HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THAILAND QUICKLY

HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THAILAND QUICKLY

8 Tips To Successfully Sell Your Home In Thailand

You’ve decided to list your home for sale and want to ensure that it doesn’t languish on the market for ages without any viewings or offers.  In order to increase your chances of selling your home in a timely fashion, check out these important steps you should be taking to prepare your house for sale in Hua Hin, Thailand (Immobilier Thaïlande – Maisons à vendre en Thaïlande)

If you’re getting ready to sell your house, here is an easy, but essential list of 8 tips to successfully sell your hoe in Thailand.

1. ORGANIZE YOUR DOCUMENTS

Make sure that all of your house ownership documents are organized and ready to send to the Buyer’s lawyer once you have officially accepted an offer.  You never know: you may receive an offer within the first few days of listing the house for sale, and you can save yourself the stress and hassle of running around trying to find all the documents under a deadline by preparing everything in advance.  You will need all of these documents in order to complete a sale smoothly and successfully:

• Land Title Deed (Nor Sor Sam Gor or Full Chanote, etc); you should also have several copies on hand to give to serious buyers so they can do their due diligence;
• Tor Ror 99 or Tor Ror 900 (Many lawyers require this document – Here is a link to an example Tor Ror 900);
• Lease Contract, if applicable (Non-applicable if freehold ownership through a Thai spouse or Thai company);
• Building Permit (link to an example building permit);
• Maintenance agreement, if applicable (for some private housing developments only);
• If you own your property via a Thai company, you will need to make sure that all of your property taxes and company tax filings are current.  You will need a receipt from the tax office to show proof of payment and an official letter stating that no further taxes are due at the time of the sale.
• Copy of the Blue Book or Yellow Book (Tabien Baan)

2. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE FIRST IMPRESSION

Prepare your house to look like a beautiful show home and wow people the moment they walk in the door.  Get rid of all the unnecessary junk that’s been collecting dust in and around your property.  The motorcycle that’s been propped up on concrete blocks for years that’s never going to get fixed?  Get rid of it!  Or at least move it and all the other stuff you don’t use on a regular basis off the premises to keep the house looking perfectly clean and tidy at all times. Many buyers have no imagination and will not be able to see beyond the clutter.  This is why all the best selling homes in Hua Hin are always off-plan new builds with an impeccable show house to entice buyers.  Remember, you never know when an agent may call at the last moment to show your home, and that last minute phone call may be the one buyer who is a perfect fit for your home—make sure they can see it in the best light possible.

3. REMOVE PHOTOS OF YOURSELF AND FAMILY (AND LEAVE THE HOUSE)

Some agents may disagree, but I always recommend that most personal photos and pictures of family be removed from the walls.  If possible, replace personal photos with tasteful art.  You want your prospective buyers to be able to envision themselves in your house, and this is a lot more difficult with pictures of you, your kids, your grandkids, your dogs, etc. all around.  If it feels like someone else’s home, your chances of receiving an offer will be statistically lower. Also, when an agent comes with a client to view your home, you should always leave the premises.  Go to a café, walk your dog, anything to get you out of the house, and don’t come back until the viewing is finished.  Never hang around the house while your agent is showing potential buyers around.  Hovering over the clients makes everyone feel uncomfortable, and the clients will want to leave as fast as possible.  No one likes to intrude on someone else’s personal space, and this is how the potential buyer will feel.  Please, please leave the house and let the agent and potential buyers wander through your home for as long as possible, helping them imagine themselves as the new owners and increasing the chances of selling your house.  A good agent will know the details of your home already and can highlight all the lovely features of the house, so let them do their job, and go enjoy a coffee while your potential buyer is busy planning their future in your home.

4. PREPARE AND CLEAN YOUR HOME FOR AN AGENT’S FIRST VISIT

When you invite an agent to your home to talk about selling your property, make sure your house is already staged and ready for photos.  This early preparation serves two purposes: first, the agent will have a great first impression of your home and will see that you are serious about selling your home.  Also, they will know that you are motivated to sell and take the time and effort to present the home well; therefore, the agents will feel confident recommending your home to potential buyers knowing that it will look great when they bring their customers to view it. Second, everyone is pressed for time, so prepare your home for a photo session on the initial visit with an agent to save you and the agent from having to arrange a second meeting, which means more time spent and wasted effort.  Great photos of your house mean a better chance of direct leads and inquiries on your home.  Direct leads on specific properties translate into actual sales.  Buyers are looking at hundreds (maybe thousands) of real estate listings at a time, and on average, most people only spend a few seconds on any particular listing—make your house stand out amidst a sea of other properties and grab the attention of those buyers by making your house look amazing.

5. CHOOSE THE RIGHT AGENT

Agents should be asking you lots of questions about your home, the development and general area, ownership structure, etc.  Make sure your agent is asking the right questions.  They need to be knowledgable about your property so they feel confident selling it to their customers.  You should also be asking your potential agents lots of questions to make sure they are familiar with the Thai real estate laws and necessary procedures for selling a house.  Be wary of agents that use their iPhone to take pictures of your home.  If the agent can’t be bothered to invest in proper equipment to sell your house, then they probably aren’t that serious.  Finally, is the agent dressed professionally and does he/she have a professional demeanor that would inspire confidence in both you and potential buyers?

6. SET YOUR HOME AT A PRICE TO SELL

When trying to figure out a reasonable sale price, try calculating a figure based on a price per square meter.  As a rule of thumb, most western-style off-plan homes are currently being sold somewhere between 30,000 – 45,000 THB/sqm.  There are a few very high-end developments building homes in the 65,000++ THB/sqm range, but you will already know if your property is located in one of these developments.  The off-plan developments are your most fierce & direct competition.  At this time, off-plan houses are generally cheaper than re-sales.  Buyers have the option to customize their dream homes to their personal tastes, and building materials & finishing options keep improving each year.  Yes, some clients don’t want to build a new house, but ask any agent whether or not they are selling more off-plan houses or re-sale homes, and chances are good that they are selling far more off-plan houses. At the time of writing this, the overall Thai economy is down 40-60% from 2015 sales figures.  With the uncertainty in the current government and other strong social indicators in Thailand, foreign investment is expected to stay slow for some time.  It’s currently a buyer’s market.   Consider pricing your home competitively, or you may find that your home is languishing on the real estate market for a very long time — this always makes potential buyers suspicious.

7. CHECK IN WITH YOUR AGENTS

Try to call your real estate agents (Hua Hin Agents Immobilier) at least once a month.  Be friendly and ask them how the overall market is progressing.  You have to remember that each real estate agent is usually representing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of property listings.  It will be impossible for any particular agent to remember every single active listing on their books.  Reminding your agent that you are still here trying to sell your house, makes them know that you are motivated to sell your home, and when they have a client in your price range, they will automatically think of showing your home.  It’s okay to constantly check-in with your agent.  Just be friendly and ask if there is anything else you can do to help market your home more effectively.   Good agents are always short on free time, so keep your conversations quick and to the point; but a light touch with your favorite agent once a month will certainly help.

8.  And here are a few other tips and pointers: 

If you’re selling a very up-market home, just remember that 99% of all foreign investors have to pay cash for property here in Thailand.  Home loans are not available to foreigners in Thailand.  There are not a lot of people walking around in this world with $600,000 USD or $1,000,000+++ USD cash in their pockets.  There are even fewer people with that kind of money who are thinking about buying a house in Hua Hin, Thailand—your home is a niche market.  Hua Hin is a great place to live and retire, but until that high-speed rail from Bangkok to Hua Hin is finished, this is still a relatively small and unknown beach resort town.  Be realistic about the time it will take to sell your ultra-luxury home.  It will eventually sell, but it’s going to take some extra work from both you and your real estate agents. Stop negotiating the commission with your agents.  I know this is a self-serving suggestion, but stop and think about it: you want your various agents to be highly motivated to sell your house (if you are indeed motivated to sell).  You have a lot of competition with other sellers, especially in the off-plan market (hint: top developers pay more than 5%)!  Everyone is motivated by money.  If you try to squeeze an agent into accepting a 3% commission while off-plan developers are offering between 6-10% commission for successful sales, where do you think the agent is going to focus his/her efforts? You may eventually sell your home, but it’s certainly not going to be the first home your agent suggests.  Real estate agents spend loads of money generating client leads, and just like anyone, they expect a fair return on their investments.

We hope this has been an informative and helpful article, and for more information on selling your re-sale home in Hua Hin and to list your home for sale with Executive Homes Hua Hin, please call Paul at +66(0)85.264.2158 or email at executivehomespaul@gmail.com