Work Makelaardij: Find your dream home in no time!

What is a building really worth? How much should you bid? Is the foundation in order or are you at risk? Buying a house can raise a lot of questions. Sometimes, you will even have to place a bid within one day of viewing a house. From maintenance to prices, you have to process a lot of information quickly to make some big decisions.

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At the moment, there is a lot of competition - certainly in the big cities. Twenty to sixty people can easily come to one viewing, which can make it difficult to keep your head cool and make an informed decision.

This is why many people employ a real estate agent. Work Makelaardij empathises with your wishes and serves your interests, so that you can move into your new home in no time.

Whilst there are signs that the housing market in the Netherlands has started to cool down a bit, it may still be difficult to find your dream home. So, what can you do to boost your chances of finding a house?

Know where to look

Work Makelaardij has been monitoring the housing market closely, as prices have started to pick up in the port city. House prices, in the most popular areas, have more than doubled in the past two years, and are still rising. Nevertheless, there are still bargains to be had, if you know where to look and are prepared to step outside the areas that are currently considered hot.

If you look at Rotterdam Prinsenland, for example, you get much more house for your money and you can still cycle to the city centre for work. Or take Noordereiland, for instance, an island in the middle of the Maas River, which has a real village-like atmosphere. Kop van Zuid (Veranda) is another place where there is a lot of investment and development going on. Schiedam too is going up in price and is a good place to invest in. It is just next door to Rotterdam, easy to reach by public transport or bike.

These are all popular places to live in but still under the radar to some extent. On Noordereiland, for example, there are two- or three-bedroom flats with views over the water available for less money than you'd probably expect.

Many properties in Rotterdam boast great river and city views

A good network is key

So, what can you do to maximise your chances whilst making sure you are not going to make a mistake and are not rushing in without thinking things through properly? You should remember that not every house for sale can be found on Funda. Some estate agents specialise in selling property before it hits the internet – so it is crucial to make sure your buying agency has a good network and knows what is what, an agency such as Work Makelaardij.

A good buying agent will also make sure you don’t pay over the odds for a property because you don’t want to miss out. Moreover, selling agents don’t like it when people bid for a property themselves, rather than through a buying agent, because it could be that they don’t have their finances in order yet. Trust is very important, and that is what you also have with a specialised buying agent on your side.

Overbidding the asking price

Sometimes a selling agent will price the property too high or too low – something a buying agent will alert you to. Even though the trend at the moment is to overbid the asking price, you don’t always have to do that! Remember, the seller does not have to sell the house to the highest bidder. That is, of course, usually the case, but if you have a lot of your own money to invest in the property, or if you don’t place any, or just a few, financial conditions on the sale, it could make a difference.

And it could be that the seller decides they want you to have the property for some reason. They might want a family to have the property or think that you would look after their old home well. The “I’d like you to have it” factor should not be underestimated.

Know what to look for

You may have the money lined up and have found the home of your dreams, but how do you know that the property is sound and you are not about to make a mistake? A selling agent is required to brief potential buyers if the property has a known defect. Work Makelaardij knows what signs to look out for.

Asbestos is one hazard you may have to deal with (check, for example, under the laminate floor for old asbestos-based flooring), and a second is the state of the property’s foundations. Putting in a new foundation costs between 1.000 and 2.000 euros per square metre.

Fancy living on an island in the Maas River?

You can bring in a surveyor to check the condition of the property, but it is wise to ask for that after you have agreed on a price. If it turns out there are problems, you still have time to pull out of the sale. Of course, the most sensible thing is to use an estate agent who knows what to look for in the first place.

Meeting up

Rotterdam-based Work Makelaardij is a real estate agency that operates in Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam. Check out the website or contact info@workmakelaardij.nl for more information. If you want to have a private meeting, without obligation, @Work Makelaardij will be more than happy to receive your call or email to tell you more about the market and their unique approach.