasing equity?

If you are the owner of a ski apartment or chalet in the French Alps we would like to highlight the opportunity of arranging an equity release on your French property. As you probably know, equity release means you can release capital tied up in your property in France for home improvements or even a personal project without an obligation to demonstrate the use of the funds to the bank.

The combination of the weak pound, the price falls in the UK residential property market plus the drying up of mortgage supply in the UK might prove to be the right time to organise an equity release in Euros from your French property.

Ascendant’s long term partnership with one of the leading French mortgage specialists means that we can help non-residents to arrange mortgages for our clients. Our partners have an agency based in Annecy and their English-speaking mortgage advisor is available to draft quotations for you via email or over the telephone.

If you already own a ski or lakeside property in this part of France with or without a mortgage on it, our partners can offer you a release of funds up to 70% of the net value of your French property.

A large number of our clients use equity release to fund renovation on their French property e.g. build a swimming pool or just making their property debt work in order to build their property portfolio and overall net wealth.

If you would like to know more about how we can help you to release equity on your French property, please contact us for more details.

Calling all vendors

If you own a property in the French Alps that you would like to sell, then we would love to hear from you. We currently have buyers seeking chalets and apartments for sale in the major ski resorts of the northern Alps, as well as around the banks of Lake Annecy.

Despite a sluggish market brought on by the global economic slow down, there still remains very little high quality property for sale in this beautiful region. We are seeking resort centre or lakeside properties that are in good condition and will appeal to an international buyer. Our clients are mainly looking to invest in a ski or lakeside property for their holidays, however there is a growing trend of buyers contacting us to make a more permanent move to the region. There certainly has never been a better time to exchange your euros into sterling and cash in on an exchange rate that works for British vendors.

We appreciate that you want to make the most of your investment and carry home as much cash as possible in difficult economic times, so we have simplified our commission structure to give you one less thing to think about!

From Friday February 6th 2009, the Ascendant commission structure will be as follows:

• Non-exclusive mandates: 5% inclusive of VAT
• Exclusive mandates: 3% inclusive of VAT

When compared with other agencies you’ll certainly see a difference. For example, one of our competitors has commission levels running as high as 10% excluding VAT of 19.6% and an average commission fee of 6% plus VAT.

If you would like to know more about what we can do for you and how we can help you to sell your alpine property please contact us on +33 (0)4 50 10 44 23 and we will be happy to help.