Real Estate Agents in Finland

General Real Estate Agent Information
Estate Agents' Services
Finnish Real Estate Agents
See Also

General Real Estate Agent Information

Finnish real estate agents provide the usual services of property valuation, marketing, showing, and receiving offers. Unusually however, unlike Australia, the United Kingdom, or North America, there is no need to engage a lawyer/attorney or licensed conveyancer to effect the transfer of legal title of property; conveyancing is performed by the real estate agents and the banks involved in the transaction.

The commission paid by the seller for agents' services ranges from quoted figures of about 4% to 7%, depending on how it is calculated. In real terms variations between agents probably don't amount to more than 1%, but that is significant when dealing with property transactions. The commission is sometimes negotiable; don't be afraid to ask for a better deal - even half a percent can make a big difference.

Agents' basic services include:

• assessing the value of the house or apartment
• preparing the brokerage contract
• acquiring documentation such as the extract from the land register & encumbrance documents
• giving the seller advice and guidance on real estate matters
• newspaper advertising and other marketing activities
• taking/inviting prospective buyers to inspect the property
• providing information to prospective buyers regarding the property and the sale of the property
• receiving offers, and possibly a deposit
• preparing the deed of sale

It's a good idea for a seller to have valuations done by at least 2 agents, but Finnish agents are realistic and you shouldn't find much difference between valuations. Similarly, Finnish agents will not usually waste a buyer's time by asking them to view properties they're not likely to be at all interested in purchasing.

The whole process from initial offer to moving in can take as little as a week to as much as 3 or 4 months, dependent on availability of funds, previous contractual obligations, whether the buyer already has a buyer for their old property, whether the seller has found a new place to live, etcetera.

In the experience of this author, Finnish real estate agents are practical, professional and efficient. There will always be people to complain about the service they have received; those people are generally noisier than the satisfied majority of customers. As always, the buyer should be careful - especially so when engaging in such weighty financial transactions. Ask your agent any questions you might have; it would be unusual not to receive a straight, honest answer.

Finnish Real Estate Agents

The following are all established agents. Information provided online in languages other than Finnish generally comprises only "In Brief" and "Contact".

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