Michał bought his first flat in Warsaw in 2010. It seemed like a perfect home: bright, spacious, and full of unique ambience – like most flats in old tenement houses. For a young man like Michał, it seemed like a lifetime achievement these days.
As he recalls:
– It was precisely what I dreamt of back then. Like many other young people who buy their flats I was deeply convinced that I will live there to the end of my life. However, the reality turned out to be different …
The years passed by and Michał developed his successful career and had much fun – and soon he found new sources of his happiness and fulfilment. He met a perfect girl, fell in love with her and got married. Soon his little daughter was born. His family life was flourishing. But his perfect studio apartment was not that perfect anymore. Carrying a pram up to the third floor or looking for a parking space on the busy street has become more and more frustrating, as the number of family duties increased. Eventually Michał and his family decided to move to another place in Warsaw – the one more suited to their needs. But what about the studio apartment of his dreams? Initially Michał rented it out to tenants but, as he says, after a couple of years did not see much point in doing so. He used to work a lot and preferred to devote all his free time to his family – rather than deal with the tenancy issues. That is why he eventually decided to sell the flat.
How did Michael prepare for the sale of his flat?
– So I finally made the decision to sell, and I was prepared for the real agony. Because buying a flat is a nightmare and selling it is a nightmare too… – says Michał. For most people who relocate from one flat to another this sounds absolutely true.
At first, Michał tried to sell his flat by himself. He recalls a number of problems he had come across – first of all, selling a property is a long-term and time-consuming process. If the seller is not pressed for time, he or she may deal with this challenge with patience, but that was not Michał’s case. He neither had time to answer hundreds of phone calls from prospective buyers, nor was fully available for those who wanted to see the flat. This was both discouraging and irritating for him. He had an impression that he took an extra job in an industry that was completely unknown to him.
But that was not the only thing that irritated Michał when he was trying to sell his flat. He admits that he did not really trust real estate agents who operate on the market, which he perceived as chaotic and unclear. He pointed out to the non-exclusive nature of cooperation with real estate agents or the fact that the scopes of their duties frequently overlapped with those which may be performed by the owner. And there was the question of time: the agent’s support was also time-consuming. Sometimes in order to hoist a price, the sales process must be extended, but that does not always work. This is why Michał decided to take advantage of SonarHome’s services.
– As I worked for a start-up company myself, I had already heard of SonarHome sometime before. And even though I initially believed that I would sell my flat independently, I eventually took advantage of their support when I tried to determine the current transactional value of my studio, or the asking price that would reflect the actual market situaton.
How does a fair property valuation at SonarHome help you sell your home?
What Michał has just mentioned is a free property valuation tool. He took advantage of the price calculator available at SonarHome.pl. How does it work? It is an AI algorithm which carries out an advanced analysis of the local property market. The algorithm analyses data imported from thousands of ads published on the major real property websites and calculates the approximate transactional price for a given flat – both from the point of view of the sellers and the prospective buyers. The price estimate is supplemented by a detailed report concerning the property in order to provide each transacting party with valuable information which would help them to take the right decision and guarantee safe processing of the transaction.
– And this is awesome! – says Michał – It is a good news for the seller, because I think that approximating your price to the current market price is the seller’s interest too, because it would look fair to those prospective buyers who are discouraged by high asking prices. And this helps you to save a lot of time – admits Michał.
Selling your home at SonarHome will help you to save time
When Michał used SonarHome’s pricing tool and assessed the market price of his flat, he also learned about iBuying i.e. SonarHome’s service consisting in buying flats directly from its customers. Initially he was not interested in the service, as he intended to sell his flat on his own based on a reliable price assessment. However, he soon realised that such assistance might be a perfect option. Why? As he says:
– Bearing in mind the fact that my sales negotiations dragged on and on, I eventually decided to speed up the process and sell my flat directly to SonarHome. And let them proceed with it further.
If Michał had decided to sell his flat before Karolina contacted him on behalf of SonarHome, he still would not have any problems using the service. In fact, after receiving a detailed pricing report, we may just select a relevant button and notify SonarHome about our intention to use iBuying service. When taking this decision Michał took into account the chance of saving a huge amount of time:
– I assumed that I would need to give up on several percent of the property value to enable SonarHome earn their share, but I was desperate to make the deal as fast as possible at a price comparable to the transactional one, so I do not think that I suffered a loss. The price reflects the time I could save by not having to agonise over that property transaction for many months. – he emphasises.
How does iBuying service at SonarHome work?
The price SonarHome offered for his flat, Michal considered as a starting point. He had already gained some experience when trying to sell his flat independently. Therefore, he had some knowledge of the people who might be interested in buying, and knew how much effort and time would be needed to close the deal. Moreover, he also obtained the report concerning his property which gave him necessary knowledge and confidence that he would be treated fairly.
Michał was contacted by Karolina, our real estate advisor. As she herself tells us about her job:
– I am the person who comes and helps you sell your property. I get to know your expectations and I do my best to meet them.
And that's how the sale of Michal's flat looked like. As he recalls:
– We negotiated a bit and exchanged a couple of e-mails. After just a few days we agreed on the price which was attractive both for myself and for SonarHome. We have arranged all the details and a couple of days later we met at a notary’s office, so that was it.
So how long did it take?
– I do not remember exactly – Michał replies – I guess it took us about a week, and definitely no more than ten days. All we were really waiting for was the appointment with the notary. Because when I took the decision and collected all the necessary documents we just had to wait a couple of days for the notarial deed.
What makes the sale of a flat at SonarHome so quick?
The transaction times are reduced as much as possible for several reasons. First of all, our sales process is modern – thanks to SonarHome’s simplified procedures it requires just a single visit of our advisor, and the real property does not have to be prepared in any way for such visit. The advisor specifies all documents which must be collected, explains all formal intricacies, and clarifies all doubts that may emerge – after all not everyone sells real property on a day to day basis. It is definitely a big decision which requires expert support.
– First of all, Karolina was a matter-of-fact person. After a brief exchange of e-mails we mutually agreed on the conditions of sale. Then we arranged an appointment at the notary’s office. Karolina was very precise in pointing out the documents that are needed to close the transaction. It was all that simple: I fully understood all stages of the process, going step by step. I just knew where we were are where we were going. I was capable of gathering all the necessary documents quickly and close the transaction.
And this too was beneficial to Michał because of how he values his precious time - all transactions carried out at SonarHome are secured by a notarial deposit, which guarantees their full security. Furthermore, SonarHome flexibly closes the transactions - whenever it suits you best.
Michał sold his flat at SonarHome. What happened next?
Well, maybe someone else has now fulfilled his dream of a perfect spacious flat in an ambient tenement house. Yet, Michał does not have to bother with that anymore. Now she can spend happy afternoons colouring with his little daughter her favourite cartoon characters. When he resolved to sell his flat at SonarHome, he just hoped to save his time which is now particularly precious.