Alpine Angels Property Blog

Rhiannon Cook gives advice on how to make your property attractive to prospective buyers

The Autumn is often a busy time in the Alpine Property market, with the run up to Christmas sparking interest for buyers looking to complete before the winter season. Alpine Angels takes a look at how Vendors can optimise their chances of selling during this busy time.

One of the key elements to attracting positive attention is to depersonalise your property. Prospective buyers want to be able to picture themselves living in a place and this is hard to do when it is very much ‘personalised’ by someone else. It’s best to keep the décor as neutral as possible so remove any Damien Hirst or similar from the living room wall! Too much clutter can make a property look small and confusing on first appearance, so try to have a good clear out before your viewings.

You can cover up a magnitude of sins with a small inexpensive ‘facelift’. It might be worth giving the main areas a repaint, focusing on spots that are at the eye level of a potential buyer. Try to look at your property with a stranger’s eye; we get so used to imperfections when we look at them every day.

If you have pets or children, consider asking a neighbor to look after them during the visit as the more people in a room the smaller it feels. Prospective clients may feel uncomfortable with a large group of strangers or animals and this can cause an awkward feeling in a room.

Photos are the key to getting buyers into your home and this is not something the local agents have yet mastered. If you are selling through a local agent make sure they have taken great photos, and if not consider taking some better ones yourself. It’s also worth considering a professional photographer for the larger chalets. We use Jacqui Cutler for our chalets: http://www.jcutlerphotography.co.uk/

Having some life in the place will help to make the property feel lived in, even if it’s a neutral look. Fill the fruit bowl with tempting looking fruit, replenish the wine rack with some local bottles, and get some fresh flowers on the living room table.

People moving to the Alps will be excited for the French life style and looking to enjoy all that the mountains have to offer. Be open to talk about all the great facilities available in the area, the ski lifts, market day, mushroom picking in the autumn and all the great things that make the area what it is. I would even be tempted to casually display a baguette and some cheese in the kitchen!

If you would like any further advice on selling your Alpine Property please get in touch with Alpine Angels.

Rhiannon Cook is the representative for Alpine Angels in the Chamonix Valley. You can contact Rhiannon by e-mail rhiannon.cook@alpineangels.net

Alpine Angels office : info@alpineangels.net 0044(0)1225 442128

Last summer we wrote an article about a new bridge being constructed in St Gervais. The busy road running through the town (that has as many as 13,000 vehicles travelling on it during peak times) was to be re-routed. A bridge had been planned removing traffic from the town. St Gervais was to become a pedestrian paradise.

Last week we received reports from our mountain moles in St Gervais that the two ends of this bridge were finally connected. Construction is due to be completed in full by December but the work looks streets ahead of schedule which means soon enough any traffic passing through to Megeve or Albertville will by-pass the town centre entirely, which is great news for all.

If you are interested in following the progress of the bridge it even has its own official website. http://www.saintgervais.com/fr/la-ville/les-grands-projets/pont.html

One of the joys of summer in the Alps is that the extensive mountain lift network is opened so the Alps can be explored in a variety of different ways from cycling to walking to paragliding for the more adventurous!

Most resorts opened their lifts network on 29^th June and they will remain open until early September. Dates for specific resorts can be found here

Summer lift dates

This year there will be no cable car from Prodains (Morzine – Avoriaz) but Avoriaz can be accessed via the Super Morzine bubble lift.

BNP Paribas’ annual “Investing & living abroad” survey has just been published looking at the trends and changes in the French Property Market over the 12-18 months.

The biggest headline was the value of the average property transaction, which had increased across France with some regions seeing a rise of up to +12%.

The buyer profile for France shifted slightly with French expatriates becoming the biggest overseas buyer followed by the Swiss, utilising the strength of their currency to buy up property in the French Alps, and the UK coming in 3^rd representing 11% of the market.

BNP extended this year’s report to look at the impact of the internet on house buying. It found that:

-       Over 80% of international buyers used the internet to find houses for sale

-       88% of British buyers started their search online

-       73% of buyers researched comparative prices online

-       They also used the Internet to find information on the local property market and to look for an estate agent and property professionals

-       A staggering 48% of purchasers stated that they could not have found their property without the help of the Internet

The Internet seems to be used less for the financial part of the purchasing process.

The future of France

France continues to retain its strength and appeal as a property investment of choice.

Of the purchasers questioned 61% said they hadn’t even considered investing in a country other than France. 97% said that they saw France as a having great long term investment potential. 42% already planned a further acquisition in the near future with 50% of the respondents already in a position to confirm France would once again be their country of choice.

Even Estate Agents received a mention in this year’s report with 91% of respondents saying they were happy with the level of service they received from their estate agents. Estate agents themselves confirmed the trend in internet usage stressing the attention that had to be paid to the description of a property and the quality of the photos placed online as these are the elements which determine the attractiveness of the ad.

“The photos are the most important thing” one estate agent commented “because people don’t read any more. Anything more than three lines and they lose interest. They don’t even read the fourth line…”

Which means I may be the only person to reach the end of this article! For more information on the French Property Market in the Alps please get in touch with Alpine Angels

info@alpineangels.net

0044 (0)1225 442128

Independent Property Sales Agent in Chatel Valley

We have a vacancy for someone to join our dynamic team working in Chatel and the Abondance Valley. We are looking for someone with the following qualities:

-          Professional and energetic

-          Self motivated and hardworking

-          Fluent in English and French

-          Good people skills

-          An interest in property

Prior experience in property sales is not necessary. Training is provided. The position offers a good opportunity for anyone in the area to build up a good business working with the local estate agents and developers. Our Property Sales Agents have a high level of job satisfaction as well as benefiting from the potential of good rewards.

If you think you would suit the role please send your CV to Catharine Hunt catharine.hunt@alpineangels.net

You are welcome to phone for a chat on 0044 1225 442128