Mishaps, missteps, misfortune: with property sales, these three may cost you dearly. We would never wish them upon anyone - yet again and again, clients tell us about their dreadful experiences with unprofessional brokers.

What could possibly go wrong with a real estate deal?

• The real estate broker has no professional training or expertise
  Many real estate brokers are really just self-appointed „experts“ - i.e., beginners or career-changers with little fundamental knowledge and no formal education or training. Accordingly, they lack the necessary technical expertise to market properties successfully. For instance, these brokers do not prepare professional sales documentation, are not sufficiently involved with the sale property, or pay little attention to the needs of potential buyers.
   
• The real estate broker is unable establish a value estimation
  Few real estate brokers are additionally capable of appraising properties. To do something like this, you need to possess vast market expertise and ample experience. Brokers lacking this ability may be problematic for the seller of a property. The danger exists in the broker valuing the property at too low or too high a sale price. When the sale price is too high, the property will linger on the market and not sell within a feasible timeframe. This means a loss of valuable time. Moreover, potential buyers might be scared away by such unattainable price expectations. If the price is too low, the seller is effectively giving money to the buyer, who will certainly be more ecstatic about the successful sale than the seller.
   
• The real estate broker promises the moon and the stars
  Many illusions get their start here. Negative examples include the promise that an unreasonably high sales price can be achieved, or the guarantee that the property will sell within a brief timeframe. Other brokers fail to explain land register or zoning conditions adequately. This failure may lead to unpleasant surprises in the sales process.
   
• The real estate broker is clueless about financing
  In Switzerland, banks provide 50% to 60% of property financing; accordingly, it is important to know their basic principles and valuation criteria. Similarly, it is critical - both to buyer and seller - that the purchase be conducted step by step. At the end of the transaction, under no circumstance should the buyer be left without ownership of the property, or the seller without their full share of the purchase price.
   
• The real estate broker is clueless about contract, construction and tax law
  Imprecise contracts are a very costly matter, for seller and buyer alike. Depending on the situation, the laws governing real estate gains tax are very important. Unfortunately here, too many brokers have absolutely no technical knowledge and do not advise their clients sufficiently. The legal errors from bad advice often exceed the cost of the broker‘s commission.
   
• The real estate broker is a good consultant, but no seller
  Ultimately, a property must be sold. Sales talent, tactfulness and sensitivity are gifts held by a handful of real estate advisors. Using their keen sales acumen, they can optimize the sale value of a property. Thus, the broker can create added value for the seller.
   
• Real estate marketing“ is a foreign concept
  Only few brokers are capable of marketing a property in a structured manner. Many brokers are careless in selecting target markets and target groups. Consequently, they fail to address the true target effectively. If the seller desires a discrete marketing approach, the broker must choose a differentiated approach, like a sale at auction, for example.
   
• The real estate broker has no access to potential target groups
  „A cobbler should stick to his last“ - not all properties can be sold by all brokers. A real estate broker should specialize in a specific market territory or a certain category of property. It makes no sense to sell properties in a foreign country if you do not have a command of the language or the nuances of the market.
   
• The real estate broker has insufficient market knowledge
  A market is a volatile platform, subject to constant change. To work successfully in this challenging environment takes a broker with a sufficiently large number of transactions and a keenly attentive eye on the market. A broker must regularly pursue continuing education - otherwise, he swiftly loses perspective.
   
• After the sale, the broker makes himself scarce
  A real estate broker should be available to both seller and buyer after the sale closes. He preserves his agency function and after the sale, and also earnestly handles the concerns of buyer and seller in equal measure. For questions or problems, he acts in an advisory capacity on behalf of both parties, and also acts as arbitrator when needed.

Why you should choose us

We have a passion for the unique

• We have devoted our business endeavors to the preservation and safeguarding of special value properties since 1944.
• With compassion and professionalism, we personally devote ourselves to the concerns and the successes of our clients.
• As a firm with a proud history that is rich in tradition, Ginesta Real Estate is an icon of highly personal and customized real estate consulting throughout the Zurich region and beyond.
• We operate in all of Switzerland as a full-service real estate company, and currently have more than 20 professionals in our employ.
• Our international business endeavors are expanding increasingly. By entering one of the largest international networks of brokers in the world - Leading Real Estate Companies of The World (www.leadingRE.com) - we found an ideal partner who meets our high expectation The Network is of international significance, already a market leader in the USA and, is represented in Switzerland through Ginesta Immobilien along with two other leading companies in French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva and Lausanne) as well as in Tessin. Leading RE makes real estate services throughout the globe available to our clients and us.

PDF Illusion No.3

Author: Claude Ginesta

Claude A. Ginesta is a federally licensed real estate fiduciary (registered with the SVIT, the Swiss Federation of Real Estate Fiduciaries) and owner and CEO of
Ginesta Real Estate AG.
The company was founded in 1944 and specializes in the sale of properties in the Zurich and Grisons markets. With offices in Küsnacht, Horgen and Chur, the company operates as real estate broker throughout Switzerland for properties located across the country.

Publisher of the “Illusions” series: Ginesta Real Estate AG, www.ginesta.ch