When you sell an apartment building, you’re essentially transferring several properties from one party to another. It’s not as simple as handing them the keys and receiving payment in return—there are more steps and transactions involved.
Selling apartment buildings is a complex process requiring knowledge of real estate laws and experience in transferring ownership. Here are things an apartment seller should know about the process.
Finding a Good Agency Matters
A good agency will have professional real estate agents on its staff and facilitate a sale from end to end. When selling an apartment building, individual agents’ track records don’t matter as much as their agency’s reputation. You might have a star real estate agent, but if he belongs to an unreliable company, you can’t be sure about the quality of the work you’ll get.
All Properties Need Thorough Appraisal
Some people are under the impression that it is possible to assess an apartment building through a call or online. They might even phone several agencies, ask them for a quote, and calculate the average based on the agents’ figures. Correspondence description could work, but “express” assessments like these could under- or overprice a home by hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Specialists need to examine the property to arrive at the best selling price.
Enlist Only One Agency’s Services
Serious agencies would have agreements obliging the seller to refrain from contacting other agencies for a certain amount of time. Some sellers think this is a disadvantage and that it reduces their chances of selling. However, that is a misconception. Dealing with one agency instead of listing with several at a time will make selling an apartment fast and profitable.
Realtors today work with open catalogs and databases, and a seller who signs with many agencies will only have his apartment appear in several free directories at once. There is little benefit from this amount of exposure. Besides, after a contract ends, the realtor must “report” on his work to both the agency and the client, motivating him to work harder to close the sale.
Checking the Apartment’s History Is Vital
Most people think only apartment buyers should concern themselves with the apartment history. However, checks like these are also crucial for the seller. An examination of the apartment’s transfers of ownership can help the seller identify factors that could affect the speed of the sale and the price the property can command.
Sale Processes Are Unique to Each Property
There is no single checklist that details everything the buyer and seller need to note in an apartment sale. Each transaction involves a unique property, so each has characteristics that affect which documents either party must furnish. Some factors that matter include the number of owners, their ages, the type of home, ownership, and redevelopments.
When collating documents, sellers must mind practical details like personal contacts, passport decks, and the work schedule of PIBs. It is better if they leave these to professional apartment building buyers.
Conclusion
Selling an apartment involves audits, background checks, and many other bureaucratic processes that the average property owner might not have experience in completing. Leaving this to an experienced agency is one of the most efficient ways of facilitating a sale.
In part two of this series, we will look at more things apartment sellers should know about the process. Keep reading to learn more!
Learn more about how to sell an apartment from our experts at Buying Apartment Buildings. We help multi-family landlords close sales quickly, minus the hefty commission fees. Give us a call at 1 888-799-7915 today.