The search for an apartment became an unpleasant memory for Vilnius residents: a condition was set for an advance or else the house price would rise

You feel pressured by the seller

Buying a home is a sensitive and important process for all buyers. First, it is a large investment, and secondly, a person buys a future home, so it may take more than a few days to make a decision about buying a particular apartment, house, or cabin.

When buying a property from a developer, a very important participant in the buying and selling process is the seller, who not only represents the real estate company, but must also be an assistant and consultant to the buyer. If the communication between the buyer and the seller was not initiated correctly or the seller disappointed the buyers with certain actions, the transaction may not go through. The same happened in the story told by the reader Tom (Delfi Būstas) by the reader (the name and the name are known to the editorial board).

According to Tom, he and his fiancee began looking for their own home late last year. The couple was going to buy their first real estate property: an apartment.

“We were looking for a new apartment. We inspected several projects, several of them were still in the plans and one was already built. There were several apartments with partial completion in the apartment building, the price they offered us seemed adequate and we went to see the apartment ”Recalls the interlocutor.

The man continues that when the couple made their way to the apartment, there were construction flaws, not entirely satisfied with the view through the window. Already, according to Tom, it was worth doubting whether this apartment was worth buying, but the sales manager who showed the apartment made the comment.

“Since we are looking for an apartment until recently, we have only tentatively talked with the banks about whether they would give us a loan. We did not send specific requests with the items, so we did not know how it would go, how long it takes, but we read online that it is better not to pay an advance to the seller until it is clear whether the bank will make the loan. Also, when we talked to the banks, they told us that we should get a commercial offer from the developer and then apply for a loan. So we repeatedly asked the seller if the price was really the same as on the Internet and we told him that we would need a commercial offer and that we would contact the banks. But the seller explained that the company does not make commercial offers and we have to transfer the advance in two days, from otherwise the price of the apartment will go up ”, explains Tom.

According to the interlocutor, the couple explained to the sales manager that they did not want to transfer the advance until they were sure that the bank would finance their purchase of the apartment or that the conditions offered by the bank for the purchase of a particular apartment would satisfy them. Also, according to Tom, the weekend was waiting, so there was little opportunity to get quick answers from banks about financing specific assets.

“We told the sellers that we would like to know the conditions under which the banks will finance the purchase of that department, maybe it is not convenient for us, there will be overpayments or similar, but she told us that we take responsibility ourselves and if we want the department, even if they are poor. It turned out to be stupid for us because it wasn’t the kind of apartment we desperately wanted to buy. In addition, we feel pressured to buy, due to the requirement to pay an advance for the apartment in two days, I emphasize, during the weekend, because otherwise its price will rise, as if it were one of the last departments of the project. “, – Tom remembers and adds that the couple did not buy that apartment and does not want to have anything to do with this developer.

Advances are paid when signing a sales contract

According to the interviewee, the couple felt pressure to buy an apartment and did not think it was professional and ethical. According to Tomas, they were interested in one of the real estate developer’s Omberg projects, so Delfi Būstas contacted the company to evaluate the work of the sales managers and explain how the sales processes are developed in he.

According to Edita Gudauskienė, the company’s sales and customer experience manager, judging by the situation described, the seller informed customers that the discount offer expires and the price of the apartment will return to the original level and that there are few apartments left in the project because they saw your interest.

“We are sorry if the information was redundant to the customer and the customer felt pressure as a result. The quality of Omberg’s customer service is very important, which is why we constantly ask customers to rate the quality of our salespeople’s work. Our surveys show that customers evaluate the work of salespeople very positively ”, says E. Gudauskienė.

When asked about the advance before signing the sales contract, the company representative emphasizes that the buyer pays the advance only when signing the sales contract.

Our clients who are interested in the apartment can reserve it for free for several days until they know the terms of the bank financing. Only after making a decision and signing a preliminary purchase agreement does the customer pay an advance. If the client’s situation changes and the bank refuses to accredit the purchase of the apartment for one reason or another, the client can terminate the contract with the company at any time and recover the full initial payment ”, assures E. Gudauskienė.

According to the interlocutor, the company does not pressure the client to buy an apartment, it seeks to increase the attractiveness of the departments with quality solutions, additional benefits, marketing tools.

“During certain periods, the company carries out sales promotion campaigns, during which discounts are applied. The terms of the promotions are very specific, so sellers always try to inform potential customers until the discount price offer is valid, ”says E. Gudauskienė.

Delfi Būstas asked E. Gudauskienė if the company applies the practice of raising prices when there are several unsold apartments left in the project. According to the interlocutor, the prices vary according to the market situation.

“Since the sale of apartments in a residential project can take from 6 to 24 months, depending on the size of the project, it is natural for changes in the market to occur over such a long period. Therefore, we constantly monitor prices and react to price changes in the market in both directions. Sometimes we also run promotions where you can buy a cheaper apartment or get some extra gifts when you buy it, like a parking space. We are not inclined to raise prices in the project with several departments remaining, many times in these cases we make discounts at the end of the project ”, emphasizes the interlocutor.

Recommend getting responses from banks first

Experts advise people faced with requests from developers to pay an advance before getting answers on a home loan from banks. According to Justina Tarasevičienė, Chief Counsel of the Credit and Insurance Services Supervision Division of the Bank of Lithuania, in any case, the initial contribution should be paid to the seller only when the bank confirms the loan; otherwise, you risk losing not only the reservation fees paid, but also if, for example, a lender, after evaluating your creditworthiness, makes the decision not to grant a mortgage loan.

“If a person decides to pay the advance to the seller without receiving confirmation from the lender on the granting of a mortgage loan, we recommend that they provide in the framework contract the possibility and conditions of repayment of the advance. If this is not done, it remains to consult with the developer later or try to seek justice in court, “says the expert.

She advises that lenders, when granting a home loan, must assess the creditworthiness of the applicant; it depends on the amount of income received, its sustainability, existing financial obligations, etc. After evaluating this information, as well as the planned purchase of the home, after receiving an appraisal of your property, lenders can decide whether or not to grant credit.