Wellington boots on in August and almost falling down an open man-hole wasn’t much fun. But when your drains are completely blocked and not exactly smelling like a bunch of roses, what do you do? Smear your nose in vapour rub, roll up your sleeves and just get stuck in!
Yes, that’s just one of the joys of renovating in Cyprus - and I can speak from first-hand experience. Renovating an old property is certainly a challenge, but really worth it in the end. If you buy at the right price and do an excellent job, you won’t have any problem finding a buyer. And boy, are there some bargains to be snapped up at the moment!
Where do you start though? Once you have bought your property, getting to know good tradesmen is a first - that’s always difficult wherever you live in the world. There are good and there are bad, so word of mouth is almost always the best route. Speak to your friends, neighbours and get advice from Expat forums.
When we renovated our villa, we did most of the work ourselves, but sometimes you do need to bring in an expert. Just make sure you know what you are paying for and remember; working days for tradesmen are usually shorter here so the job will take longer.
Top Tip: Keep all your official receipts for the project – every single one, even if it is for a packet of nails. You will need to offset these against your Capital Gains tax when you eventually sell the property. Make sure they are receipts, as estimates and quotations are not accepted by the tax office. A good lawyer should tell you this when you are thinking about purchasing a project.
How about building materials? Well, these are cheaper in Cyprus, but it depends what you are buying. You can get top of the range, or cheap and cheerful, it’s up to you.
There are plenty of builders’ merchants and most of them speak good English. Once they know you, you can open an account and then you will get the materials you need at a discount. You will find that the prices will start to fall after a while and you will get close to what they would charge a local. It takes a while to get “local” prices in Cyprus.
When your building materials are delivered, they often won’t unload the vehicle for you, it all depends on the driver. Bear that in mind, as you might need an extra hand on the day. I can remember once taking delivery of a large amount of roof tiles and the driver just sat there. He soon realised I was on my own at the time and reluctantly helped. I think it was more because he could see he would be there all night if he didn’t.
Solar panels are very cheap in Cyprus, around 175 euros each depending on the quality and well worth the money. They heat all your hot water FREE and you can even install a couple to heat your pool to extend usage during the winter.
The more panels you have, the more hot water you get - so the less your electricity bill will be. Some people use solar panels to run their heating systems too (yes, you do need heating in Cyprus in the winter).
If you need tools, all the well-known brands are here. But if only want something for a one-off job then the cheap and cheerful goods will probably suffice. There are some specialist tool shops that have very good service and repair workshops too. Hiring tools and equipment is becoming easier.
Patience is a virtue when renovating a property in Cyprus - but when your dream home is finally finished, it’s a wonderful achievement!
Best wishes
Jackie
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Showing posts with label renovating property in Cyprus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label renovating property in Cyprus. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Friday, 18 June 2010
Finding a reputable Lawyer in Cyprus
Hello, how are you?
I hope you’ve had a good week and life is treating you well.
Following on from last week, having seen the bungalow we wanted to buy, the next thing we needed to do was find a reputable lawyer in Paphos. Not an easy job! You have to be very careful. Even we ended up changing our lawyer after the transaction had gone through, mainly because we found an English lawyer where we didn’t have any language difficulties. So do bear that in mind!
Having said all this, the lawyer we used initially was quite amazing. He was very helpful and laid back. When we first went to see him, we explained that we’d found our dream property to renovate, but the problem was, we needed a deposit in cash to put down to secure it. All we had was a credit card and we didn’t want to draw a substantial amount on that. Well, we couldn’t believe what happened next!
He’d never met us before, but he just asked how much we needed for the deposit – and he wrote us out a cheque for the person we were buying from there and then. He said “Go and buy your dream”. We couldn’t believe it! He just asked us to take our passports into the office the next day so they could be copied, and he would sort out the rest. I have to say, we were in shock. We couldn’t imagine this ever happening in the UK - but maybe it does?
Anyway, we were jumping for joy. Off we went with his cheque in our hands to the vendor – who was equally as pleased. This was on the Thursday. The deal was now secured for 30 days until we could send over a further sum of money, which we sent via Smart Currency Exchange, www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com to his client account.
Smart were great, they managed to get us a really good rate, and the money was with him in 2 days. We saved a fortune – the Bank rate was horrendous, we are so glad we didn’t take that route!
Two days later, as you can imagine, we flew home, both so excited - and started to plan selling our house and moving to sunny Cyprus.
That’s when the fun really began!
More next week.
Take care, have a great weekend.
Best wishes
Jackie
http://www.CyprusBuyingGuide.com
I hope you’ve had a good week and life is treating you well.
Following on from last week, having seen the bungalow we wanted to buy, the next thing we needed to do was find a reputable lawyer in Paphos. Not an easy job! You have to be very careful. Even we ended up changing our lawyer after the transaction had gone through, mainly because we found an English lawyer where we didn’t have any language difficulties. So do bear that in mind!
Having said all this, the lawyer we used initially was quite amazing. He was very helpful and laid back. When we first went to see him, we explained that we’d found our dream property to renovate, but the problem was, we needed a deposit in cash to put down to secure it. All we had was a credit card and we didn’t want to draw a substantial amount on that. Well, we couldn’t believe what happened next!
He’d never met us before, but he just asked how much we needed for the deposit – and he wrote us out a cheque for the person we were buying from there and then. He said “Go and buy your dream”. We couldn’t believe it! He just asked us to take our passports into the office the next day so they could be copied, and he would sort out the rest. I have to say, we were in shock. We couldn’t imagine this ever happening in the UK - but maybe it does?
Anyway, we were jumping for joy. Off we went with his cheque in our hands to the vendor – who was equally as pleased. This was on the Thursday. The deal was now secured for 30 days until we could send over a further sum of money, which we sent via Smart Currency Exchange, www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com to his client account.
Smart were great, they managed to get us a really good rate, and the money was with him in 2 days. We saved a fortune – the Bank rate was horrendous, we are so glad we didn’t take that route!
Two days later, as you can imagine, we flew home, both so excited - and started to plan selling our house and moving to sunny Cyprus.
That’s when the fun really began!
More next week.
Take care, have a great weekend.
Best wishes
Jackie
http://www.CyprusBuyingGuide.com
Friday, 28 May 2010
Friends and Neighbours helping with making your property look great!!
Hello again!
I hope you’ve had a great week.
On Monday it was Bank Holiday to celebrate the Festival of the Flood. It’s a fun time but you either keep out of the way or join in - because everyone gets drenched with water! My friends were absolutely soaked with hoses and water bombs. They said they had a great time with all the kids, but rather them than me; I took the quiet option and stayed at home by the pool reading a book.
Let’s carry on from last week when I said I’d look at other ideas for how your neighbours and friends can help you make your property look great for viewings.
They’ll need to make sure your mailbox is cleared regularly. In Cyprus we don’t have letterboxes in the door; we have mailboxes outside our properties. As well as post, they also get stuffed full of junk mail which doesn’t look nice and also shows the property is empty.
Something else to look at is your garden (if you have one). An overgrown garden is a dead giveaway that you are not there, and as an initial impression, doesn’t look good for potential purchasers.
Why not ask your friends to look after it for you? It’s a really good idea – especially as plants and bushes grow ten times faster in Cyprus than in the UK, and that’s no exaggeration. So for a small outlay every month, you could pay them to do this.
And if you have a pool, perhaps they could look after that too? Pools must be maintained. Or, you can place a cover over it, but when someone is viewing, I think it’s always better if they can see the pool operating as you are primarily selling a lifestyle. Of course, this isn’t a problem if you share a pool on a complex.
Also, your property will need to be aired regularly. Properties that are locked up in Cyprus smell musty inside if they aren’t opened for a long time.
Here’s what I suggest. Ask whoever it is you trust to do your viewings if they can take care of the whole property for you for a monthly fee. It really is worth it, and if they are also going to do your viewings, you know they will make sure everything is pristine for a potential buyer.
If they agree but won’t take any payment because they just want something to do with their time, then take them out for a very nice meal, or pay for them to have a weekend away in a hotel to say thank you. It’s worth every penny.
Next week I’m going to given you my final ideas, then I’m going to move on to tell you all about our renovation project here in Cyprus – from start to finish.
There are some hilarious stories along the way, (like the day I almost fell down the stinking blocked drain) plus all the inevitable frustrations there were with a project like this.
Finally, I will just mention though, that before we even set foot on the plane, we bought the Cyprus Buying Guide, http://www.blogger.com/www.cyprusbuyingguide.com%20 – it was invaluable and saved us a small fortune!
Ok, that’s it from me for now, see you next week.
Have fun and keep smiling!
Best wishes
Jackie
I hope you’ve had a great week.
On Monday it was Bank Holiday to celebrate the Festival of the Flood. It’s a fun time but you either keep out of the way or join in - because everyone gets drenched with water! My friends were absolutely soaked with hoses and water bombs. They said they had a great time with all the kids, but rather them than me; I took the quiet option and stayed at home by the pool reading a book.
Let’s carry on from last week when I said I’d look at other ideas for how your neighbours and friends can help you make your property look great for viewings.
They’ll need to make sure your mailbox is cleared regularly. In Cyprus we don’t have letterboxes in the door; we have mailboxes outside our properties. As well as post, they also get stuffed full of junk mail which doesn’t look nice and also shows the property is empty.
Something else to look at is your garden (if you have one). An overgrown garden is a dead giveaway that you are not there, and as an initial impression, doesn’t look good for potential purchasers.
Why not ask your friends to look after it for you? It’s a really good idea – especially as plants and bushes grow ten times faster in Cyprus than in the UK, and that’s no exaggeration. So for a small outlay every month, you could pay them to do this.
And if you have a pool, perhaps they could look after that too? Pools must be maintained. Or, you can place a cover over it, but when someone is viewing, I think it’s always better if they can see the pool operating as you are primarily selling a lifestyle. Of course, this isn’t a problem if you share a pool on a complex.
Also, your property will need to be aired regularly. Properties that are locked up in Cyprus smell musty inside if they aren’t opened for a long time.
Here’s what I suggest. Ask whoever it is you trust to do your viewings if they can take care of the whole property for you for a monthly fee. It really is worth it, and if they are also going to do your viewings, you know they will make sure everything is pristine for a potential buyer.
If they agree but won’t take any payment because they just want something to do with their time, then take them out for a very nice meal, or pay for them to have a weekend away in a hotel to say thank you. It’s worth every penny.
Next week I’m going to given you my final ideas, then I’m going to move on to tell you all about our renovation project here in Cyprus – from start to finish.
There are some hilarious stories along the way, (like the day I almost fell down the stinking blocked drain) plus all the inevitable frustrations there were with a project like this.
Finally, I will just mention though, that before we even set foot on the plane, we bought the Cyprus Buying Guide, http://www.blogger.com/www.cyprusbuyingguide.com%20 – it was invaluable and saved us a small fortune!
Ok, that’s it from me for now, see you next week.
Have fun and keep smiling!
Best wishes
Jackie
Friday, 21 May 2010
Make sure your Cyprus property looks it's best!
Hello, how are you?
Unbelievably, it’s been raining in Cyprus, but at least it’s been warm rain! There’s been a dust cloud here for about a week, so this will finally clear the air.
Following on from last week, I said I’d give you some help on incentives for neighbors or friends who are helping you sell your property because you can’t be here.
Why not pay them commission from the final sale? If you are selling privately, you won’t have agents’ fees to pay, so how about suggesting a small percentage?
You could also put viewings on a slightly more formal basis and pay them a small fee each time they show someone round for you.
That way, you aren’t taking advantage and you won’t feel embarrassed to ask again. Viewings take time, you want to make sure your property looks at its best - and this doesn’t happen in five minutes.
By the time your property has been unlocked, they’ve opened the shutters and curtains, taken dust sheets off the furniture and waited for the potential purchasers to turn up – and then shown them round too - I would say somewhere between 10 and 20 euros is money really well spent!
There are lots of other things your neighbors/friends can do to make your property look great for viewings; I’ll cover those next week.
That’s it for now, enjoy your weekend!
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/
Unbelievably, it’s been raining in Cyprus, but at least it’s been warm rain! There’s been a dust cloud here for about a week, so this will finally clear the air.
Following on from last week, I said I’d give you some help on incentives for neighbors or friends who are helping you sell your property because you can’t be here.
Why not pay them commission from the final sale? If you are selling privately, you won’t have agents’ fees to pay, so how about suggesting a small percentage?
You could also put viewings on a slightly more formal basis and pay them a small fee each time they show someone round for you.
That way, you aren’t taking advantage and you won’t feel embarrassed to ask again. Viewings take time, you want to make sure your property looks at its best - and this doesn’t happen in five minutes.
By the time your property has been unlocked, they’ve opened the shutters and curtains, taken dust sheets off the furniture and waited for the potential purchasers to turn up – and then shown them round too - I would say somewhere between 10 and 20 euros is money really well spent!
There are lots of other things your neighbors/friends can do to make your property look great for viewings; I’ll cover those next week.
That’s it for now, enjoy your weekend!
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Hints and Tips for Selling in Cyprus
Hello again
We’re having a heat wave! It’s been 40 degrees over the last few days and it’s time to get back into our swimming pool. Phew, it’s not normally this hot in May; this is more like August weather. Can’t complain though, blue skies, sunshine, everything you need to make you feel great!
Last week I said I’d help you with marketing your holiday home in Cyprus, so if you are trying to sell your property here from overseas and finding it difficult, these hints and tips might help towards getting that all important sale. Remember to share them with your friends too.
First things first, I can’t stress enough – get a website. Some people may say this isn’t the way to do it, but I can only speak from my own experience, boy did it work! If you have a website, then you can simply refer to this in all your advertisements and get potential buyers to come to you direct, which will save you paying an agent a huge fee. Without the agent fee, you will then also have some room for negotiation when you get that all important offer.
If you don’t have an agent, the next challenge is how to conduct viewings when you don’t live here. I have a solution. Ask someone who does live here to do this for you. Everyone has neighbours who are here permanently, so next time you are over, invite them round for a barbeque and ask them if they would be willing to help you.
Next week I’ll carry on with more hints and tips (including offering incentives to friends and neighbours to help you get that sale), so until then, I’m going in the pool now to cool down, relax - and enjoy life in Cyprus.
Until next week, see you then!
Best wishes
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
We’re having a heat wave! It’s been 40 degrees over the last few days and it’s time to get back into our swimming pool. Phew, it’s not normally this hot in May; this is more like August weather. Can’t complain though, blue skies, sunshine, everything you need to make you feel great!
Last week I said I’d help you with marketing your holiday home in Cyprus, so if you are trying to sell your property here from overseas and finding it difficult, these hints and tips might help towards getting that all important sale. Remember to share them with your friends too.
First things first, I can’t stress enough – get a website. Some people may say this isn’t the way to do it, but I can only speak from my own experience, boy did it work! If you have a website, then you can simply refer to this in all your advertisements and get potential buyers to come to you direct, which will save you paying an agent a huge fee. Without the agent fee, you will then also have some room for negotiation when you get that all important offer.
If you don’t have an agent, the next challenge is how to conduct viewings when you don’t live here. I have a solution. Ask someone who does live here to do this for you. Everyone has neighbours who are here permanently, so next time you are over, invite them round for a barbeque and ask them if they would be willing to help you.
Next week I’ll carry on with more hints and tips (including offering incentives to friends and neighbours to help you get that sale), so until then, I’m going in the pool now to cool down, relax - and enjoy life in Cyprus.
Until next week, see you then!
Best wishes
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Friday, 7 May 2010
Tips for selling your Cyprus property
Hello again
Gosh, doesn’t time fly! It’s been a really busy week for me, how about you? The weather has been really weird in Cyprus over the last few days – we’ve had electric storms, thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Not really what we expect in May. Even the evenings have been a bit chilly; I had to put my socks on! It’s just not the normal pattern, but I guess that’s global warming and is affecting everyone around the world. I’m not worried though, because I know that in a couple of weeks we’ll be basking in the heat again.
Back to selling your property – are you getting more viewings? You should be by now if you’ve done everything I’ve suggested so far. Maybe you’ve even sold? Let me know if you have, I’d really love to hear from you.
Remember to take your posters with you wherever you go and also display them in your car as I mentioned last week - and try to get your friends to help you too.
Here’s a tip I forgot to mention previously. If you haven’t already had your “For Sale” sign made, get the printer to put a UV coating on it otherwise it will fade very quickly in the sun and you’ll end up paying for another one. It doesn’t cost much more to do this. I learnt the hard way because like most people, I didn’t know this was available - and my original sign faded after 3 months.
Finally, if you don’t live here but have a holiday home to sell and are finding it difficult, next time I’ll be giving some useful hints and tips on how to do this.
Have a great weekend.
Keep smiling, please tell your friends about my blog - and see you next week!
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Gosh, doesn’t time fly! It’s been a really busy week for me, how about you? The weather has been really weird in Cyprus over the last few days – we’ve had electric storms, thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Not really what we expect in May. Even the evenings have been a bit chilly; I had to put my socks on! It’s just not the normal pattern, but I guess that’s global warming and is affecting everyone around the world. I’m not worried though, because I know that in a couple of weeks we’ll be basking in the heat again.
Back to selling your property – are you getting more viewings? You should be by now if you’ve done everything I’ve suggested so far. Maybe you’ve even sold? Let me know if you have, I’d really love to hear from you.
Remember to take your posters with you wherever you go and also display them in your car as I mentioned last week - and try to get your friends to help you too.
Here’s a tip I forgot to mention previously. If you haven’t already had your “For Sale” sign made, get the printer to put a UV coating on it otherwise it will fade very quickly in the sun and you’ll end up paying for another one. It doesn’t cost much more to do this. I learnt the hard way because like most people, I didn’t know this was available - and my original sign faded after 3 months.
Finally, if you don’t live here but have a holiday home to sell and are finding it difficult, next time I’ll be giving some useful hints and tips on how to do this.
Have a great weekend.
Keep smiling, please tell your friends about my blog - and see you next week!
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Use your car to promote your property
Hello again, how are you?
Well, this week has been really busy. That’s the problem with taking holidays isn’t it (did I mention I’ve just been Sri Lanka?) I’ve had a problem with my tooth as well which doesn’t help when you’re trying to get through things quickly and need to concentrate– how I hate toothache!
OK. So let’s get back to some more ideas on how to sell your property. We’ve already talked about using email. But how about using your car? Or even ask your best friends if you can use theirs too!
Put the posters you have designed in your car when you have parked. Make sure you always try to park in a prominent place so as many people as possible see the posters. Park in busy areas, where there are plenty of pedestrians going by – how about the harbour in Paphos, or The Paphos Mall? It works!
Well, I’m in a rush this week with loads of deadlines to make so I’ll have to go now. But why not take a look at my latest Cyprus Buying Guide newsletter http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com. Hope you enjoy it!
Until next week – must fly!
Best wishes
Jackie
Well, this week has been really busy. That’s the problem with taking holidays isn’t it (did I mention I’ve just been Sri Lanka?) I’ve had a problem with my tooth as well which doesn’t help when you’re trying to get through things quickly and need to concentrate– how I hate toothache!
OK. So let’s get back to some more ideas on how to sell your property. We’ve already talked about using email. But how about using your car? Or even ask your best friends if you can use theirs too!
Put the posters you have designed in your car when you have parked. Make sure you always try to park in a prominent place so as many people as possible see the posters. Park in busy areas, where there are plenty of pedestrians going by – how about the harbour in Paphos, or The Paphos Mall? It works!
Well, I’m in a rush this week with loads of deadlines to make so I’ll have to go now. But why not take a look at my latest Cyprus Buying Guide newsletter http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com. Hope you enjoy it!
Until next week – must fly!
Best wishes
Jackie
Friday, 23 April 2010
Using Email to Help Sell Your Property
Hello, how are you?
I hope your posters are finished and you are putting them up everywhere to promote your property. Remember to place your adverts in the local papers too - you will get a response.
Last week I said I’d talk to you about using email as a marketing tool to help sell your property. It’s easier than you think. Everyone who uses email has email addresses from somewhere. It could be friends, work colleagues, businesses, networking contacts - there are hundreds of sources.
So here’s the plan. Why not email them all with your property details? You can do this several ways. If you have a website, that’s the easiest way, because all you need to do is send a short message and include the link for them to click on. Or, you can produce a pdf file of your property details – just use your poster. If it’s not possible to do either of these, then don’t worry. Just send the description in the main body of the email plus a few photographs.
I designed a website, so it was easy for me. But – I really wanted everyone not only to read the email and click on the site, but also to circulate my email to all their friends too. So I offered the incentive of a financial reward. This would be paid in cash to anyone who sent me the lead that led to the final sale. Wow – that certainly worked!
The other thing to try is internet forums. Go on them and when you can, add your property details. You never know where these will end up and who will look at them – you’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain. You will be surprised how many people get to know about your property like this and it costs virtually nothing.
So, use email to the maximum and see what happens!
I still have more ideas, so until next week, relax, stay focused on that “Sold” sign and remember - don’t ever give up.
Best wishes as always
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
I hope your posters are finished and you are putting them up everywhere to promote your property. Remember to place your adverts in the local papers too - you will get a response.
Last week I said I’d talk to you about using email as a marketing tool to help sell your property. It’s easier than you think. Everyone who uses email has email addresses from somewhere. It could be friends, work colleagues, businesses, networking contacts - there are hundreds of sources.
So here’s the plan. Why not email them all with your property details? You can do this several ways. If you have a website, that’s the easiest way, because all you need to do is send a short message and include the link for them to click on. Or, you can produce a pdf file of your property details – just use your poster. If it’s not possible to do either of these, then don’t worry. Just send the description in the main body of the email plus a few photographs.
I designed a website, so it was easy for me. But – I really wanted everyone not only to read the email and click on the site, but also to circulate my email to all their friends too. So I offered the incentive of a financial reward. This would be paid in cash to anyone who sent me the lead that led to the final sale. Wow – that certainly worked!
The other thing to try is internet forums. Go on them and when you can, add your property details. You never know where these will end up and who will look at them – you’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain. You will be surprised how many people get to know about your property like this and it costs virtually nothing.
So, use email to the maximum and see what happens!
I still have more ideas, so until next week, relax, stay focused on that “Sold” sign and remember - don’t ever give up.
Best wishes as always
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Friday, 9 April 2010
Selling your Overseas Property Privately
Hi, it’s me again.
What a lovely day it is in Cyprus today! I hope the weather is good where you are too.
I said last week that I’d share some more hints and tips on how you can sell your property privately. By doing this, you can save a fortune in estate agents commission. So this time, I’m going to cover how you can use the local supermarkets to help you.
Some supermarkets have notice boards and they allow you to pin up things you have for sale, business cards, charity notices and so on. And it’s FREE! So all you need to do now is design a small, eye-catching poster and you can join in. It’s best if you try and keep this to A5 size rather than A4. Why? Because the larger A4 signs tend to get other items pinned over them.
Before you start designing a poster on your computer (or getting someone else to do it for you), remember it’s very important to have really good photographs. These will definitely help sell your property for you. I had a professional photographer take ours; it only cost about 70 euros and was worth every penny. Also, if you get the photographer to take both high resolution and low resolution, then you can also use them on your website if you are going to have one.
Make sure you have all the key details on the poster, and very importantly, have strips at the bottom that people can tear-off. The tear-offs should contain your phone numbers and your website. Big hint: Don’t make the tear-offs too small, and make sure the phone numbers aren’t too close to the top of the tear-off. Make it really easy for people to just grab one and phone.
The response from doing this was amazing. Oh, and keep a plastic wallet of your posters in the car, so each time you are out, you can put them up or replenish them if they have gone – they do tend to disappear very quickly.
I hope these hints and tips are helping. Next time I’ll talk about advertising your property in the local papers – it’s very low cost - and it definitely works!
Until then,
Best wishes.
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/
What a lovely day it is in Cyprus today! I hope the weather is good where you are too.
I said last week that I’d share some more hints and tips on how you can sell your property privately. By doing this, you can save a fortune in estate agents commission. So this time, I’m going to cover how you can use the local supermarkets to help you.
Some supermarkets have notice boards and they allow you to pin up things you have for sale, business cards, charity notices and so on. And it’s FREE! So all you need to do now is design a small, eye-catching poster and you can join in. It’s best if you try and keep this to A5 size rather than A4. Why? Because the larger A4 signs tend to get other items pinned over them.
Before you start designing a poster on your computer (or getting someone else to do it for you), remember it’s very important to have really good photographs. These will definitely help sell your property for you. I had a professional photographer take ours; it only cost about 70 euros and was worth every penny. Also, if you get the photographer to take both high resolution and low resolution, then you can also use them on your website if you are going to have one.
Make sure you have all the key details on the poster, and very importantly, have strips at the bottom that people can tear-off. The tear-offs should contain your phone numbers and your website. Big hint: Don’t make the tear-offs too small, and make sure the phone numbers aren’t too close to the top of the tear-off. Make it really easy for people to just grab one and phone.
The response from doing this was amazing. Oh, and keep a plastic wallet of your posters in the car, so each time you are out, you can put them up or replenish them if they have gone – they do tend to disappear very quickly.
I hope these hints and tips are helping. Next time I’ll talk about advertising your property in the local papers – it’s very low cost - and it definitely works!
Until then,
Best wishes.
Jackie
http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Help with potential buyers
Hi there
Well, the sun is shining and it’s a really lovely day here in Cyprus.
I hope you’ve been practicing your telephone scripts – its fun, isn’t it? Last week I said I’d give you some more marketing ideas on how to sell your property in Cyprus, but before then, let’s just finish off talking about what you need to do when your potential purchasers start to phone.
First and foremost, you need to find out who is a serious buyer. Otherwise, how will you know if they can proceed immediately if they fall in love with your property and want to buy it? So, don’t be embarrassed to ask “are you a cash buyer or do you have a property to sell?” Or, “is the sale of your current property dependent on you buying this one if you like it?” Or, “will you need a mortgage to proceed?” And very importantly “What is your budget?” It’s good to sort out how much they have to spend – or get an indication at least – before they view.
The reason I am suggesting these questions is because I used them myself to filter people out. Believe me, there are plenty of “buyers” out there who are NOT in a position to proceed and these few questions can quickly eliminate them. Then you don’t waste your time – or theirs.
It’s hard work keeping your property in show house condition when you are selling. Although I’m very house-proud, I have to admit sometimes it did become tiring. Like for instance when you’ve just stripped the beds – and the door bell goes. Or, you’re in the middle of washing all the floors, or hanging out the washing. But what can you do? You can’t risk a potential buyer going away – and never coming back!
Next week I’m going to talk to you about how to use the supermarkets to advertise - you’ll be amazed at the response you will get!
Bye for now, see you next week.
Have fun.
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Well, the sun is shining and it’s a really lovely day here in Cyprus.
I hope you’ve been practicing your telephone scripts – its fun, isn’t it? Last week I said I’d give you some more marketing ideas on how to sell your property in Cyprus, but before then, let’s just finish off talking about what you need to do when your potential purchasers start to phone.
First and foremost, you need to find out who is a serious buyer. Otherwise, how will you know if they can proceed immediately if they fall in love with your property and want to buy it? So, don’t be embarrassed to ask “are you a cash buyer or do you have a property to sell?” Or, “is the sale of your current property dependent on you buying this one if you like it?” Or, “will you need a mortgage to proceed?” And very importantly “What is your budget?” It’s good to sort out how much they have to spend – or get an indication at least – before they view.
The reason I am suggesting these questions is because I used them myself to filter people out. Believe me, there are plenty of “buyers” out there who are NOT in a position to proceed and these few questions can quickly eliminate them. Then you don’t waste your time – or theirs.
It’s hard work keeping your property in show house condition when you are selling. Although I’m very house-proud, I have to admit sometimes it did become tiring. Like for instance when you’ve just stripped the beds – and the door bell goes. Or, you’re in the middle of washing all the floors, or hanging out the washing. But what can you do? You can’t risk a potential buyer going away – and never coming back!
Next week I’m going to talk to you about how to use the supermarkets to advertise - you’ll be amazed at the response you will get!
Bye for now, see you next week.
Have fun.
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Friday, 26 March 2010
How to find your serious buyers
Hi there
Well, the sun is shining and it’s a really lovely day here in Cyprus.
I hope you’ve been practicing your telephone scripts – its fun, isn’t it? Last week I said I’d give you some more marketing ideas on how to sell your property in Cyprus, but before then, let’s just finish off talking about what you need to do when your potential purchasers start to phone.
First and foremost, you need to find out who is a serious buyer. Otherwise, how will you know if they can proceed immediately if they fall in love with your property and want to buy it? So, don’t be embarrassed to ask “are you a cash buyer or do you have a property to sell?” Or, “is the sale of your current property dependent on you buying this one if you like it?” Or, “will you need a mortgage to proceed?” And very importantly “What is your budget?” It’s good to sort out how much they have to spend – or get an indication at least – before they view.
The reason I am suggesting these questions is because I used them myself to filter people out. Believe me, there are plenty of “buyers” out there who are NOT in a position to proceed and these few questions can quickly eliminate them. Then you don’t waste your time – or theirs.
It’s hard work keeping your property in show house condition when you are selling. Although I’m very house-proud, I have to admit sometimes it did become tiring. Like for instance when you’ve just stripped the beds – and the door bell goes. Or, you’re in the middle of washing all the floors, or hanging out the washing. But what can you do? You can’t risk a potential buyer going away – and never coming back!
Next week I’m going to talk to you about how to use the supermarkets to advertise - you’ll be amazed at the response you will get!
Bye for now, see you next week.
Have fun.
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Well, the sun is shining and it’s a really lovely day here in Cyprus.
I hope you’ve been practicing your telephone scripts – its fun, isn’t it? Last week I said I’d give you some more marketing ideas on how to sell your property in Cyprus, but before then, let’s just finish off talking about what you need to do when your potential purchasers start to phone.
First and foremost, you need to find out who is a serious buyer. Otherwise, how will you know if they can proceed immediately if they fall in love with your property and want to buy it? So, don’t be embarrassed to ask “are you a cash buyer or do you have a property to sell?” Or, “is the sale of your current property dependent on you buying this one if you like it?” Or, “will you need a mortgage to proceed?” And very importantly “What is your budget?” It’s good to sort out how much they have to spend – or get an indication at least – before they view.
The reason I am suggesting these questions is because I used them myself to filter people out. Believe me, there are plenty of “buyers” out there who are NOT in a position to proceed and these few questions can quickly eliminate them. Then you don’t waste your time – or theirs.
It’s hard work keeping your property in show house condition when you are selling. Although I’m very house-proud, I have to admit sometimes it did become tiring. Like for instance when you’ve just stripped the beds – and the door bell goes. Or, you’re in the middle of washing all the floors, or hanging out the washing. But what can you do? You can’t risk a potential buyer going away – and never coming back!
Next week I’m going to talk to you about how to use the supermarkets to advertise - you’ll be amazed at the response you will get!
Bye for now, see you next week.
Have fun.
Jackie
www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Friday, 19 March 2010
Putting your property up for sale
Hello again
What a beautiful day it is today – not a cloud in the sky and temperatures are rising nicely. It’s really great to be back in shorts and flip-flops and getting a tan again!
I promised I’d give you some hints and tips on how to market your property yourself if you are selling privately in Cyprus – there are plenty of ways that cost very little and are really effective. Let’s start with the first step.
To make sure you get loads of viewings (and after all, that’s what it’s all about), have a “For Sale” sign professionally made – and ensure this is big enough for people driving by to see. And make sure the sign is coated so it won’t fade in the sun – unless you ask for this, you’ll find yourself getting a new one after a few months.
The sign should contain the main details of your property – for example, the type of property you are selling (ie detached villa), your contact details (mobile and home number), state whether it has Title Deeds (very important), the plot size (for example 560 sqm), how many bedrooms and whether it has a swimming pool or not. And remember to add your website if you have one. But whatever you do - don’t put the price on the sign.
Why? Because you want as many people as possible to phone you. This is when you entice them to view. The easiest way to do this is to have a script in front of you that you can read out. It sounds a strange thing to do, but trust me, it works. You need to make your property sound as attractive as possible over the phone and you need to sound really positive and confident. Practice (it’ll be a bit of a laugh at first) and you’ll see how easy it becomes.
Ok. So the telephone has rung and you have your first potential viewer on the phone (how exciting!) You have a great description of the property in front of you to read, but – to avoid wasting your time and theirs - you really need to find out what their position is before you show them around.
Tune in next week and I’ll give you some ideas on how to deal with this, also don't forget to have a look at my latest newsletter by going to: www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Until then, have a really super weekend.
Best wishes as always
Jackie
What a beautiful day it is today – not a cloud in the sky and temperatures are rising nicely. It’s really great to be back in shorts and flip-flops and getting a tan again!
I promised I’d give you some hints and tips on how to market your property yourself if you are selling privately in Cyprus – there are plenty of ways that cost very little and are really effective. Let’s start with the first step.
To make sure you get loads of viewings (and after all, that’s what it’s all about), have a “For Sale” sign professionally made – and ensure this is big enough for people driving by to see. And make sure the sign is coated so it won’t fade in the sun – unless you ask for this, you’ll find yourself getting a new one after a few months.
The sign should contain the main details of your property – for example, the type of property you are selling (ie detached villa), your contact details (mobile and home number), state whether it has Title Deeds (very important), the plot size (for example 560 sqm), how many bedrooms and whether it has a swimming pool or not. And remember to add your website if you have one. But whatever you do - don’t put the price on the sign.
Why? Because you want as many people as possible to phone you. This is when you entice them to view. The easiest way to do this is to have a script in front of you that you can read out. It sounds a strange thing to do, but trust me, it works. You need to make your property sound as attractive as possible over the phone and you need to sound really positive and confident. Practice (it’ll be a bit of a laugh at first) and you’ll see how easy it becomes.
Ok. So the telephone has rung and you have your first potential viewer on the phone (how exciting!) You have a great description of the property in front of you to read, but – to avoid wasting your time and theirs - you really need to find out what their position is before you show them around.
Tune in next week and I’ll give you some ideas on how to deal with this, also don't forget to have a look at my latest newsletter by going to: www.cyprusbuyingguide.com
Until then, have a really super weekend.
Best wishes as always
Jackie
Friday, 12 March 2010
Viewings, viewings and more viewings
Hi, I hope you’ve had a good week!
The sun is shining here, its 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky – sheer bliss! To carry on from my last blog, I’d like to share some stories about coping with all those viewings.
But just before I do, I just have to tell you this. While I was trying to transfer our telephone number over to the new villa, (that’s another story) I had to work from an internet café. Well, the one I worked from wasn’t quite an “internet café”. There was a tea dance going on and I was asked to dance by an elderly gentleman who only had his bottom set of teeth – bless him. I decided there and then that my pulling days were over. But I suppose I was lucky he had one set…..
Moving on, the biggest tip I can give you if you are selling is to remember it really is a “numbers game”. The more viewings you have, the more chance you have to sell.
You do need to be prepared for potential buyers to just turn up and ring the door bell. Cypriots in particular believe in just “popping round” so it’s quite normal for them to do this and they do expect to view there and then. And even some of the professional agents do this! You’ll find they are driving round the area with clients and suddenly the door bell goes and yes, it’s another unexpected viewing.
Keeping our villa neat and tidy every day wasn’t really a problem because we’re very house proud – but I have to say these sudden viewings were a constant challenge. Once, I was in the middle of making a cake. The kitchen looked like it does when you are doing these things - and the doorbell went. Well, what can you do? It’s no good saying come back when it’s more convenient, because you could lose a potential sale.
Selling a property here is very different to the UK and you have to be very patient.
Oh, and remember, before you buy, make sure you read The Cyprus Buying Guide http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/ – it’spacked with all the information you need to make a safe and secure purchase.
Next week I’ll give you some hints and tips on how to market your property yourself – there are plenty of ways that cost very little and are really effective!
Until then, best wishes
Jackie
The sun is shining here, its 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky – sheer bliss! To carry on from my last blog, I’d like to share some stories about coping with all those viewings.
But just before I do, I just have to tell you this. While I was trying to transfer our telephone number over to the new villa, (that’s another story) I had to work from an internet café. Well, the one I worked from wasn’t quite an “internet café”. There was a tea dance going on and I was asked to dance by an elderly gentleman who only had his bottom set of teeth – bless him. I decided there and then that my pulling days were over. But I suppose I was lucky he had one set…..
Moving on, the biggest tip I can give you if you are selling is to remember it really is a “numbers game”. The more viewings you have, the more chance you have to sell.
You do need to be prepared for potential buyers to just turn up and ring the door bell. Cypriots in particular believe in just “popping round” so it’s quite normal for them to do this and they do expect to view there and then. And even some of the professional agents do this! You’ll find they are driving round the area with clients and suddenly the door bell goes and yes, it’s another unexpected viewing.
Keeping our villa neat and tidy every day wasn’t really a problem because we’re very house proud – but I have to say these sudden viewings were a constant challenge. Once, I was in the middle of making a cake. The kitchen looked like it does when you are doing these things - and the doorbell went. Well, what can you do? It’s no good saying come back when it’s more convenient, because you could lose a potential sale.
Selling a property here is very different to the UK and you have to be very patient.
Oh, and remember, before you buy, make sure you read The Cyprus Buying Guide http://www.cyprusbuyingguide.com/ – it’spacked with all the information you need to make a safe and secure purchase.
Next week I’ll give you some hints and tips on how to market your property yourself – there are plenty of ways that cost very little and are really effective!
Until then, best wishes
Jackie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
