Case Study
How Low Will It Go?
Our clients were resident in Moscow and the location for their purchase was already fixed because they needed to be in the catchment area of the International School their two children would be attending. They had friends already settled in the area, whose children were at the same school, and they planned to stay with them while they looked for the right property. There was nothing complicated about their property requirements, a detached family villa with a minimum four bedrooms, in good condition with no major renovations required, no more than a 15 minute car drive to Aloha International college. They contacted me from Moscow in March, with their viewing trip scheduled six weeks later, and ideally with a purchase completed in time for the new school year in September.
the brief
- Detached villa
- 4 bed minimum
- Good condition, no work needed
- Aloha College nearby
- Prefer no work needed
The challenges
The principal challenge of this search was the timing. Firstly, the clients wanted to settle into their new home in good time for the start of the school year in September so, realistically, that meant a completion no later than mid-August. Secondly, the search was taking place against the background of the property market meltdown after the 2008 global economic crash a few years previously. Asking prices were all over the place. The majority of sellers were still in denial, blissfully unaware that even in prime locations such as in this search, prices were on the way to falling by 40% and more. It was even worse in other areas. In addition, as the clients had not previously looked at any properties in the area, they told me right from the start that they wanted to view as much as possible to help them see a wide range of what their options might be. As there was so much on the market at the time, the shortlist finished up with twenty properties to view, all of them matching the criteria. I knew the key to a successful outcome would be identifying a really motivated seller, not someone who wanted to sell, but someone who had to sell.
The search
The search area with Aloha College nearby
The majority of the properties I inspected on behalf of the clients were in the Nueva Andalucía area of Marbella, also known as Golf Valley, the actual location of Aloha College. However, I also went as far east as El Rosario, as far as La Alquería to the west and inland up to Los Arqueros behind San Pedro de Alcántara. With so much to view we agreed on a 3-day schedule for first inspections, drawing up a second viewings short list before making a decision. By this stage it was already May, leaving about twelve weeks to decide on a property, negotiate, complete the transaction and move in.
At the end of working our way through the viewings we finished up with three strong contenders to revisit. In my experience, most clients will have a strong preference for one property and want to negotiate for that first. In this case, our clients felt that any one of the three would be acceptable but, given the state of the market, they wanted to be absolutely certain they would not be overpaying. They were cash buyers and the funds were ready to transfer so they felt they were in a very strong negotiating position. I agreed and we decided to offer on all three AND advise each seller that two other properties were also being considered. They would close the deal with whoever came back with serious intent to negotiate a deal. It worked.
The result
Detached, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, office, sea view, Aloha College 5 minutes away.
They bought the first house they had viewed. We had agreed the price before the other two possibilities came back with their counter-offers. The property was in a very quiet part of Nueva Andalucía, five minutes drive to school and, as the children got older, they were able to cycle. In ready-to-move into condition, it had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an office, split-level living area with solid oak floors and a large family kitchen/breakfast room, south-facing mature gardens, large pool and even a sea view with a glimpse of Puerto Banús. As the sellers were leaving Spain we were also able to secure all the furniture, which included a baby grand piano, all fixtures and fittings in the agreed price.
The house had been widely marketed for several months at a very optimistic asking price which had already been reduced once but still no takers. We made an opening bid, waited for their counter-offer and then matched it providing all contents were included. The deal closed at 52% below the already reduced asking price. And all because our clients were financially ready to deal and the sellers were in a big hole and had to stop digging. Finding out WHY someone is selling is often the most important detail for our clients to be aware of. Buying agents make very good property detectives.
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