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Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

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CENTRE PLUS NEWS No. 7, 2014 Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies) Searching for place to live can sometimes take a long time and it is not a secret that foreigners often face difficulties in finding a residence in Lithuania. Proper- ty owners approach to foreign- ers and dominating prices are not very favorable. So it is im- portant to arm with patience and knowledge, and start the search. First, it is important to decide, what kind of the apartment you are interested in – what size, floor and amenities. One way to look for an apartment could be the apartment rental or selling websites, but usually the most of ads on these websites are placed by real estate agencies which seek to earn some profits. In ad- dition, very often online adver- tisements are placed with beau- tiful pictures of ideal home at a very attractive price, but usual- ly they are already busy, when you call and you are offered of other apartments, which, frankly, are not so attractive. Also, sometimes there are cases, when the apartments are rented informally without a written lease agreement and not paying taxes to the state. Such cases are extremely dangerous, because landlords can ask to move from the apartment at any time. An- other way for search is adver- tisements in newspapers: you can place your ad, that you are looking for a specific apart- ment, but the latter method is more attributed to the pas- sive search for apartment. The most convenient way to purchase or rent a property is the services of real estate agen- cies. The real estate managers can help you to find the right home in the light of your needs and your search criteria. The brokers can also mediate at a meeting with the property own- ers and help to agree prices. . Of course, the services of real estate agency are not free and differ- ent companies have different fees. Nowadays the assistance for finding an apartment for rent (only if you rent it) costs from 400 to 500 LT. But when you are buying your home not always the price is the most important thing. It is important to evaluate other aspects. Esti- mate the area in which you are choosing your home: collect information about the area – is it a residential area, business or industrial district with all their features. Collect the informa- tion about the infrastructure - schools, kindergartens, shop- ping places, what are the trans- port options to get to other areas, is your new housing near your workplace, consider, wheth- er it will fit you after a few years (maybe you are plan- ning the family and then you will need to look for more spa- cious housing). The RE broker can help you to decide exactly, The RE broker can help you to decide exactly, what you are looking for, to find and evalu- ate the environment, price and other factors affecting the home
Transcript
Page 1: Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

CENTRE PLUS NEWS No. 7, 2014

Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

Searching for place to live can sometimes take a long time and it is not a secret that foreigners often face difficulties in finding a residence in Lithuania. Proper-ty owners approach to foreign-ers and dominating prices are not very favorable. So it is im-portant to arm with patience and knowledge, and start the search.

First, it is important to decide, what kind of the apartment you are interested in – what size, floor and amenities. One way to look for an apartment could be the apartment rental or selling websites, but usually the most of ads on these websites are placed by real estate agencies which seek to earn some profits. In ad-dition, very often online adver-tisements are placed with beau-tiful pictures of ideal home at a very attractive price, but usual-ly they are already busy, when you call and you are offered of other apartments, which, frankly, are not so attractive.Also, sometimes there are cases, when the apartments are rented informally without a written lease agreement and not paying taxes to the state. Such cases are extremely dangerous, because landlords can ask to move from the apartment at any time. An-other way for search is adver-tisements in newspapers: you

can place your ad, that you are looking for a specific apart-ment, but the latter method is more attributed to the pas-sive search for apartment.

The most convenient way to purchase or rent a property is the services of real estate agen-cies. The real estate managers can help you to find the right home in the light of your needs and your search criteria. The brokers can also mediate at a meeting with the property own-ers and help to agree prices. . Of course, the services of real estate

agency are not free and differ-ent companies have different fees. Nowadays the assistance for finding an apartment for rent (only if you rent it) costs from 400 to 500 LT. But when you are buying your home not always the price is the most

important thing. It is important to evaluate other aspects. Esti-mate the area in which you are choosing your home: collect information about the area – is it a residential area, business or industrial district with all their features. Collect the informa-tion about the infrastructure - schools, kindergartens, shop-ping places, what are the trans-port options to get to other areas,is your new housing near your workplace, consider, wheth-er it will fit you after a few years (maybe you are plan-ning the family and then you

will need to look for more spa-cious housing). The RE broker can help you to decide exactly, The RE broker can help you to decide exactly, what you are looking for, to find and evalu-ate the environment, price and other factors affecting the home

Page 2: Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

Centre Plius News No.7, 2014

purchase-related questions. The analysis of the criteria forms a complete picture of the desired housing. The result is a quick search. If you are buying the home, consider the legal issues:

Ask a seller or real estate bro-ker to show you a certificate/ or a statement of the real estate and property rights to it issued by the State Enterprise Centre of Registers. You have to make sure that the buyable asset is un-encumbered, not arrested or has not other liens. The seller should give you a certificate stating that there are no debts for electrici-ty, gas, water and other servic-es. Also you should be given a certificate from a homeown-ers association or community of gardeners, or, if there is no community or association, from a managing company and / or local authorities, that the real property is clear of debts. If the property is mortgaged, the seller must obtain the consent of the creditor for the transac-tion. If the seller has minor chil-dren, he must obtain the court authorization for the transfer of property to another person.If the property is owned by sev-eral co-owners, before giving a deposit be sure to ask for the waiver of pre-emptive rights to purchase with notarial attestation or ask for a joint meeting with co-owners, where they should to confirm in writing that have no claims on the transaction.

Take your time and invoke the experts of this field, who re-spectively will represent your rights and interests. To get free consultations on home search and contract issues, please contact the Center Plus.

Address: St. Smetonos 5-302, Vilnius. Good luck in your search!

Below you can find useful information for your home search. Real estate agencies:

• h t t p : / / w w w. e d o m u s . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w . r e -m a x . l t / a p i e - r e m a x• h t t p : / / r e o n . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w. r e b a l t i c . l t /•h t tp : / /www.ober-haus . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w . o p p a . l t /

• h t t p : / / w w w. e d m a k s . l t /• h t t p : / / d o m o . p l i u s . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w . n t s 2 4 . l t /

Other online home search sys-tems:

• h t t p : / / w w w. a r u o d a s . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w. s k e l b i u . l t /• h t t p : / / w w w . a l i o . l t /

Social services (Social Support Center).

Page 3: Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

Centre Plius News No.7, 2014

Real Estate Services for TCNsThe first need, that third coun-try nationals (TCNs) face in Lithuania, is the search of place to live. Since it is difficult to find the own housing because they do not speak Lithuanian language, the most reliable and safest way will be to turn to real estate (RE ) agencies. Some TCNs and prop-erty consultants have agreed to share their experiences.

Iranian citizen A. O. who came to Lithuania a year and a half ago, in the beginning was com-pletely overwhelmed. He shared that he had not an idea, where he had been living, if not the help of RE agency. “After arriving I have stayed with my acquaint-ances. They told me about web-sites, where I found real estate agencies,” - said Iranian. The man reviewed many proposals before finally he found a reason-able option. Iranian noted that he was satisfied with the quality of real estate agency work: “A property consultant was in regu-lar contact with landlords, made appointments, was translating and coordinating the condi-tions of contract. I did not need to take care of anything and it was a very big help, especially in the beginning, when I was the complete novice in a foreign country.” Asked, if he had only a positive experience, the Irani-an remembered a case, when he had been unsuccessful. . “I re-member the time, when I and a property consultant went to see an apartment. Once we were on the spot the landlord said that he would not rent the apartment for a foreigner. I was lost. I thought the real estate agent had in-formed that I was a foreigner.

But he did not. I was in shock.” Iranian offers the real es-tate consultants to warn own-ers in advance that the ten-ant is a foreigner. Then they won`t be wasting their time and won`t feel disregard.Egyptian citizen M. M. said that he was very pleased with RE agencies operating in Lithuania, because up to now he had got a very good and professional service: “Several times I have turned to the real estate agencies in order to rent an apartment for my parents visiting Lithuania. I really liked their profession-alism: English language, readi-ness and the respect of a client`s view. I’ll tell you frankly, I did not experience that in Egypt. I do not know if I was lucky here, or all of your real estate agencies work this way, but my opinion is easily the best.”

No matter, how it is tempting to believe that TCNs had only good experiences, and that only high level professionals work in

Lithuanian RE agencies, how-ever, another Egyptian citizen told us about a different reality. Egyptian, who is living in Lith-uania for more than five years and has cooperated with several real estate agencies, shared his experience: “Many of proper-ty consultants, to whom I have applied, were irresponsible and failed to complete their duties. Sometimes I was going to see an apartment, and nobody let me in because the landlord had not been informed about my visit.Or, I was going to sign a con-tract, because the property consultant had assured me that everything had been agreed, but then I was facing the landlord screaming that he had not been going to rent his apartment to a foreigner. Also any property consultant never provided utili-ty bills and they only shared in words, how much costs could be. I was never sure, was it truth or not.” The man said that consultants` level of English was also not good enough and

Page 4: Real Estate Management Services (Real Estate Agencies)

The newspaper is published, implementing the project “Consultation and information centre PLUS” according the European Fund for the

Integration of third-country nationals, annual Programme 2012

CENTRE PLUS · A.Smetonos street 5, room No 302 · VilniusTel.: 85 261 74 82 / 8 605 77 245

Email: [email protected] · www.facebook.com (search for: Centre Plus)Working days: Monday to Friday · Opening hours: 11:30 to 15:30

and 16:30 to 20:30

Centre Plius News No.7, 2014

it often was a matter of luck: would consultant speak Eng-lish, or pay only the basic phras-es. “I think there is a lot of room for improvement: the quality of services, English language, a better cooperation between agencies and landlords. “You really feel not happy, when they refuse to rent an apartment sim-ply because your appearance is different. It feels like being dis-criminated to me,” - with sad-ness completed the Egyptian.

Real estate consultant, work-ing in the agency “Colum-bus”, said that throughout all her work experience, she did not have a negative experience with foreigners. “Most foreign-ers are turning to us for renting an apartment. The most people who turned to me were citizens of Russia and some from Africa. Of course, I have noticed that the Lithuanian people, espe-cially older ones, are not really inclined to rent their apartment to dark-skinned people. Still dominates the fear of anoth-er race people. There is a ten-sion and unfounded suspicions.

Meanwhile, to rent an apartment for immigrants from Eastern Eu-ropean countries is much easier,” – her experience shared the girl.

The consultant from other real estate agency REON shared her experience: “I have been work-ing in this field for quite a long time, but I can say that I never had any problems or conflicts when working with foreigners and mediating to landlords. Our staff is good at English, the work goes smoothly and we quick-ly respond to customer needs.

” The girl said that for for-eigners from the EU coun-tries was much easier to find an apartment then to TCNs.The apartment owners still with distrust look at people of other races and nationali-ties, and there is felt a certain lack of confidence and this is a barrier for communication. The examples showed that there are both positive and negative experiences, and the efficiency of coopera-tion depends on both sides.


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