If you’re reading this, it’s because you’ve considered selling your property in Berlin. Well, congratulations! Realtors in the country consider Berlin as the new “hot cake” because properties are high in demand. Selling your property in Berlin involves some important steps. The first thing to do is to undertake accurate property appraisal in Berlin to determine its worth on the market. If this is just one of the steps, what else do you need to do to sell your property in Berlin ?

Step One : Get Information on Property Taxes

Why is this important ? Well, if you’ve owned a property in Berlin for more than ten years, you won’t be paying profit tax when you sell it. That’s pretty cool. However, you may have to pay taxes when you sell if you’ve owned it for less than ten years. This tax could be up to fifty percent of the property value or less. It depends on the tax laws in your area. Therefore, it is best to visit your local tax office to get the proper information.
Also, consider the mortgage loan. You may be selling because you intend to pay off the mortgage and still get some profit. Then, you may have to sell your property at a higher rate than the mortgage loan.

Step Two : Appraise The Property For Its Market Worth

How do you appraise a property for its market worth ? To determine this, you have to ask yourself certain questions. Where is your property located ? This is the most important of the questions. Location determines the price. If your property is situated in Mitte, you know you’re going to be selling at a high price. If it is situated in Marzahn-Hellersdorf, your asking price has to be a little lower.

Other questions to ask include : Is the property in a good shape ? If not, do you have plans to remodel ? If you just remodeled, how much did it cost you ? How spacious is the property in general ? Is your building up to today’s housing standards ? If it is a house, how many rooms are in the house ? You can jot the answers on paper. This will help in determining how much you should sell. You can pay a reliable company to perform accurate property appraisal in Berlin before you set your final asking price. 

Step Three : Prepare Your Documents

You need to prepare your documents as soon as possible. Your documents should include a layout plan (Grundrissplan). This entails how many square meters your property covers and each room. Next, prepare the declaration of division document (Teilungserklärung). This one entails information about the property’s shared spaces. It is usually a twenty to sixty-page document.
Other documents include your fire insurance document (Brandversicherungsurkunde), the energy pass document (Energieausweis), the first report of the building (Baubeschreibung) among others. The first report of the building provides the prospective buyer insights into how the property has developed over the years.

Step Four : Set Your Asking Price

By now, you should have a good idea of how much you intend to sell your property. Make sure your asking price is worth it. Also, you have to brace up your mind for negotiation for what is real estate marketing without them ? Even though you intend to make profits, ensure your price is not unrealistic. In the same vein, make sure that you are not underpricing your property. If you’re still struggling with pricing, compare prices with other properties on the market. This should help you arrive at a decent conclusion.

Challenges You May Face When Selling to Foreign Investors 

Language Barrier 

Foreign investors are gaining more interest in buying properties in Berlin. The bulk of these includes Europeans and Hong-Kong nationals. Many of them do not speak German and the few ones that try, aren’t fluent. If you’re a German citizen who speaks only German, language can be a barrier between you and your prospective buyer. If you speak English but your prospective buyer speaks another language, it could also hinder your business transactions.

Exchange Rate 

When dealing with a foreign buyer, consider the currency exchange rate of their country’s currency. Usually, the banks change the rate of the money sent to sell at retail prices. This, of course, will affect you as it reduces the amount of money you’re expected to receive. Therefore, seek to negotiate with the foreign exchange bank agent at wholesale price. You may or may not be successful with this but try nonetheless. Another option might be buying in cryptocurrency or sticking to an internationally accepted currency, USD. 

Let First Citiz Berlin Estate Agent Handle It All

One costly mistake property sellers make is that they think they can handle the entire process by themselves. Of course, this only results in difficulties and avoidable mistakes. This is why you should hire an estate agency like First Citiz Berlin.
First Citiz Berlin is one of the top real estate agencies in the city. They have a portfolio of clients from more than fifty countries and they are well-represented in foreign media like The Telegraph. Their agents speak both English, German and other languages so that language is not a barrier between you and your prospective buyer. This agency will handle everything for you from accurate property appraisal to sale completion. 

Conclusion

Selling your property in Berlin should not stress you out if you have the right guide. This is why you should be willing to trust the right agency – First Citiz Berlin – to help you through the process.