Dear Balkanbabe
We have a number of properties on our books that might suit. Please pm me or look at our website for a full selection.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Andrea
Montenegro Prospects
I'm looking for a house to buy around Herceg Novi no more than 500m from the sea. It needs to be larger than 200m2. Condition doesn't matter and prefer something that needs work. Serious sellers only.
Dear Balkanbabe
We have a number of properties on our books that might suit. Please pm me or look at our website for a full selection.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Andrea
Montenegro Prospects
Thanks but I've checked out your website and the prices are astronomical. Don't have a spare 850,000 Euros lying around!
It depends on what's being offered. My budget is flexible and I've been looking for quite a while. A lot of the prices are ridiculous because the vendor doesn't really want to sell, just hoping someone might actually be stupid enough to pay out.
So I'm only interested in property where the vendor is a serious seller which means they will negotiate. I'm also very specific with what I'm looking for so can assess whether it's worth my while if I get a description and some photos.
Prices do seem to be coming down. There are a number of houses in reasonable locations for 300-400k - there's only a few being marketed at 850k+!
It's now very much a buyers' market and long gone are the days when sellers could set astronomical prices and expect a rich foreigner to pay whatever they wanted. Prices won't be adjusted overnight but the market will of course find its place.
Many sellers are willing to negotiate on prices - some of them heavily. Specifically, the British sellers are keen to sell now while the euro/sterling rate is so high.
I think you need to have a closer look at your website. I've done a breakdown of your houses for sale by price as follows:
850K+ (14)
400K+ (29)
300K-400K (13)
>300K (22)
The cheaper houses are in undesirable and isolated locations and need a lot of work.
I would suggest marketing the properties at reduced realistic prices if the sellers are motivated because the current levels would only put buyers like me off completely.
There are very few buyers around. Go to the local court or katastar now and they're empty. The queues used to be outside the doors.
Any agent who is honest will tell you they haven't sold anything in months. But if they can sell at those prices good luck to them and they must be the most successful agents on the planet.
So 18% of our houses are more than 850k. There is a market for that. There is also a market for those buying ruins, land, apartments etc - all which are far cheaper and also on the website.
We can only advertise what is out there. I would love to be advertising houses in prime locations for 300k. I'm sure we could sell lots of those - but that's the point! The market determines the price. If the houses were too cheap and we sold lots, the price would rise - that's what has happened over the last 4 years or so. Conversely, if people don't buy at the asking price, the asking price will fall. The owners that price property to sell quickly are still doing so. But most are not in a rush to sell and have priced their properties accordingly. This happens worldwide.
Maybe you are misjudging the value of the market or even what others see to be the value of Montenegro?
I am being honest when I tell you that if we hadn't sold anything in months, then we wouldn't still be in business! We are in business, we are selling but of course less than 2 years ago.
I assume you have a property in Montenegro and were fortunate to buy when property was cheaper. People are able to buy now at cheaper prices than last year. Surely you can't begrudge them that!
I did buy when prices were cheaper but still paid over 200K for my house and it also needed a lot of work. But I wanted the worst house in the best street and wasn't interested in making a quick buck. If I was, I could've bought a handful of old apartments or stone ruins and sold them on to foreigners without doing anything to them for a huge profit.
I'd like to buy another house now and don't begrudge anyone anything. Something is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
No one is interested in buying apartments in Montenegro anymore because they've wisened up to poor quality and dodgy paperwork. You can't give an apartment away now.
Last edited by Balkanbabe; 14-01-09 at 12:41.
Absolutely. It's a buyers' market but there are others out there who may pay more than you. If not, prices will come down to what you want to pay.
On the contrary, apartments are selling, and not being given away! But now there is massive competition so you're right that the apartments in bad locations with dodgy paperwork do not sell. But let's not pretend that that is every apartment built!
If it is so bad over here, prices are high and paperwork is dodgy, what are you still doing here? Must be something that you like about us/Montenegro?You might be sick and tired of paperwork, dishonest salesman and such.. But trust me, people of Montenegro are also very tired of foreigners, Russians, Brits and others, tearing our beautiful country apart. Acting and pretending to be something they are not....
Nobody is tired of foreigners when it comes to trying to sell something. Why do you think the economy has boomed over the last couple of years? Because of foreign investment.
Certainly there are dodgy foreign characters floating around as well who as you say are 'pretending to be something they're not'. But once you've been here a while you learn to avoid all the shady characters, local and foreign.
If you really want to sell, there will always be a buyer at the right price.
This is only true to some extent. The ones that are not tired are local shady characters. As far as economy goes, it has boomed for, guess who, shady characters. The average people are living same as before. Trying to make an honest buck. But to understand this you would have to understand and know the history of this country and its people
That's a whole different topic for another thread.
Getting back to house prices. Sometimes you see the same house advertised on different agent websites at different prices. So what is the real price?
Then there is the situation where a vendor approaches an agent and says he wants to sell for example at 300K and the agent wants to pocket 100K so advertises at 400K.
Another reason why prices are artificially high is because there have been a lot of speculators in the market. Foreigners bought cheap, did a cheap makeover and now want to cash in big time. Or made a mistake and bought when the market was high and now need to sell high.
This is why it's so frustrating trying to find out the real value in property.
damn right its hard to find real value of a property. For example: i was born i Kotor, my father was born in Kotor, and my grandfather as well as my grand-grandfather were born in Kotor and so on. We lived in the same house for more then four generations. How much do you think that house is worth to us? I would be freaking retarded to sell my house....
Yes the prices do vary wildly between agents.
Have u looked into land & doing your own build.
I have a plot in Lepetane 200m air distance from water,very good sea views on the single track rd past the ferries so you can't hear them.
Water/elec/access rd/telephone by plot & clean title.
Plot size 406sq/m with confirmed location permit for 330sq/m build,plus another 33sq/m if you did a loft conversion in roof.
Suitable for 3 large apts & 1 studio or large villa.
Price 144950euro's.
You could build for 1000esq/m inc land & build costs/construction tax etc.
Total build 363sq/m for under 400k.
Why am i selling?
1, I have,nt enough money to complete the project
2, I live in uk & the exchange rate pound/euro would be in my favour.
Anyway,best of luck whatever u decide to do
Ta................................................ .............................................
Also 56sq/m footings already laid & 1000,s of bricks/roof tiles on site!
Just arrived back in Montenegro and changed my mind about buying a house. It's so depressing, noone around, shops and businesses closed down, most building work stopped and everyone worried about the future. A Russian agent told me even all the Russians are trying to sell. Everyone selling, noone buying but expectations still unrealistic.
Think my money will be safer in France or Spain.
suppose that you have to look for another country.
France is very expensive, spanish economy is sliding down with no future.
Oh yes you can buy spanish realty for an "apple ´n an egg", but be aware that you´ll live alone at "your" beach. 180.000 families can´t pay for interest yet. Interests are rising. The big realty bulb bursted last year.
Germans and Brits who could´nt pay its realties cash, now run back home.
Last summer I were in Spain, a habitant told me about the situation.
He has presented empty villages in the Marbella area. New and unsaleable.
Hahaah, welcome to da real world.
Even the great NEW YORK is losing its glitz and galmour.
Everything is closing down. Great restaurants, shops etc
Traffic is less, less tourists, less shoppers. Everything is going out of business right now.
The recession, like many before it, will not be around forever. Prices will once again rise.
Prices are down and some people are desperate to sell. It's a buyer's market. If you are smart,you would jump on this real estate opportunity.
Show me a bargain and I'll buy it. At the moment it's dodgy apartments and overpriced concrete bunkers.
LOL. Excuse me, but I have to laugh. Safer in France ? You must be joking and you obviously do not know France. Have you got any idea of the tax system in France? Have a look at it before you say such things...
Sorry if you arrived here in Monty on a rainy and gloomy day. Things are moving forward here at least. In France and any western country, there is nothing left to be done. The only thing left is recession. Cool! You want to go there, go!! Here you have dozen of new projects, infrastructure works going on everywhere, life, opportunities, and the sun is back again. OK, a few small projects are on hold because of the credit crunch, normal. But Go to France, and you are sure to be depressed, but not only 2 months in a year. And taxed, taxed taxed...
Anyway, if you want to think on a medium to long term basis, Monty is the best place. If you don't believe this, walk out, and come back in 5 years... I bet you'll kick yourself! :blah:
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