how do these Belge immo agencies work?

You could put it down to it being July and many people are not here.

Unfortunately there seem to be two extremes here, the agencies/individuals who never respond and the ones which never leave you alone and love to try and get you to sign purportedly innocent pieces of paper just to confirm you have visited the property.

Reasons for the former may include imagined (or otherwise) difficulties in dealing with expats, including language and/or not actually having the property to sell in the first place.

The latter need avoiding too.

In all, it can be a long process and there are many other pitfalls even if you get to the stage of seeing an apartment that you want to buy. So good luck and don't give up.

I'm sure others on here can give suggestions of agencies that can be trusted but beware, some of those posts may be from agents themselves.

Find a good property? Hassle the hell out of anyone and everyone until it's yours or it's sold and you have to move on. Most properties that are up with agencies have some sort of problem selling, and will be up with multiple agencies.

It's a hard slog. Expect to view 2 a week for the next 6 months at least. And beware the pitfalls. There are many.

In July and August trying to get anything done is hard work - half the staff are off in July and the other half in August and that applies to most businesses, not just property.
However, I am living in the second property that we actually looked at.
We spent a fair amount of time trawling through all the property websites imaginable but never contacted any of the agencies in the first stage. We visited places to be sure that they looked like how they were described; that they were near facilities that were important to us and that relevant information such as '50 meters from a fire station', 'tram stop outside the front door' etc had not been conveniently omitted! Only when we were sure that we were genuinely interested did we contact an agent and, as I said, we bought the second place that suited us.

I guess it's more of a problem if you are looking specifically in the centre of Bxl - which we weren't. Even so, with a bit of reading between the lines and familiarity with different areas you can get an fair idea and then look for the 'for sale' signs with the appropriate agents details/phone number.

I can give you a couple of agency names to be ware of (ie stay away from) but either way, remember they have all raised the price by around 5%. If you get the place at 5% less than the asking price that's usually exactly what they wanted to sell it for so don't be afraid to put an offer way under the asking price on the table. Especially if you are not in a rush and don't mind playing the field.

Also, you should check out the interest rates at the bank first and they will also be able to give you an indication of what the market is like at the moment bc they see the trends. They can sometimes give you suggestions worth looking into. Find a good bank guy and make him your friend.

Another suggestion, if you have the courage, GO VISIT THE NEIGHBORS! For one, they know the neighborhood and two, lots of them are busy bodies and have been watching the comings and goings of the visits and can sometimes give you a scoop. ;) They can also sometimes tell you if some info has been omitted that you should be aware of.
(FYI; I've just sold an apt in Etterbeek 6 months ago and bought my house in the south)

Oh, and don't sign ANYTHING unless you are 100% aware and sure of what your back out option is!! NOTHING! They are really good at getting you to sign things that you later find out are not in your favor. And if something is agreed to to verbally, it is not true. It never is. And if you do get some kind of extra deal or advantage or whatever, you need to make sure to get it in writing from THE HEAD of the agency, signed in black and white and not from the agent that showed you the aprt. It means diddly squat if the agent agrees. he's paid to be a yes man and get you hooked no matter what. And if the head doesn't answer you, then you know you are not going to get it. Never.

Good luck!! Its a rat race ;) Especially for the good places. remember if its worth it you'll have to fight fast for it.

"And if something is agreed to to verbally, it is not true. It never is."
That is wrong. If someone can PROVE a verbal agreement was made, then that is enough evidence for the courts to enforce it. There was a case last year where a court considered that a few SMS messages were evidence of an accepted offer, and that was held to be binding. An audio recording could also be evidence, as could a reliable witness.

Though enforcing a verbal agreement is not something anyone with any knowledge of the Belgian legal system would stake money on - you should be very suspicious of anyone who does not insist on everything in writing, and equally suspicious of anything you are asked to put in writing.

Too true blue (J). Be very circumspect and get the advice of a Notaire before saying (and naturally) signing anything. One you can trust, obviously. I've bought 3 properties in my time here and their advice has been worth every penny.

Also, agreeing to something by email is not risk free. Don't do it.

Sorry J, I have to disagree. I went to court over such said circumstance and they were very clear. I lost! It was not in the contract and not agreed upon by the agency, therefore I lost with lawyer and all!! Believe me, you don't want to believe anything they have said verbally or via email unless it is signed and authorized by the head of the agency. The head of agency argued that he never agreed nor saw the email exchange and he makes all final decisions which are out of scope. I had to pay the lawyer and the court fees and lost money on the sale...But to each his own.