Sometimes our sellers are somewhat disheartened by the lack of success in selling their property. And quite frequently the potential buyers feel the same with regard to their efforts of finding their dream home. What leads to this situation and what can be done to avoid it? Let’s look at the buyers side of the story.
It all has to do with a huge difference in culture and background and the expectations formed by them. Most of our buyers are foreigners coming from the northern part of Europe, the UK or US. They have grown up in relative luxury with relatively high standards of living and comfort. As over time living in itself has become a luxury item there is no lack of information, design, shops, ideas and possibilities and many people are used to regard their home as way more than just a place to live. It needs to match their personality in every aspect and lot’s of money is spent to make that happen. So when they come over to Umbria they very often bring with them their own ideas and habits, their perspective of what a house should be like. Also included are the solutions they may know to change a property as well as an idea of the costs to do so.
Then they come to Umbria, maybe thinking of Italy as design country par excellence, only to find many outdated properties. Outdated comfort-wise, outdated style-wise or in worst case even both. And not only that, the prices are relatively high while the costs of renovation work have been underestimated. The reason many properties are outdated is that the average Italian owner has had it in the family for a long time and Umbria does not yet feature the same standards of living. People here are used to heating solutions like a fireplace connected to the radiators, appreciate the rustic style of their parents and grand parents and are often unaware of everything happening outside of this lovely Umbrian cocoon. They therefore do not see the need to adjust their price and lower it so a buyer can fit a make-over into the budget for the purchase. Owners may also sell simply because a house has become superfluous and not because they need the money. Another reason is that very often they have an idea of how much they would like to give to their children and so the prices is pinned exactly on that amount, which is not related to the market at all. Buyers then think of finding a similar property with a more attractive appearance and price, but similar here does only exist in real residential areas…
In order to not be disappointed we challenge our buyers to come with an open mind, think outside the framework of their home country and to see the true beauty of living in Umbria. It may take some time to find the right home, but there is one for every client, of that we are convinced!
