30 June 2011
I spent a little over 42 hours in Bulgaria at the end of one summer, in that time I met with 3 agents, 2 property developers and viewed 12 different properties. Within three months one of those properties was mine, I’ll tell you what to do when you view a property abroad.
Before I get down to specifics, let me tell you a bit about negotiating. It’s important.
Negotiating is about finding common ground, agreeing on something from two different points of view. Good negotiation is mutually beneficial, bad negotiation leads to no deal, wasted time and probably even wasted money. Be in no doubt, the moment you start interacting with a real estate agent you are starting to negotiate. It doesn’t look like it and it doesn’t feel like it but you are. That is why I said that being knowledgeable and showing you mean business when planning to view property in another country is important, it is because it puts you in the correct frame of mind for negotiating effectively.
Now back to the property viewings. Before you fly out get into the negotiation mindset, print off your research spreadsheet, recharge your mobile phone and make sure you have roaming enabled. When you meet agents or developers let them know two things:
- how much time you have planned to be with them
- that you have or already had other appointments without going into details
It’s just a bit of psychology in order to start your viewings as early as possible and so that they are aware that they have competition to beat. Since you don’t give details they’ll have to assume that it’s serious competition.
I won’t go into all the usual things you should check when viewing a property as it’s either common sense or subjective. However if you are viewing a new or off plan build it is important to find out the as much as possible about the developer. Do your best to determine how long they have been in business, how many builds they have done previously and how successful those builds were.
Why? Because property developers like the rest of us learn from their mistakes. The more established they are, the more likely they do a good job with all the parts of a building that you can’t check yourself (plumbing, electrics and so on). I played it safe and made it clear that I wasn’t interested in first time builds or anything off plan. Of course you may be happy with a riskier approach but I still advise that you have a compelling reason to consider first time and off plan builds.
Another tip to keep in mind is that while you are with an agent be non committal and avoid being pressurised, remember they want that commission but you want to keep your cards close to your chest until you have done all your viewings. After each appointment in your schedule make notes about the properties you saw in your research spreadsheet. Write down both the good and the bad. Gathering this information while it’s fresh is much better than relying on your memory and will help you make the right call when the time comes.
After a day of viewings you will be tired because you will be multitasking constantly: you will be focused on systematically inspecting while you walk around the property, keeping your emotions at a bay to avoid rash decisions, and being friendly and relaxed with whoever is showing you around. But it doesn’t finish there.
Once your appointments are done, sit down to a well deserved meal and rationalise your day. Work out if you would consider putting in an offer for any properties you visited and if you would, once you’re done eating get back out there to familiarise yourself with the local area. All you want to do is identify any show stoppers, these are subjective. For instance a stadium just around the corner may be desirable for one person but not for another. When I did it with my wife it only took about 20 minutes and it also gave us a chance to check out the property from outside once more on our own.
To recap, property viewings abroad are constrained by time, so you need to get a lot done quickly. Learn the facts, get organised, collect the info and fly back home with the knowledge that you have everything you need to make an informed buy decision for an overseas property.
