haggling on buying a property

Five years ago when I was actively looking for a property, regular trawling of Immoweb led me to the conclusion that some Estate Agents price higher than others as a matter of routine (and later reduce the advertised price when the property hasn't sold). Since living here, I have realised that the lower pricing Agents definitely sell properties faster.

What you do in respect to a particular property is difficult. Unlike the UK there doesn't seem to be any way of discovering actual selling prices for particular properties so all you can do is to compare the advertised prices of similar properties in the general area. If the price of the property you like seems high compared to others then it probably is and you could certainly try an offer (or a series of offers) - it depends how much you want that particular property, and how much someone else may want it. It also depends on how serious the seller is in wanting to sell, at one time it wasn't unusual for Belgians to put their property up for sale at an inflated price and wait for the market to catch up with them - or some mug - but I reckon it happens less now that the market is more or less flat.

Perhaps the best advice is to offer 10% or 15% below the asked price and be prepared to go up to or even a bit beyond it if you really want to buy that property. However, it is important that you are prepared, that you know what size mortgage you qualify for if you need one and that you have a notaire/notaris lined up to act for you from day 0. Remember that any offer you make is binding (so include conditions if you need to - check the wording with the notaire) once it is accepted, but it is also then binding on the seller, so if you make an unconditional offer and it is accepted you cannot be gazumped.

If you offer x% over the asking price and the vendor says yes, then that's it - you are legally obliged to complete within 4 months, and the vendor can force that through the courts. End of. No appeal, no negotiation.

"discovering actual selling prices" - notaires have access to this information.

"rule of thumb" - look at properties up to 30% over your budget. Expect to see 100+ properties over 3 months to 3 years, and you may well have 3 hours to decide and make an offer on the right one, so make sure you have the legal and financial backup in place NOW.

"you have a notaire/notaris lined up to act for you from day 0"

Does it mean that one needs to set up a meeting with a notaire before making an offer (i.e. while still searching for an apartment)? Or is it OK just to have in mind the notaire to whom to go? I guess if there is no offer, there's not much to discuss with the notaire..

It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation but the essential point is that when you sign a formal offer, which will probably only be a few lines long, you are effectively committing yourself to buy. Therefore it is essential that you get advice from the notaire before signing the offer. Although the situation is easier if you don't need a loan, there may still be issues such as the property conforming to its original permis (which it is your responsibility to check but which takes time because you need to check the property against the commune's records) which need to be covered.

Fortunately, notaries are one group of professionals in Belgium who do usually have back office staff, and I would advise calling in to explain that you are hoping to buy a property and would like the notaire to act for you but won't need his/her actual advice for another few days/weeks. That way you can be certain that your chosen notaire is ready when you need them to act quickly.

When we bought our house we had the notaris on side well in advance. He advised that we should let him see any suggested agreement before signing it. We did this by fax and he suggested an amendment which was incorporated before we signed.
As for haggling, if a place is advertised at 400K and you offer 390 and it is immediately accepted, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering how much cheaper you could have got it for. Always start well below what you are prepared to pay and work up as the seller works down.

Answer is ‘it all depends’. When we bought our current property we paid the asking price; we thought it was fair and we knew there were other prospective buyers in the frame.
Now we are about to put it on the market, with the sale to be completed end July. Because of the long lead time we will not be accepting offers below the initial selling price (unless they are very close indeed) but we will review that situation in a couple of months if it’s still unsold.
As for average house prices, this site gives recent data for houses, villas and apartments per commune. Not a precise tool but you could use their average price per m2 as an argument to support an offer below the asking price.

(if you are looking for a modest house at a modest price, let me know)

Forgot to post the link
http://statbel.fgov.be/fr/statistiques/chiffres/economie/construction_in...