For those that don’t know, there is no such critter in Uruguay. That’s right, there’s no one-stop source to see everything for sale. The market here on the Coast is particularly fragmented. So how does buying property work?
Each real estate company will have its own pocket listings, which are not exclusive by the way. If one agency has enough inventory to answer your questions, and you trust them, buy from them!
If you’re more of the independent type, with a healthy dose of skepticism, find someone that will act as your agent. Why might this be the best approach? It’s simple. For the independent skeptic, someone may have to visit a few different companies to get a handle on what’s available and proof of the real pricing picture. Never bite, “This is a fantastic deal” hype from anyone at face value. This is a pretty honest country for the most part, but there are plenty of self-serving sharks that could care less about after the sale problems with a transaction.
As a Foreigner, unless you’re fluent in Spanish with plenty of time on you’re hands, it’s not feasible to do all this leg work alone. As I mentioned, if you don’t look at data from a couple of different real estate companies, you may not get an accurate pricing picture.
In the same vein, it’s important to know that many agencies here tend to focus on a particular price range for housing, particularly in Jose Ignacio, La Barra and to a lesser extent Punta del Este. And it seems everyone wants to be in the glamour, high-end market. That’s great if you want to spend half a mill or more. There’s plenty to buy for much less.
Find someone you can work with and let them navigate these murky waters on your behalf. This is a relationship based society. Start the relationship building process by selecting a representative that is not going to mark you as prey. With a single point of contact, you should be able to avoid some of the predictable business hassles/runaround…..and it should prove to be a lot easier!
The property information vacuum is not something to fear, it’s very manageable.
In closing, I must be straightforward about Realtors in general. Although I’ve worked with a few wonderful agents in the US, I give most of them poor marks for integrity, effectiveness and user friendlyness. (I’m trying to be nice….enough said.) Most of our company portfolio was purchased without using agents. The situation with agents in Uruguay is FAR more challenging. If your style is to work with several Realtors, I’d plan on having a dead ringer in the group. Hopefully, the point is made without being overly negative.
Steve Bowman
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September 13th, 2007 at 8:08 am
[...] a recent article I wrote for Uruguay Coastal Properties, I talked about how the lack of a Multiple Listing Service makes it difficult to get a picture of [...]