he following tips are given in the hope they will prove to be of some assistance to sellers, especially when selling a home in which they have lived for many years.

hen a resale property is viewed by a potential buyer in the back of his mind will always be the question - "Why is the property for sale". The Agent will need to have a realistic answer.

ost sellers have a pre-conceived idea of the figure they wish to receive from their property. This sum is mainly arrived at by using various sources such as their own value, comments from friends, general condition of the property and its view, information from the marketplace and location. As there are many other factors which affect the value a more realistic view is to obtain some valuations from chosen Real Estate Agents. A good Agent will take into consideration the sellers point-of-view plus their professional local knowledge of similar properties and the current market trends. Discuss with each Agent the policy they use in regard to pricing.

he seller should always bear in mind that an avarage buyer is only interested in paying what they consider to be lowest reasonable price in relation to what they have been shown elsewhere. Instructing the Agent to market a property at a price determined only by the seller often becomes a large obstacle in achieving a possible sale. When the price is above what the agent considers to be its resonable value their attitude can often be negative

hoose your Real Estate Agents carefully and we recommend that you do not use more than three in total. The buyers tend to think negatively about a property that is being handled by "everyone"! Agents often specialize in certain segments of the market and this should be considered in relation to the selling potential of a property. It is strongly recommended that you have the same market price for all Agents to avoid possible manipulation by prospective buyers.

repare a sales package for each Agent as listed in our "Selling Property - Legal Page", together with some photos.

rrange for access to the property to be made as easy as possible. The buyers are normally viewing during a short visit to the Algarve and sales are often lost because of access limitations created by the seller. Some Agents will refuse in the season to handle properties that are rented to holiday visitors. When the property is for sale and is at the same time used as a rental income, we suggest that the managing agents are made fully aware that the property is for sale and viewing is allowed with the cooperation of any holiday guests.

e strongly recommend that a seller carefully thinks about the risks involved before considering handing the property to sell to any individual who is not a legal Real Estate Agent. If anything later goes wrong with the sale, such individuals are acting outside the Law and will normally show no legal responsibility in the sale. They may become involved in a Court Action which will then reflect seriously on the seller.

any properties in the past were purchased through an Offshore Company. This method places a property in the ownership of a Company that is registered outside Portugal through a Share Purchase Agreement. If the property is already in an Offshore Company it is safe to assume that the buyers lawyer will explain to his client the advantages and disadvantages about this type of ownership may recommend to dispense with the Offshore ownership.