Selling an apartment or house without a real estate agency?

Selling an apartment or house without a real estate agency? Certainly yes. We will tell you many reasons why you should avoid real estate. Empty promises about a "hassle-free" sale, rental, or purchase of real estate often clash with the harsh reality faced by dissatisfied clients. So the question is: would you prefer to pay for someone else's so-called expertise, or take control and handle the process yourself? Let us present several convincing reasons why taking the reins could be your best decision and the key to successfully managing your property sale or rental.

Picture this: you've decided to sell, rent out, or buy real estate, and like most, you turn to the services of a real estate agent. Yet soon after, you're met with delays, a lack of commitment, broken promises, and a nagging suspicion that their efforts are serving their interests rather than your own. This frustration might leave you asking, "Did I make the right call?" Isn't it time to consider if you'd be better off overseeing the process on your own terms? It makes sense because, in today's world, so many complex tasks are now simplified. Whether it's following a recipe online to cook an incredible meal or using a smartphone app to create a professional-quality vacation video, selling or renting a property is no exception. You, too, can handle this process without costly intermediaries delivering subpar results.

What are the benefits of stepping into the role of seller, buyer, or landlord yourself? We'll lay them out for you—and to top it off, we'll share real-world experiences from the market that showcase why this approach often outperforms traditional methods.

1. Real estate commission or how to sell real estate in three days

Real estate agents work on a commission system, in translation this should mean that the more expensive they sell your property, the higher their commission will be, so they will try to get a buyer at the highest possible price. Unfortunately, since the percentage of the commission is relatively small, it often happens that "real estate agents" rush the sale in order to get paid as soon as possible and can rush into the next business. In practice, it is not unusual for a broker to call you after a week saying that "no one is interested in the apartment, the price is simply too high, let's lower it a little..." However, you yourself know the value of your property best. If you're in a big hurry to sell, it's clear that you'll have to go a little under the price. However, if you have enough time, nothing should prevent you from waiting longer. There is a high probability that there will be an interested party willing to pay the given amount for the property. A little patience is enough. After all, it's not about a pair of shoes. An apartment sold in three days will ultimately raise doubts as to whether the price was set too low.

2. Sale of real estate without real estate and better legal service

Real estate agents are experts in creating contracts. However, not those purchases that you benefit from when selling. Their main interest is to bind both parties so that they cannot escape from the process. In the case of sellers, it is a mediation contract, and in the case of buyers, it is a reservation contract. Not to mention that many times the contracts themselves are incorrectly written or even invalid. If you want to ensure a great legal service, we recommend a simple solution - rather pay for the services of a professional lawyer yourself. In addition to significant savings, you will be assured that the contract is drawn up in accordance with applicable standards, becomes legally valid after signing and cannot be challenged in the future.

3. Lease without real estate: certainty of non-conflicting relationships

Another frequently communicated advantage of using the services of reality shows is the possibility of tours without your presence. Great, it saves time and energy, you think. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is best to present your apartment yourself. You know the advantages of the property, you can tell interested parties a nice incident with the neighbors, you can answer specific directed questions. After all, no matter how detailed the information you give the real estate agent, he is always a stranger with zero experience with the space in question and often zero motivation to rent to you, if he has the same offer at a higher rental price, he will direct him to this offer, as his the commission will be higher. In addition, as an owner renting out the property, you will definitely like to see the future tenants and exchange a few words. After all, if you indirectly spend a few minutes with someone only when signing a contract, you can't be surprised if problems arise in the next cooperation and relations are not perfect. Certainty is certainty, and it should be a matter of course if you want to avoid unpleasant situations in the future.

4. Buying an apartment without real estate and the end of footnotes

Let's look at it from the opposite side. As a person interested in real estate, you certainly have many questions in the case of a reasonable approach to the buying or renting process. The real estate agent comes with a smile, shows you the apartment and answers all questions: "no problem", "it's obvious" or "the owner didn't mention anything like that". Be aware, however, that the broker's intention is to sell or rent the apartment as quickly as possible. He has never lived there, he doesn't know if the children you hear screaming and stomping above you are just having a bad day, or if it is a common practice among the neighbors. In many cases, it will therefore prove useful to deal directly with the owner, if for no other reason, at least for the reason that when answering an unpleasant question, an ordinary person will not hide their nervousness with a professionally rehearsed smile. Moreover, phrases such as "exclusive offer", "new", "reserved", "generous dimensions", "great price" or "garage parking" are often misleading buyers. For example, when the size of the apartment includes a balcony, a cellar and a parking space. Or when you only notice the price tag + 15,000 euros at the end of the ad when you mention garage parking. The great price also does not include, for example, the fee for the RK, which can ultimately increase the price of a small two-room apartment to the level of a large plot with its own house. Alternatively, it may happen that the exclusive maisonette you are interested in has been freshly painted because I have a problem with mold or a leaking roof.

5. Sale of an apartment without real estate and high-quality advertising

"Okay, but if I'm paying thousands of euros extra, at least they'll advertise my property nicely", you say to yourself. I wish it would. As Slovak practice shows, many times it is rather a disaster. The proof is the advertisements with 2 photos of the apartment, which appear as if they were taken with a mobile phone with a 2-megapixel camera, decorated with the real estate logo over half the frame. Of course, the ad also has 14 more photos of a pond half a kilometer away from the apartment building, accompanied by texts such as: "Are you looking for a beautiful lake environment where you can boat all day, swim, sunbathe, or just relax and recharge after work?" " No, we are really looking for an apartment that has functional wiring, high-quality sanitation and available parking in front of the house. We are looking for non-conflicting neighbors, we want to know how far it is to the polyclinic, the store, or the bus stop. What does that mean? Sometimes you can make better advertising yourself. With the money saved on the services of a real estate agent, you can set up premium accounts on advertising sites, pay for the services of a professional photographer and many other conveniences that will get your ad in the center of attention of interested parties just like with real estate agents, since they will do the same thing. Just think critically about it.

6. The procedure for selling an apartment without real estate is often much simpler

Just because there are only two parties involved in the sale or rental process, the whole process is significantly simplified. You don't have to follow a broker's schedule, sign exhaustive contracts on exclusive cooperation, handle a lot of phone calls and meetings. You check the interested parties yourself, you conclude the contracts in such a way that it suits the two main actors - the seller and the buyer or the lessor and the lessee. With the use of individual specifically oriented services (advocate, lawyer, photographer, financial advisor, etc.), you are also assured of one hundred percent reliability of the delivered documents and outputs. The entire process in this case is primarily decided by you. You are not under any pressure and have enough time for everything. And the money saved? You can use them to reduce your mortgage or the cost of furnishing a new apartment. It's easy, especially if today there are comprehensive service providers who will be happy to help you and facilitate the whole process even without the need to pay the already mentioned meaningless commission.

If you are buying real estate, you should bear in mind that the purchase contract alone does not make you the owner of the real estate. In order to complete the entire process successfully, it is necessary to submit a proposal for depositing the ownership right in the real estate cadastre. Only when the land registry allows you to make this deposit will you acquire ownership of the property. Many people are afraid of the scary administrative process, but once you know all the necessary steps, you will find that it is not complicated and you can definitely do it yourself.

You submit the proposal for the deposit to the real estate cadastre to the cadastral department of the district office. By law, the cadastral department should decide on your deposit proposal within 30 days. This period is reduced to 20 days if you have a contract in the form of a notary's minutes. The process can be further accelerated in the so-called expedited proceedings. In this case, the cadastral office should make a decision within 15 days, but you will pay 266 euros. (the price list of fees may change over time, it is necessary to check)

Already when drawing up the contract, whether it is a contract of sale or donation, keep in mind that you will attach two copies to the proposal for deposit in the cadastre. The contract must therefore be drawn up by its participants in a sufficient number of copies, so that they can submit two to the cadastral office.

You submit the proposal itself in writing and it is important that it contains all the necessary data and attachments.

What must be included in the proposal to the Slovakian cadastre

1. Designation of the applicant. The applicants are participants in a legal act (a contract) on the basis of which the legal relationship to the real estate is to be changed. If it is a natural person, the proposal states the name, surname, maiden name, date of birth, birth number (in the case of foreigners, another identification number), permanent residence or address for delivery and information on nationality. In the case of a legal entity, it states the business name, ID number and registered office.

2. Addressee – name of the district office. You always address the proposal to the district office in whose territorial district your property is located. In the case of several district offices, you can make the deposit in any of them.

3. Subject of the proposal. One of the mandatory requirements is the subject of the proposal. In this case, this is the deposit of the ownership right to the real estate. The subject can be a deposit, record, note or error correction.

4. Designation of the legal act on the basis of which the right to real estate is to be changed. A legal act is, for example, a purchase contract or a gift contract. It is necessary to indicate all legal acts that are the subject of the proposal. If, for example, the participants conclude a contract on the transfer of ownership and at the same time on the establishment of an easement, it is necessary to state both legal acts in the contract. Otherwise, the cadastral office will interrupt the proceedings and ask you to correct the errors. If the subject of the proposal for deposit in the cadastre is legal relations from several types of legal acts, the fee is collected for each legal act separately.

5. Designation of the property. You must also indicate in the proposal all the properties to which the deposit relates and also indicate the size of the co-ownership share.

You must also attach several attachments to the proposal:

2 of the contract, on the basis of which the right to real estate is to be registered in the cadastre.

A document confirming the right to real estate, if this right is not directly on the title deed. For example, a certificate of inheritance if you are selling a property you inherited

Identification of parcels, if the ownership right to the property is not entered on the title deed.

When establishing an easement, or if the land is merged or divided, a geometric plan must be attached. (as of 1 October 2018, it is sufficient to indicate the number of the official verification of the geometric plan)

If one of the participants is represented by a proxy, a power of attorney with an officially verified signature of the participant in the proceedings who grants the power of attorney must be attached.

Notice of the intended deposit proposal in paper form.

Interruption of the deposit procedure in the cadastre

The cadastre can interrupt the proceedings in several cases. If you have not paid the administrative fee, if proceedings have been initiated on a preliminary issue (a preliminary issue is a fact that is decided by another authority and the resolution of this issue is necessary for issuing a decision in the given administrative proceedings), if you have been invited to submit a document confirming the right to real estate, or if you have any deficiencies in the proposal or attachments. All participants can also agree to suspend the proceedings, but for a maximum of 60 days.

Stoppage of the deposit can occur if the participant withdraws before the decision is issued, or if he has put the proposal to sleep and the other participants have agreed to it. The seizure will also occur in the event of non-payment of the administrative fee, or in the event of non-removal of deficiencies in the proposal or annexes within the specified period.

So, when you have decided to submit a proposal for a deposit to the cadastre yourself, if you follow exactly the information in this article, you will definitely handle this administrative process with ease.

If your dream home is for rent or you plan to sell your apartment or house, contact our professional team, we are not real estate agents, we are direct buyers of Košice City Center Rental Apartments.

7. Why to avoid real estate by arch, real experience.

For a long time we decided whether we should even write this article, which reveals the biggest sins of real estate agents, but we are happy to share our experience with "professionals".

We were also prompted to write the article by feedback on brokers, either from owners who sold their properties or from people who were looking for their dream home. We were also forced to do so by not always good personal experiences with brokers, which we experienced during the last years of practice in real estate.

These are all mistakes that are repeated regularly and at the same time have a significant impact on the final success or failure of the real estate sale. If you're ready, we can get down to business.

1. It does not represent your interests

The real estate agent whom you have entrusted with the sale of real estate should be like your lawyer or doctor - he must represent you and your best interests in every situation and not his own, or the interests of the opposite party (buyer). The real estate broker must first of all find out the reasons that lead you to sell, so that he can choose a sales strategy that will help you reach your desired goal. A critically important part of this strategy is the realistic setting of the property price (price range), which is based on market price analysis.

It very often happens that the broker accepts the price that the owner demands, only to get this property into his offer, despite the fact that it is currently an unrealistic price. Such a broker will not tell the owner for two reasons. Either he doesn't know that the price is unrealistic (the broker is incompetent) or, in the worst case, he knows it, but he won't tell you (the broker is untrustworthy) - the question is whether you want to work with someone who misleads or with someone who doesn't even know how to determine a realistic price range of your property.

It is exactly the same as going to the doctor for tests. From the tests, they will find elevated values ​​to such an extent that they can fundamentally negatively affect the length and quality of your life. How would you behave if this doctor could not determine which values ​​are still normal and for which it is already necessary to start treatment? Or even worse, he would know that you have elevated values ​​and would tell you: "You don't have to worry, everything is perfectly fine." You will surely agree that you would like to know how you are doing with your health, right?

It is the same with the unrealistic offer price of the property. The result is an inordinately long time the property is on the market and more phone calls from the real estate agent to lower the price of the property that he previously agreed to.

Also, real estate brokers nowadays often find themselves in a situation where they are "motivated" by buyers from the ranks of investors to give them priority in the purchase in return and thus not have to compete with other buyers interested in buying. What is the use of someone who represents you only by eye?

2. No added value

A real estate agent does not know how to add value to the property so that it is sold at a higher price and in a shorter time. Just as a doctor or a lawyer must constantly educate himself in his field, so does a real estate agent. From marketing to changes in legislation, he must also hone his skills in business and negotiation, and above all, constantly improve techniques and skills that increase the value of real estate.

Simply put, if we want to sell real estate successfully, then we need to differentiate ourselves from the competition. Buyers only then see a higher added value in our property compared to other apartments or houses in the area, for which they are subsequently willing to pay more.

No real estate is perfect, each one has larger or smaller flaws of beauty that need to be adjusted or removed before the actual sale. What is the use of a real estate agent who has another 30 similar apartments on offer, and at the first negative question about your property, he will focus on the next property on offer and thus definitively kill the business that you, as a broker, could possibly save.

3. Personal experience - Not even the best broker on the market can do what you do.

If any owner naively thinks that a successful, top-rated broker with a great presentation and reach on the networks is the right choice for you, we will offer our view of brokers who no longer make basic mistakes, have several years of experience, have seen everything, sold everything, all at record prices and in the fastest possible time.

We at Košice City Center Rental Apartments are dedicated to renting apartments and buying newly built apartments and houses directly from the owners. From time to time we can't avoid communicating and buying an apartment through a real estate agency, and we would like to share our experience here. The selling price of the 3-room furnished new building was 270,000 euros. As the apartment appealed to us, we called the number of the real estate agency. Even after 5 unsuccessful attempts, we did not manage to get a call, so we expected that if the broker sees a missed call several times, he will call us back as soon as he is free. It didn't happen there, so we call the next day, where on the third try we are lucky enough to get through. When asked if the property is vacant, the answer is yes. We request a discount of 10,000 euros for cash payment and quick closing, and we ask if it is realistic. The answer is no, definitely not, we only have it on offer for 2 months. We end the phone call with a request that if the situation changes over time and the owner is willing to offer a discount, let them contact us, we will be happy to make a fair deal, as we thought our offer price was fair.

2.5 months passed and the price of the property in the real estate agency dropped to 260,000 euros and the new building was for sale at a price we were willing to pay in cash and immediately. No one from the real estate agency calls us, no one tries to complete the deal, which could have already been closed for 3 months. Why should they call? After all, if you are interested, you call yourself, you come to the inspection at a time that suits the broker, you agree to everything, otherwise he has other interested parties, even though the apartment has been on the market for about 4 months.

Best in the end. Meanwhile, while we waited for the phone call, the price was reduced by another 11,000 euros to 249,000 euros. We call the broker with the words good day, we noticed that you reduced the price of the apartment we were interested in and even twice, why didn't you call us when we told you that we were interested in the apartment and if it drops by 10,000, please contact us. Answer: "Sir, do you know how many people call me every day?" Who's to remember? Unfortunately, the apartment is already booked. It is still possible to enter the sales process. The answer "no, it's not possible"

We believe that due to the actions of the real estate agent, our offer did not even reach the owner of the property, maybe he wanted to use the money from the sale of the apartment to buy a house, he waited for the result of the sale for months and finally we learned that the apartment was sold for 245,000 euros. Did the broker represent the interest? 

For whom did he need to get the apartment at a price that was 15,000 euros below our offer and from which the property owner still has to pay the real estate agency the agreed fee for mediation and professional services? It is not only our personal experience, but also that of many other buyers and sellers, the internet is full of it. So, in conclusion, don't be afraid of selling without a real estate agency, you can often save tens of thousands of euros yourself if you devote your time and effort to it. If you are selling your new building in Košice, contact us, you do not have to pay us any commission Košice City Center Rental Apartments