Purchase

We hear this opinion so often, but it is a big misconception. The bank is concerned with two things: the property appraisal and the payment terms. And they are concerned with these for the purpose of protecting the bank's own interests, not yours.

An appraiser does not perform a deep inspection of the property; that’s not their task. They follow a standard methodology and compare the property with similar ones. It is not uncommon for the appraiser appointed by the bank to significantly undervalue the property because that’s the bank’s risk management policy.

In the purchase contract, the bank ensures that the payment terms meet the bank’s requirements and that the property you sign up for actually matches the collateral.

A lot of questions are left outside of such an inspection: the technical condition of the property and its compliance with building documents, the relationships between owners in the building and the state of affairs in the HOA, the personal and financial situation of the seller, the property’s alignment with your individual requirements, guarantees of your safety in the transaction, rules for hand-over, and much more. If the deal is even slightly peculiar, which is almost always the case when you manage to find a great property at an attractive price, you’d better double-check the bank's agenda.

And of course, never will the bank negotiate with the seller before you even enter into the reservation, to ensure you get the best terms possible.

"But isn’t it in the bank's interest to thoroughly check everything and receive a clean property as collateral?" many think. To a certain extent, it’s true, but in case anything goes wrong, the bank will simply shift the responsibility onto you. Just so you know, loan contracts usually include a penalty for the buyer, who had signed the loan but never bought the property, even if it was the seller’s fault.

Among mortgage consultants, there are brilliant specialists who can do a lot. But even the best of them focus on other aspects, such as helping you save on interest rates and meet all the bank’s requirements. In our transactions, we work together with your mortgage advisor and effectively complement them to achieve the best result. If you haven’t chosen an advisor yet, we can recommend an excellent, trusted specialist.

The agent who lists the property online and shows it to potential buyers was chosen and appointed by the seller. The seller contacted them, signed a contract with them, and entrusted them with the important responsibility of selling their property. The seller’s agent might be a great person, very honest and professional (or maybe not — you didn’t choose them, how can you know). However, your interests in this situation are fundamentally opposed to those of the seller. The seller wants to sell, and you want to buy. The seller wants to get the highest possible price, and you want to pay less. The seller wants to stay in the apartment for longer, and you want to move in sooner. The seller might be eager to hide unpleasant facts about the property, while you would prefer to discover them before purchasing. The seller wants you to quickly pay the reservation fee to make sure you can’t back out of the deal, while they’d prefer to be able to walk away easily if a better buyer comes along later.

Whose side should the seller's agent be on? Let’s recap: the seller contacted them, chose them, signed a contract with them, and trusted them. And the seller will also pay this agent's commission from the proceeds of the sale of the property! In any contentious situation, such an agent, if they are honest and professional, should side with the seller. Let’s also not forget about the agents out there, who primarily look out for none of the parties’, but their own interests.

Therefore, it’s always better to have a professional on your side as well. Especially since the cost of our basic service for buyers is 5 to 10 times less than the cost of the agent's service for sellers.

If the lawyer has extensive experience specifically in real estate transactions, ideally for foreigners, then their contract review will undoubtedly be of high quality. However, our service includes many actions beyond just contract review, and even if you find a lawyer who does everything we do, their involvement will be much more expensive. We are responsible for the results, and we are confident that the outcome will be no worse than if you had hired a lawyer. And of course, we consult with our lawyers at our own expense, if we face a difficulty we haven't encountered before.

All our current properties for sale and rent are listed on the most popular and effective real estate portal in the Czech Republic, Sreality.cz. However, if you require assistance with a purchase, we cannot provide this service for properties from our own portfolio. In the case of properties from our portfolio, our client is the owner of the property, and in the upcoming transaction, we will represent their interests, which may be opposed to the buyer's interests. To avoid any conflict of interest, if you like a property from our portfolio and want to purchase it with professional support, we would be happy to recommend independent experts.

Our clients who come for a consultation before starting their property search or at the very beginning of it achieve the best results. The latest recommended time to start working with us is just BEFORE you sign the reservation contract. There is a belief that the reservation contract is unimportant, formal, and should be simple and short. We insist that it is the most important contract. If any parameters of the future transaction are formulated not in your favor or are simply not mentioned, and then something goes wrong, you will find yourself in a weak position and unable to assert your rights. Since your money will already be with the other party, you’ll face the choice to either agree to unfavorable terms or lose your deposit. We can step in later and try to salvage a deal that’s falling apart, but it’s more difficult, and not everything can be fixed, which means you might have to settle for a mediocre result.