The following article is an excerpt from Section 5-2 of Buying Real Estate in Uruguay by David Hammond
The real estate agent you select can impact your perception of the market, your buying experience, and your investment outcome if you decide to invest. Starting an online dialogue with prospective real estate agents provides an opportunity to learn about an agent before your market visit. Following are a few basic considerations:
1) Is the agent licensed?
If you come in contact with a real estate agent who is not clearly affiliated with a real estate company, ask about his or her licensing. There are many licensed agents who work independently from a home office, but there are also unlicensed people who pose as real estate agents. After a property is selected, the imposter will ask the listing office to pay him or her under the table if the sale closes. The bottom line is an unlicensed person may be negotiating for a commission from a weak position at the same time they are supposed to be negotiating for the best price and terms for their client.
2) Is the agent bilingual and bicultural?
It is important to be represented by a real estate agent you can communicate with clearly. If you do not speak Spanish, use the services of a bilingual real estate agent, preferably one with related cultural experience. Besides a language barrier, cultural expectations and business practices from one country to the next can be very different. A real estate agent who has related cultural experience can act as a bridge of understanding between parties with different cultural backgrounds.
3) Is the agent competent?
In order to best serve and protect the buyer’s interests, an agent must have good market knowledge and a solid understanding of the transaction process.
4) Does the agent have a network of related professionals and service providers to recommend?
You will need the services of other professionals and service providers for the purchase and future ownership of your property in Uruguay. Select a real estate agent who has a network of reputable English-speaking people in place.
In addition to these four considerations, this section of Buying Real Estate in Uruguay goes on to recommend three important conversations to have with a prospective Uruguayan real estate agent to help assure their job expectations will serve your best interests. To safely purchase and immediately download your copy of Buying Real Estate in Uruguay click HERE.
