How do I recognise a reputable estate agent?

he work of a reputable real estate agent is characterised by a wide range of services. Starting with a property search / customer acquisition, preparation of the property documentation, preparation of property reports, property valuation, arranging viewing appointments, financing advice, contract preparation and handover support and logging.

But our job does not end there. We are familiar with your environment and will be at your side with help and advice during the initial period in your new home, if you so wish: be it with recommendations for a school, getting to know the local area and facilities for daily needs, dealing with authorities, etc.

As you can see, our job is not over after the contract has been signed. We want you to be satisfied, because your satisfaction is our success!

Unlike in Germany, you need a licence to operate in the real estate market in Portugal. Without this, we are not allowed to act as estate agents. To obtain the licence, we have to prove our knowledge of the relevant laws and the market, as well as other industry-specific skills.

What makes us a reputable estate agent?

Knowledge of the market

We need to know the regional market. Without knowledge of the market, we cannot give you any recommendations. However, it does not stop there. The rental/purchase price of a property is essentially determined by the location. If you want to get an idea of the price or rental price of a property, you look for a reference property and use the rental or purchase price of the reference property as a guide.

But on the one hand, this is only the asking price and not the actual selling/buying price, and on the other hand, no two properties are the same. A reputable real estate agent takes a close look at the apartment or house, looks for the pluses and minuses, evaluates them and then comes up with an asking price with which he enters the race.

We make this transparent and comprehensible for you at all times.

Qualifications

We at HomeScouts have joined the Portuguese association APEMIP, which constantly offers further training in the real estate sector in which we participate. This means that you benefit from our up-to-date knowledge.

Individual advice

We take a holistic approach. This means that we want to understand exactly what you want and what is important to you. We advise you accordingly and try to find the best option for you – even if that means having to advise you against buying a property. We do not make deals at any price, because your long-term satisfaction is our success.

Exclusivity agreement

We always aim to present your property in the best possible light. To do this, we invest time and money in ‘home staging’, image and video presentations, property descriptions, posters, ‘open house’ events and exclusive, high-quality property descriptions.

In addition, the fact that only one real estate agency is marketing your property gives the buyer a sense of exclusivity and quality, boosts their confidence and increases the chances of a positive and quick sale.

When you give us an order, we will immediately start to market your property in a highly professional manner. We will take a close look at the property so that we can answer all of the customer's questions. This saves you time, as you do not have to worry about anything, and the buyer always has a reliable, well-informed point of contact that they can turn to at any time.

We work in a network. This gives us access to a much larger market. If we are not granted exclusivity, we cannot work in our network because that would not be fair to our partners.

What risk do you take on an exclusivity contract? A very small one.

In an exclusivity contract, we describe our services, the contract period, the commission amount in the event of a successful placement, and the terms of cancellation. Depending on the market situation, we will offer you a contract of one to two months. If we do not sell your property during this period, you can terminate the contract. In this case, our expenses are at our risk. In addition, you have the option of terminating the contract before the agreed deadline in the event of a gross violation on our part.

So don't hesitate, put us to the test and make an appointment.