Property Sales:
Simple Means for Better Pricing

Prop­er­ty sales is a core busi­ness in real estate market­ing. With Stag­ing, we have already intro­duced an espe­cial­ly effec­tive Expert Tip about it. In this part of the series, we will discuss how to make an object more marketable with­out time-consum­ing construc­tion efforts and at rela­tive­ly low cost, too.

When Other Solu­tions Are Unaffordable

Thor­ough and, ideal­ly, ener­getic restora­tion is the best way to upgrade a build­ing for sales. Some­times, howev­er, this is just not with­in budget – espe­cial­ly with objects you would be happy to remove from your port­fo­lio as soon as possi­ble. Of course, it is not about gaming. Yet, some objects’ state is actu­al­ly better than meets the eye. So it is in no way mislead­ing to cast a most favourable light onto what is actu­al­ly there.

There are two meth­ods we will intro­duce to you, which togeth­er will increase your chances: exte­ri­or clean­ing and archi­tec­tur­al photog­ra­phy. In both cases, howev­er, we recom­mend hiring experts for the job. For ’saving when saving’ would be risky, or it would not pay in this situ­a­tion, respec­tive­ly. Here is why:

Polish­ing Up with Exte­ri­or Cleaning

Intact plas­ter­work provid­ed, exte­ri­or clean­ing will make even the plainest func­tion­al build­ing look much more attrac­tive – be it on photographs or for poten­tial buyers who are visit­ing. Exte­ri­or clean­ing is both a very inex­pen­sive and speedy method to revamp your sales object. Special­ists quote approx. 20 — 35 €/sqm for this. Further costs arise, should a lift­ing plat­form (100 — 200 €) or a scaf­fold­ing (5 — 15 €/sqm) be required. Using specialised service providers is recom­mend­ed, though:

• Compa­nies which are famil­iar with region­al circum­stances can best assess the type and degree of soil­ing and there­fore also the required clean­ing efforts.
• This expe­ri­ence will also help with the many differ­ent exte­ri­or mate­ri­als and the plas­ter­ing found on today’s façades. For only a specialised provider has the appro­pri­ate devices, means, and meth­ods for each given surface, so as to not cause any damages.
• Where there is no suit­able drainage, a specialised compa­ny will dispose of waste water – usual­ly for a minor extra charge.

Light­ing and Perspec­tive Make the Difference

Nowa­days, you can undoubt­ed­ly take good pictures with your own smart­phone camera. All it takes is a little prac­tice. Such photos may be good enough for every­day purpos­es, but you want to address poten­tial buyers and achieve market value. Even the small­est detail counts in the way you portray the object. You can easi­ly see this for your­self in archi­tec­ture maga­zines or photo exhi­bi­tions: Profes­sioal photog­ra­phers just have it, this well-trained eye for the best posi­tion, the perfect angle, and favourable lighting.

Whoev­er specialis­es in archi­tec­tur­al photog­ra­phy, will also be using the appro­pri­ate equip­ment. Most of all, they know how to avoid the most frequent issue with photographs of build­ing, which is perspec­tive distor­tion. And when they are final­ly ’in the can’, those hundreds of photos or more, profes­sion­als are expe­ri­enced enough to pick the most impact­ful ones. You certain­ly do not have to hire the craft’s super­star for each and every single prop­er­ty. And yet, you will be surprised to see just how much more strik­ing even the plainest build­ing presents itself with the help of profes­sion­al photography.