Why we advised the client not to sell the apartment
- Milan Břečka
- Jul 15
- 4 min read
"The best deal isn't always the one we close. Sometimes it's the one we advise the client not to make at all."
The owner, with whom we had successfully sold a property a few years ago, contacted us again after three years. His plan was clear – to sell a smaller apartment intended for renovation and use the proceeds to finance the purchase of a larger home for his family.
At first glance, it was an ordinary business.
But for us, every business starts completely differently.
First we need to understand the person. Only then do we deal with the property.
That's why we didn't come to the first meeting with a ready-made quote or contract. Instead, we asked questions.
What drives you to sell?
What are your long-term plans?
What do you expect from a new property?
What role does this apartment play in your property?
Is selling really the best solution?
It is the answers to these questions that allow us to advise the client as if we were making decisions about our own property.
When data, not assumptions, decide
After the initial meeting, our team's work began.
We compared actually sold apartments in the area, analyzed the current offer of competitors, found out the prices of apartments after reconstruction, and thanks to long-term cooperation with the construction company, we prepared an accurate budget for the planned reconstruction.
We didn't work with estimates.
We worked with real numbers.
At that moment, we had all the data needed to make the right decision.
And the result was clear.
Instead of recommending that the apartment be sold, we told the client:
"Keep this apartment. Renovate it and keep it in the family. In the long run, it's a much better decision for you."
Maybe that sounds strange.
The real estate agency just rejected my own deal.
But our goal is never to close as many deals as possible.
Our goal is for the client to make the best possible decision.
It was at that moment that trust was created.
Trust opened the door to a much bigger project
A few weeks later, the same client called us again.
This time he didn't want to sell the apartment.
He wanted to entrust us with the sale of his family home.
He told us a simple sentence:
"I realized that you are not interested in a commission, but in making the right decision. That is why I want you to sell my house."
A completely new project has just begun here.
Because selling a family home doesn't start with photos or posting an ad.
It starts with thorough preparation.
First we got to know the house. Only then did we set its price.
Our first priority was to determine the actual condition of the property.
That's why we've assembled a team of experts.
Together we prepared:
technical report of the house,
project documentation,
energy label,
verification of the zoning plan,
possibilities for future expansion of the house,
indicative reconstruction budgets,
tax analysis,
legal due diligence,
market analysis and actual sales.
Each expert brought information from their field.
Thanks to this, we were able to answer practically every question of future buyers before the first inspection.
Buyers were not just buying a house.
They bought security.
The price is not an estimate.
Only when we had all the necessary data did we begin to set the recommended selling price.
We did not base our decisions solely on bid prices.
For example, we worked with:
data from the real estate cadastre,
prices of houses actually sold,
current competition,
interest rate levels,
the strength of demand in a given location,
the technical condition of the house,
the investment potential of the property,
costs of possible reconstruction.
Only by connecting all this information was a sales strategy created.
Marketing focused on the right buyer
Every house has its ideal buyer.
Our task was to determine exactly who it was.
Therefore, we did not target marketing at everyone.
We focused on a group of people who were looking for this type of property and were able to appreciate its location, the size of the plot, and the possibilities for future development.
The result was several written offers.
For each offer, we also checked the buyer's financing method.
The owner did not just choose the highest price.
He also chose certainty that the entire deal would actually go through.
Result
Our goal was to achieve a sales price of around CZK 20 million .
Thanks to thorough preparation, a properly set strategy, and targeted marketing, the property was sold for a price exceeding the owner's original expectations by several hundred thousand crowns.
But the most important result was not in the price itself.
The most important thing was that the entire deal came about because we initially advised the client not to sell another property.
This is the philosophy on which we base our work.
We do not sell at any price. First, we look for the best solution for the client. Because we believe that long-term trust is always more valuable than one quickly concluded commission.
Do you want to see what this job actually looked like?
This story is not a model situation or a marketing example.
This is a real business case from our practice.
You can view the complete presentation of the family house, including technical documents, project documentation, energy label, information about the location and the way we prepared the entire sale, here:
Our philosophy
We believe that a successful sale does not begin with the signing of a brokerage contract or the publication of an advertisement.
It starts with understanding the person, their motivations, and proper analysis of all available data.
That is why we cooperate with experts in the fields of construction, design, law, finance and marketing.
Each of them brings information that helps our clients make the right decisions.
Because the highest selling price is not a matter of luck. It is the result of quality preparation, experience and the work of the entire team.
Comments