Co-owner
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Before clearing out your property, consider asking the buyer if they’re interested in keeping certain pieces of furniture or accessories. If these items are not included in the sale price, you’ll need to agree on a separate price.
Next, consider donating to charitable organizations such as Emmaüs, La Renfile, or La Manivelle. Most of them will come to your home to collect donated furniture or household items.
Finally, for any remaining items that no one wants, arrange for their removal through a moving company that complies with local recycling and waste disposal guidelines.
Useful contacts:
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Emmaüs Genève – +41 22 301 57 57 – emmaus-ge.ch
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La Renfile (CSP Genève) – +41 22 807 07 00 – csp.ch
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La Manivelle – +41 77 525 70 68 – manivelle.ch
Excerpt from our guide: Selling Your Home in 42 Questions
Link to this FAQ: https://www.grange.ch/en/faq/im-moving-and-dont-want-to-keep-all-my-furniture-what-should-i-do/
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Since 2021, the vast majority of new mortgage certificates are so-called “registered” certificates, meaning they are digitized and recorded in the Land Registry, unlike “paper” certificates which are only valid for the person physically holding them. If your certificate belongs to the latter category, there is indeed a risk of losing it. If you can no longer find your mortgage certificate, this can pose a problem when selling your property — but it’s not insurmountable.
The notary will be required to withhold an amount from the sale price equivalent to the value of the certificate and associated legal fees. They must also appoint a lawyer to initiate a “title cancellation procedure” before the Court of First Instance. This process includes a publication in the official gazette (Feuille d’avis officielle) calling for any potential creditors to come forward. If no claims are made within the set period, the court may issue a new mortgage certificate and the notary can then release the withheld funds to the seller. This process can take several months and incur additional costs.
Therefore, it is crucial to keep your paper certificates in a safe place — or better yet, convert them into registered certificates.
Excerpt from our guide: Selling Your Home in 42 Questions
Link to this FAQ: https://www.grange.ch/en/faq/ive-lost-my-mortgage-certificate-what-should-i-do/
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Real Estate Values: What Are the Differences and How to Interpret Them?
You have probably heard about several types of values related to your property, which can sometimes be confusing. Some concern banks, others insurance, and of course, when selling your property, you mostly want to know the market value. The main types of values are defined as follows:
Market Value (or Fair Value):
This is the value that should interest you when selling your property. It is estimated taking into account a multitude of criteria, both intrinsic—such as the living area, plot size for a villa, quality of materials, installations, location, neighborhood—and extrinsic factors like the macroeconomic situation, demand from potential buyers, scarcity of similar properties, and recent sales in the area. A knowledgeable expert must master all these aspects to provide you with an estimate that closely reflects the market reality.
Real Value (or Intrinsic Value):
This corresponds to the cost necessary to reproduce the same property identically, minus a certain percentage for wear and tear, plus the land value. This value is often somewhat lower than the market value. It can be used for certain types of valuations and expert reports.
Mortgage Value (or Pledge Value):
This is the value a mortgage lender (usually a bank) agrees to finance. In most cases, this value is estimated using the hedonic method, which refers to recent sales of comparable properties in the neighborhood, with a conservative margin. Each bank, however, may apply its own evaluation methods.
Insurance Value:
In Geneva, it is generally estimated annually by the Building Valuation Office (BEB) and serves as the basis for your building insurance contract. In brief, it is the amount you insure. If your building burns down, it is the amount the insurance will pay to rebuild it new. This value only considers the construction cost necessary to reproduce the property identically. It does not take depreciation or land value into account.
Tax Value:
This value is less straightforward. It is calculated and periodically reassessed by the tax authority. It is used, among other things, to calculate your wealth tax. If you bought your property, its tax value is the purchase price. If you inherited it, the value corresponds to what the tax administration recorded at that event. If you or a close relative lives in the property, the tax value is reduced by 4% per year of occupation, up to a 40% deduction. If you made improvements increasing the value, you must report them to the tax authorities, and the amount of the work will be added to the tax value. Note that if your property has more than two units or commercial premises, it is considered a rental property. Its tax value is then determined by capitalizing the annual fiscal rental income at a rate set yearly by the authorities.
“Replacement” Value OCLPF:
This value applies if your villa is located on a parcel in a development zone (see question 8). It is mainly calculated by considering a price per square meter for the land, the intrinsic value of your villa, landscaping, exterior amenities, and a sum for connecting your parcel to public services.
Excerpt from our guide: Selling Your Home in 42 Questions
Link to this FAQ: https://www.grange.ch/en/faq/real-estate-values-what-are-the-differences-and-how-to-interpret-them/