Many people now are looking to market their own property, hoping that by doing this they will not only save money on commissions, but will also complete the process quickly and smoothly under their own terms. However while the benefits of selling your own property may seem undeniable, António Marcela, the managing partner at Marcela Properties, highlights the pitfalls of going it alone and the many positive aspects of using a trusted and experienced real estate agent.

Paperwork
Anyone who has experience in Portugal will know that there can be a very high level of bureaucracy and the property buying and selling process is no exception to this. While speaking Portuguese can be a huge plus when trying to navigate the paperwork involved in real estate, only experience in this area can truly speed up the process and ensure that you have everything you need to proceed - we all know that feeling of always needing another piece of paperwork!

“The first and most relevant part of our job is to make sure that a property has all the conditions and documentation to actually be put on the market,” explains António. This may seem to be an obvious step but in reality many properties do not have all of the correct paperwork to be able to be legally sold. Documentation that a seller will require before moving any further forward includes most importantly a habitation licence, which an experienced agent will be able to help with, Sellers will also need to check that their property has been registered with the land registry, will need to prove that there are no debts associated with the property and will also need an energy certificate.

“Often people want to save money and to avoid extra costs but in the case of an energy certificate, this is something that is required by law, so it is an unavoidable cost that we can advise on and assist a seller with,” said António.

Marketing
Now almost everyone appears to be on some sort of social media platform, the marketing of a property to a huge audience is easy, right? Well it is perhaps not as easy as you would think if you are trying to market your property for sale yourself.

“By working with us as experienced real estate agents, we are able to offer a wide spectrum of marketing for a seller. Not only do we have our multiple offices located in the western Algarve we also work online, in print and across many portals,” said António.

The years of experience behind Marcela Properties means that the team are able to use their knowledge to ensure that a property is placed in front of the right potential buyers, through a combination of marketing strategies.

“Because of the pandemic we have seen a reduction in foot fall to our four offices so we have been investing further in our online offering, even selling some properties in 2020 and another one already in 2021, online alone.

“We understand the need to provide a full online service and because of this we have been investing in our website and readjusting our marketing tools which now include drone films, virtual images and more information about a property on the website, while we will also be introducing virtual plans of a property to give a full visual to a potential buyer,” said António.

Putting together a professional marketing package yourself is truly a challenge and even if you are a very capable videographer, photographer and social media marketeer, the benefit of using an experience real estate agent means that not only will they provide these skills for you, they will also go that extra mile to promote your property in other targeted markets and on specialised property portals that are usually reserved for real estate agencies alone.

“We employ one person whose job is only digital marketing; this allows us to bring a level of professionalism to our marketing that most individuals will not be able to achieve.”

Network of contacts
How many people do you have in your phone contact list? How many contacts do you have on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or in your email address book? With more than 25 years of experience in the industry Marcela Properties have a very substantial contact list, not only of clients they have worked with over the decades but also of partners around the world.

The four local offices in the western Algarve allow Marcela Properties to have an ear to the ground at all times however, it is their vast network on contacts around Portugal, across Europe and also worldwide that enables them to spread the word about a property.
“Lagos continues to be a very sought after place in the Algarve and we have a vast number of partners who work with us, allowing us to publicise a property widely both nationally and internationally.

“In 2020 we made sales to 23 different nationalities, with buyers coming from Brazil, the USA, Canada and from most countries within Europe. We are able to target the marketing of properties to the right markets, which is often challenging however our international partners are key in helping with this.”

Pricing
We all know how much money we would like for our property but often this is higher than the true market value.

“Our experience in the market allows us to be able to give sellers a true valuation of their property. In many cases a person selling their own property has an optimistic value in mind and we advise that people listen to our advice on valuations,” said António.

“We will not under value a property, as we want the very best for a seller, we also know the local market very well, a market which continues to increase, and we ask for both buyers and sellers to trust our knowledge and market experience to ensure that expectations can be met.”

Time saving
Finally, and often most importantly, is the true time that it takes to sell a property. There are very few cases that involve the first person walking into a property, making an offer on the spot and then drawing up the paperwork the next day.
In reality, selling a property involves multiple viewings, negotiations and paperwork.

“If you are a busy person then you do not want to be wasting your time showing your property to viewers who may not even have any intention of buying. We qualify buyers, arrange viewings and take care of the entire process to allow the buyer as little stress as possible.

“Basically, the process of buying or selling through an experienced real estate agent is an easy one and the help you receive doesn’t end once the deed has been signed, we are here for buyers well after this, to help with everything from renovations, to building works or even rentals,” concludes António.

So if you are looking to buy or sell a property, choosing an experienced real estate agent really could be the answer to a quick, smooth and stress free process.

For further information about Marcela Properties, please visit www.marcelapropriedades.com