Planning to invest in property? Bring in the professionals
From an economic perspective, the past two years have been a rollercoaster. Many people lost their businesses and therefore their source of income. On the other hand, contrary to expectations, property has performed very well and prices have risen sharply. Moreover, no steep fall is expected in the coming years, and experts agree that property remains one of the safest forms of investment.
Buying a property, however, is no simple matter, and several risks await you throughout the process, not to mention how time-consuming it can be. Searching for a property will probably take the most time, even though at first sight there may appear to be plenty of properties on the market. “If we wanted to buy any property without taking any criteria into account, then yes, properties are available and the search would be very quick. But that is not really how it works in our world, and even if someone is looking for a property they may sell in the future, they still need to have certain requirements. If we think like a buyer purchasing a flat or house for themselves, it will be much easier for us to sell the property in a few years’ time,” explains David Novotný, owner and managing director of the independent real estate agency Bohemian Estates International.
It is one thing to define these criteria, but quite another to devote enough time to finding such a property. “Anyone who has ever searched for any property, even a rental one, on public property listings probably knows that it is not a matter of an hour. The best and most advantageous offers are usually not public; they reach only real estate agencies, which then pass them on to their clients and only afterwards, if at all, make them available to the public. Using the services of a real estate broker is therefore advantageous simply because it gives you something to choose from,” adds Novotný.
You are not in the clear even once you have found a property. Only then does the round of bureaucracy, viewings and technical inspections begin, and if you do not understand the issues involved, you can very easily get caught out. “The biggest problem is probably the various hidden technical defects in properties, which may only become apparent later and can cost owners hundreds of thousands to repair. A good investment can thus quickly turn into a nightmare. We therefore inspect properties from this perspective and make sure our clients do not buy a pig in a poke,” says David Novotný.
Another common issue is the contractual documentation, which should be prepared by a lawyer in a way that protects both the buyer and the seller. Bohemian Estates International also handles this, so at the time of purchase the buyer knows that the property has been properly reviewed from every possible angle. “Buying a property is not rocket science, but it does have its pitfalls. If someone does not want to risk losing a substantial part of their profits in the future through mere negligence, there is nothing easier than involving someone who understands real estate in the transaction,” concludes David Novotný of the real estate company Bohemian Estates International.