However you find a property to buy in Malta, during this type of economic climate real estate agents are bound to be in a better position to assist you in finding a property in Malta or Gozo.They are in touch with thousands of property owners on a daily basis wanting to sell urgently and therefore there may be a deal out there just waiting for you. So the better you know and work with them, the more likely you are to get the property you want.
Even though estate agents act on behalf of the vendor, those that sign up to a code of practice will look after anyone who registers and buys through them. Good agents recognise that treating buyers professionally is essential if they are to gain a sale. The really good ones also recognise a longer-term advantage if they treat you well — you may contact and instruct them to list your property for sale in Malta or Gozo with them later.
Put yourself in the estate agent’s shoes for a moment. Most people that register with them to buy a property never go through with it. Nevertheless, they still have to do all the work: get details prepared and sent out, follow up to see if they want to view a property, take them to viewings and continue to follow up on the vendor’s behalf.Imagine if half of your work were a wasted effort. How would you feel?So, don’t be too hard on estate agents. If you can show you are a serious buyer, you are much more likely to receive a good service and quality attention.
And don’t be too hasty to reject all estate agents. Unlike in the States, there appears to be a real lack of trust between agents, buyers and even the sellers.
Hopefully, having read these pages, you will better understand why agents ask the questions they do and do some of the things they do – even the things that irritate you.
BE SPECIFIC ON YOUR BRIEF
One of the most common ‘dinner party’ gossip complaints by buyers is that your agent sent property details outside his/her brief: the properties were too expensive, under the specified budget, had too few bedrooms, or too many, had no garden or something else that you did not want.
WHAT QUESTIONS AGENTS ASK AND WHY
When you register as a buyer, the first job for the real estate agent in Malta is to validate you as a real buyer for themselves and for vendors.They do this by asking standard, key questions. Here are some of them.
It can’t be stress enough the importance of being honest when answering any questions a real estate agent may ask. If you are not honest it is likely that you will be found out at some stage and your offer may fall through, losing you the property you wanted.
Have you a property to sell?
The agent needs to work out if you are a potential future instruction (you might sell your house through them). Furthermore, the agent wants to find out if you are in a strong position to buy.
Are you a cash buyer?
The vendor will want to know this. If you are not a cash buyer and there are properties that need to be sold quickly, there is little point introducing you to those.
If you are not in this position and went to view such a property, you would no doubt tell off the agent for wasting your time, Many people don’t really know what cash buyer means. There are two types. A real cash buyer has an amount of money that is immediately accessible and equals the price of the property to be purchased. The second type of cash buyer has nothing to sell, but needs a mortgage to fund the purchase.
What stage is your sale at?
If you are selling a property, the agent will ask whether you have received any offers, how long your property has been on the market and he may want to see it to value it and make sure that its priced to sell. This helps the agent assess if you really are intending to purchase and are not just having a look. It also helps them to judge how quickly you could make an offer and in what time frame you are likely to be able to sell your property.
Have you agreed or looked at obtaining a mortgage?
The main reason agents ask this question is that if the buyer does not investigate with a local bank, based on their salary/equity, how much they can borrow from the bank he/she may eventually end up disappointed later when he/she finds out that he/she cannot afford to buy the property because the bank will not provide them the finances required.This also affects the vendor which, at the end of the day, affects the reputation of the estate agent not to mention the hard work and wasted time of the agent having been mislead with a false budget.This happens all the time and can be frustrating for an agent.