How to choose a real estate agency and not give money to scammers

Natalya Mikhailyukova, lawyer of the Russian Guild of Realtors, answers:

After the abolition of licensing in 2002, not only professional market participants call themselves “realtors,” but also those who came to the market to earn money through illegal or fraudulent means. Therefore, first of all, make sure that you contact a professional real estate agency or specialist. This can be done by checking the availability of a company or a specific specialist in the Unified Register.

The next step is to check the contract you are entering into. It is important to understand that the contract is the only document that regulates your relationship with the realtor. There are no mandatory requirements for the terms of this agreement, so in practice there are various options. These can be agency agreements, service agreements, commission agreements, etc. So, when contacting a specialist, each client must clearly determine for himself what he wants to receive from a professional operator - advice or full transaction support.

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The contract should definitely include a clause providing for a legal examination and research into the history of the apartment. When checking the legal purity of an object, conscientious realtors will analyze all documents for the object, registered property rights, and documents of copyright holders. In this case, the specialist will pay attention to the direct and indirect conditions of the formalized right, the presence and absence of rights of third parties, etc.

Due to the peculiarities of Russian legislation, it is impossible to be 100% sure of the legal purity of a real estate property. But if the realtor undertakes to conduct a legal examination and provide a written conclusion, then it is he who will be responsible for the client’s losses that may arise due to improper fulfillment of this obligation. The terms of the contract must also determine the amount of responsibility that the realtor bears to the client for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of his obligations under the contract.

Also, before concluding an agreement with a real estate agency, find out whether its professional liability is insured and for what amount. Request to see an insurance policy as proof. Only if you have an insurance policy will you be maximally protected. If a company is present in the Unified Register, then it has a service certificate, which means its liability to the client is insured.

Summarizing all of the above, I recommend contacting professional participants in the real estate market, whose activities are insured. They are the ones who can check the legal purity of a real estate property, point out the hidden reasons for the risks when making transactions with such objects, and justify the need for additional methods of protection in the event of risks. And, most importantly, real estate organizations whose activities are insured can provide financial guarantees of possible compensation for clients’ losses in the event of improper inspection of the property or mistakes made by the realtor.

Remember that the realtor’s liability arises only in cases specified by the terms of the contract. Therefore, be careful about the text of the contract you enter into.

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How to enter into an agreement with a real estate agency - step-by-step instructions for beginners

People who have never sold, bought, or rented an apartment before are not aware of all the complexities and features of such an operation. Beginners try to save on intermediary services by choosing agencies according to the principle “the cheaper, the better.”

A fundamentally wrong approach. The lowest rates work for either interns or non-professionals. Trying to save money on the services of a realtor, you will ultimately lose - you will not buy what you wanted at all, for an inadequate price.

To prevent this from happening, follow our instructions.

Step 1. Decide on the nature of the transaction

Decide for yourself what exactly you want. A correctly posed task is the key to its successful solution. Also decide on the amount you have. If you are going to take out a home loan, you need to immediately convey this idea to the agency employees.

Step 2. Choose a real estate agency

You need to choose a company soberly and meaningfully, as a life partner. Apartments are bought for decades, or even for life, so all your decisions must be balanced. Even if you are just renting housing, your standard of living in the coming months, or even years, will largely depend on its quality.

The company selection criteria are as follows:

• experience in the market;
• availability of a professional website;
• number of company branches in the city;
• realtor level;
• company reputation.

If you need to buy commercial real estate or purchase/sell a luxury apartment, contact specialized companies that have experience in such transactions.

Step 3. Consult with a lawyer

If you are truly interested in the security of your finances and property, it is better to foresee all legal issues related to the transaction in advance.

The network operates a professional website Pravoved.ru, where everyone can receive paid and free consultations with lawyers and attorneys. The portal is designed in such a way that fees are set by users, and not by the specialists themselves. Simple questions that do not require in-depth study are resolved by the site’s lawyers free of charge.

You can ask your question directly on the main page of the resource. Within 15-20 minutes you will receive the first answer. The site operates 24 hours a day. In special sections you can find narrow specialists in all areas of law, including housing issues.

So feel free to go to the Pravoved.ru website and quickly resolve legal issues.

Step 4. Pay for services

The cost of agent services depends on many factors.

Let's list some of them:

• the price of the object and its liquidity;
• nature of the transaction;
• volume of services provided;
• internal pricing policy of the company.

On average, the agency takes from 2 to 8% of the transaction amount from the client. If we are talking about rent, then the fee is fixed - usually 100% of the monthly cost.

Step 5. Conclude an agreement

The most important stage for the client. The agreement details the tasks and responsibilities of the agency and the specific professional you are working with.

Be sure to pay attention to the termination clause. Such a clause will give you the right to take your money back if the agent violates the terms of the contract or you are dissatisfied with the result of cooperation.

But keep in mind that contracts are drawn up by professional lawyers of real estate companies, therefore, they take into account, first of all, corporate interests.

Every contract must contain the following clauses:

• list of services provided;
• duration of the agreement;
• information about the value of the property (upon sale);
• details of both parties;
• list of attached documents;
• responsibility of agency and client;
• conditions for termination of the contract.

Each point is explained in detail. For example, the list of services must list all the services that the company is obliged to provide to the buyer/seller/tenant.

Answered by lawyer, K. Yu. n. Yulia Verbitskaya:

As a rule, a real estate agency in fact only selects suitable options and organizes viewings of the apartment chosen by you, as a client.

In the vast majority of contracts for the provision of paid services, which agencies present to the client for signature, are forms approved by the agency itself, where the client’s surname and initials, requirements for the property being searched for, the duration of the contract and its cost are indicated.

As a rule, under such an agreement, the agency’s liability is limited to the cost of the services it provides, but even in this case, you will have to prove guilt and the very fact of poor-quality provision of services by the agency in court.

If any documents on the part of the seller were forged, falsified or fraud was committed, it should be remembered that the real estate agency is not an expert or a prosecutor's office. The possibilities for checking documents by a real estate agency are limited and, in addition, you can check the documents yourself by sending, for example, a request to Rosreestr about the presence or absence of registered rights.

If you want additional guarantees when concluding a transaction and high-quality verification of documents, you can use borrowed funds (the whole amount or parts thereof) when purchasing an apartment. Then the bank, checking the transaction, uses the resources of its own security service, which is almost never done by a real estate agency. If the bank approves the transaction, you can be sure that it is quite well protected.

And yet, which real estate agency is better to work for?

Here are a few agency criteria that applicants pay attention to:

• Status and prestige of the company;
• Willingness to pay a decent percentage of each transaction;
• Confidence in the further development of the client base;
• Mentoring from a more experienced colleague;
• Authoritative guidance.

You need to understand that what is written in an advertisement for a realtor vacancy does not always correspond to reality. A fixed fee during the internship, working with ready-made advertising, a comfortable workplace - often this is just a marketing ploy. In reality, everything looks different: an office where everyone works for themselves, where no one enjoys wasting time training a newbie.

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The general director of the real estate agency Bureau of Exchange LLC, Yuri Vyrlan (Tula), answers:

Real estate agencies are not responsible in case of termination of the transaction, since they do not have access to reliable information at the time of the transaction about the legal cleanliness of the apartment. Let me give you an example. The agent receives an extract from the Unified State Register two or three days before the transaction. During this time, the apartment owner can take out a loan secured by his home or register a minor child, who will then have to be discharged through the court.

Of course, before concluding a deal, the agent takes a certificate stating that no one is registered in the apartment, and also requests an extended extract from the passport office, which indicates who was registered in the apartment previously. But you need to understand that all information received is valid only at the time of receipt of the certificate.

If there are concerns about the legal purity of the apartment, then it is worth concluding a purchase and sale agreement with a notary, who is financially responsible for the purity of the transaction. A notary, unlike a realtor, has the right to order an extract from the Unified State Register on the day of the transaction and make sure that there are no encumbrances. Be prepared to pay the notary a considerable amount for the services - a percentage of the cadastral value of the apartment.

Both the realtor and the notary can act in court as witnesses to the transfer of money for an apartment, confirm the fact of payment and other circumstances of the transaction.

Thus, today real estate agencies act as a kind of online store, where a wide range of “products” is presented - rooms, apartments and land plots. A real estate agent will select a suitable option and advise on the cost and characteristics of the “product”. Having made your choice, go to a notary who will give you a “cash receipt” - a purchase and sale agreement, which guarantees you the purity of the transaction.

Discuss work with documents and power of attorney

Do not give the original documents to either the real estate agency employees or other third parties. Typically, when meeting in an office, agents make copies of the originals. It’s better to prepare yours right away so as not to part with your documents.

As for the power of attorney, two types are usually used:

• to collect documents that are necessary for the transaction (in the EIRTs, TBTI, tax authorities, notary offices, civil registry offices, etc.)
• for registration of a purchase and sale agreement with the registration authorities (delivery, receipt, payment of fees and duties in Rosreestr)

Never issue a general power of attorney to a stranger. This type of power of attorney allows you to perform any actions with the apartment on your behalf and is used, as a rule, between close relatives.

Anna Gorbenko, consultant to the real estate commission of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region Consumer Society, answers:

Initially, you should decide how much help you need, namely: full support, that is, searching for an apartment, negotiations, completing a transaction, or assistance only at the stage of carrying out the transaction (if you found an apartment option on your own). Of course, the second option – searching for an apartment yourself – will save you money.

Study the contract with the agency that you are offered to sign. The subject of the contract, the obligations of the realtor, must clearly state what the realtor is obliged to do. The contract should not indicate that you are provided with consulting and information services or only services for providing a place for negotiations, etc. It must be clearly stated that the realtor searches for an apartment, participates in viewings (negotiations), carries out inspections and registration documents that legally accompany the transaction. Please note whether you have the opportunity to terminate the contract early and whether there are any penalties in this case, how the amount of expenses incurred by the realtor under the contract is determined.

It is very important to communicate with the realtor before signing the documents, tell them what you expect from the transaction, what your requirements are, and understand how competent the specialist is. Remember that the realtor with whom you have entered into an agreement must protect your interests in the transaction. If something is not clear to you during the transaction, or you doubt something, do not be content with the answers “This is common practice,” “We always do this,” “Don’t you trust me?” and so on. All terms of the transaction must be clear and transparent for you, and if in doubt, once again seek advice from a third-party specialist.

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As the experience of successful real estate agencies shows, a large team is not the key to effective work. It is better to invite 5-7 good specialists who will bring clients to a transaction than to recruit interns and train them. When conducting an interview, it is important to pay attention to the applicant’s ability to communicate with people, to his poise and ability to inspire confidence. If a realtor knows how to work in different price categories, then he should be given preference.

For the office to be effective, it is necessary to invite:

• director (or manager),
• office manager,
• secretary,
• realtors,
• cleaning lady

The director, office manager and realtors usually work on a piece-rate payment system, receiving a fixed percentage of the transaction. Realtors have irregular working hours. An ideal employee is one who can conclude at least two transactions per month. Such specialists are simply worth their weight in gold.

The secretary and the cleaning lady are included in the staff and receive a salary from 6,000 to 1,500 rubles, respectively. The duties of the secretary include filing advertisements and monitoring the client base.

Yulia Dymova, director of the Est-a-Tet secondary real estate sales office, answers:

The real estate agency provides a range of services for the sale and purchase of real estate. Unfortunately, more and more advanced fraudulent schemes are now appearing, so agencies, as a rule, verify documents using publicly available methods. It is worth noting that the agency’s activities are insured and, in the event of problematic documents, experts offer to either refuse the purchase or insure the transaction. Insurance rates are around 0.3–1%.

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The simplest real estate agency, in which the owner will play the role of director and realtor, will require investment

Thus, the approximate costs of a real estate agency during the opening period will be 10-300 thousand rubles. If we proceed from the calculation that one transaction will be carried out per month, giving 50 thousand rubles. profits, then the payback period for the business will last from 2 to 6 months.

Registration

Before opening an agency, you must register. To do this, you need to determine the legal form, namely, make a choice between a legal or natural person or an individual entrepreneur (IP). Typically, a legal entity is registered in the form of a limited liability company (LLC). The registration process is more expensive, takes longer and requires significant skill in record keeping.

The benefits of registering as an individual entrepreneur:

• a small package of documents for registration (application, passport and its copy, receipt of payment of state duty);
• the state duty is significantly less than when registering a legal entity;
• registration takes little time (up to 7 days);
• simplified accounting and reporting;
• simply dispose of the profits and cease operations;
• for violations, the fines are lower than for a legal entity.

An individual entrepreneur is not required to have a seal, but you need to keep in mind that clients have more confidence in documents with a seal.

LLC registration is more significant and solid for the client, who may be put off by the lightness of an individual entrepreneur as a guarantor in a transaction.

If the business will be organized with one or more partners, then it will be necessary to register an LLC as the most common form of legal entity.

LLCs are characterized by:

• provision of a much larger package of documents during registration (memorandum of association, notarized signatures, copies of passports of all founders, etc.);
• the need to contribute the authorized capital to the owners according to the shares specified in the constituent agreement;
• maintaining a general form of taxation;
• it is much more difficult to close an enterprise and dispose of profits;
• large fines for violations of the law.

After registration you must:

• register with the tax authorities of the Tax Inspectorate, obtain a certificate of registration and assignment of a TIN;
• register with extra-budgetary funds: medical, pension, social insurance;
• open a company current account and make a seal.

There is no licensing of real estate activities in the Russian Federation. The Russian Guild of Realtors has developed national standards for professional real estate activities and registered them with the State Standard of the Russian Federation. In order to become a full-fledged member of the real estate market, the agency must be certified. Certification of realtors is voluntary. The meaning of certification is confirmation that the services provided by the agency comply with national standards.

An entrepreneur also has the opportunity to join the guild of realtors or other professional corporate communities - regional associations of realtors. Depending on the region, entry fees can range from 50 thousand rubles. up to 100 thousand rubles. Also, at least half a million rubles can go towards professional liability insurance. Another requirement will be the presence of a professional broker on staff, who will need to undergo recertification once every three years.

Membership in such organizations provides significant benefits:

• increases customer confidence;
• increases the trust of other agencies when conducting joint transactions;
• allows you to gain access to a common customer base.

If, to start a business, an entrepreneur is forced to take out a loan from a bank, he will need to provide the bank with a business plan, confirmed sources of income and collateral for the loan (which can be a car, owned real estate).

Banks are reluctant to lend to real estate agency start-ups, since long-term lending is necessary, and with high competition in the market, the risks of loan non-repayment are high.