The most common mistakes when buying an apartment - What to pay special attention to and what are the accompanying costs

(Illustration) The COVID crisis and the war in Ukraine, which caused disruptions in the supply and price of energy, seemed to have initiated a chain reaction that further affected the increase in food prices, the cost of living, housing, and services and housing loans. The National Bank of Serbia increased the reference interest rate by 25 basis points, to the level of 6%. As announced by the Governor's Cabinet, the rate on deposit facilities was increased - to 4.75%, as well as the rate on credit facilities - to 7.25%. All this will affect the increase in the price of money, loans and installments.

Buying an apartment is a life decision and all the events at the global level could have influenced the hesitation of those who were thinking about a home loan in the past year, and even so, there are still so many details that need to be thought through. As Mirjana Todorovic, CEO of Europolis real estate agency, said in an interview for eKapija, good preparation is necessary when buying real estate.

- If the buyer intends to make the purchase through a housing loan, it is necessary to ask the bank in detail about his creditworthiness and settle any deficits on accounts and credit cards. Banks are constantly changing their business policy and the conditions for obtaining housing loans are stricter, so you should also pay attention to that. It is also important to know that banks rarely, if ever, grant loans to employees of companies such as betting shops and casinos, because they consider them to be high-risk companies - she states.

As she points out, it is necessary to define the goal, i.e. the main characteristics of the property to be purchased, in terms of location, area, structure, and align them with the budget, adding that buyers can go through the entire process of buying an apartment without risk or stress, if they hire a professional for the job, that is, a licensed real estate agent.
When asked how long the entire process of buying an apartment roughly takes, she states that, once a suitable property is found, the process takes an average of 30 - 60 days, depending on whether the apartment is bought for cash or through a housing loan, as well as whether the apartment is ready for immediate occupancy or does the seller need a deadline for moving out?

- Both sellers and buyers can make the whole job significantly easier for themselves, and save time and nerves, by hiring a real estate agency. When you have a toothache, you go to the dentist, right? Real estate always has a great value and is a capital investment, so it is not wise for both buyers and sellers to risk making expensive mistakes. The agency guarantees clients complete legal and financial security, and guides them through the process of buying, selling or renting real estate step by step. The agency's job is first of all to give clients a "peace of mind" so they don't have to think about the procedure and the next steps - adds Todorovic.

The agency offers buyers free consultations that allow insight into the current state of the real estate market in Belgrade, examination of the buyer's real possibilities, advice on choosing a location for purchase, information on the credit procedure and insight into the complete costs of buying an apartment.

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

Europolis nekretnine doo Beograd

Mirjana Todorovic

reference interest rate

increase in the reference interest rate

buying real estate

buying an apartment

selling an apartment

selling real estate

housing loans

creditworthiness