Why buy a flat through an estate agent?

Buying a flat or a house is one of life's most important decisions, so it should not be taken lightly. It is a good idea to enlist the help of professionals, such as an experienced estate agency, whose staff will help us find our dream home and, on top of that, will make sure the transaction runs smoothly at every stage. In today's article you will find out what other reasons there are to use the services of an estate agent.

Commission

Let us start with what puts us off estate agents. Above all, it is the need to pay a commission, that is, the fee of the estate agent who will find the ideal flat for us. This fee ranges between 1 and 3% at different agencies. It is calculated on the price of the flat itself, so it usually amounts to anything from a few thousand to over ten thousand PLN. Most of us would like to save that money and try to look for a flat on our own. However, we fail to take into account the costs we may incur by opting for an unverified listing. In the best case a costly renovation may await us, and in the worst we may be defrauded and lose our life savings. So perhaps it is worth working with an estate agent after all, as they guarantee us security and high-quality service.

A wide choice of listings

By choosing an estate agent, we can count on them going through the listings for us and presenting the options that best match our requirements. This is a huge saving of time and energy. Instead of sitting in front of a computer for hours, we can devote that time to our loved ones, while the flat turns up "on its own". The agency will also take care of arranging meetings between us and the seller.

Help during property viewings

A good estate agent should accompany us at every stage of the property search, including viewings of successive properties. Their task is also to draw our attention not only to the property's advantages but also to its drawbacks, so that we know from the start what we are buying. The agent will also help us negotiate the price, so that the final cost is as favourable to us as possible.

Formalities

A big advantage of working with an estate agency when buying a flat is help in getting through all the formalities. The agent will tell us which documents we should prepare, check the legal status of the flat for us, and help draw up the preliminary agreement (umowa przedwstępna) and the final notarial deed (akt notarialny). They will also recommend a trusted notary's office. Thanks to this, when buying a flat, we can be sure that no one will cheat us. With an estate agent, then, we can feel safe.

Security

However, before we start working with an estate agency, let us look after our own security. First of all, let us choose a proven and reliable agency. Let us remember that the agent should sign an agreement with us, which must show their licence number and information about their professional liability insurance. An agreement of this kind protects us against actions to our detriment. It is also worth specifying in it the detailed tasks the agent will undertake in order to find the ideal flat for us.