Les and Jenn

Hi
His number is 0036209277515 and his office is opposite the big church in the centre of Keszthely. We live in UK but have a holiday home in Hungary in Zalavar near Kiss Balaton We arrive on Tuesday this week - Laszlo will have our contact details should you need anything else.
Drive safely
Jenny

littlelambfound

Klarika,
I really would follow the advice of Ester J.
1. Two weeks is not enough time to decide where you want to live. You need to get to know an area.
2. Jan/Feb are the best the best times to buy....after Xmas no-one has any money and everything seems depressed.
3. Many property agencies have closed (the market is dead). In my experience (and we recently bought a place in Budapest), all agencies dealt with were aggressive with both buyer and seller, making ridiculous promises to both with only an eye on their commission.
4. Around the Balaton there are literally 1000's of little house for sale. As Ester J said, look for the "Elado" sign in the window (sometime not easy to see as most Hungarian villagers have yet to learn the importance of a BIG sign!).
5. A good place to start with prices: http://hungary.west3.eu/index.php?lang=en#
6. Good luck. But please take your time.
A story for you. Some years ago, my Hungarian inlaws wanted to move from their little flat to a house with a big garden. After seeing afew, they settled on a lovely place. They viewed it on a beautiful, still and sunny day. Before they signed the contract, I drove out to the place. Well, a nice breeze was blowing....and bring the awful smell of the local sausage factory, as well as that of the pigs being kept next door.
PS: We too live in Spain, near Valencia, and make the drive back to see to wife's parents at least once a year. Because of the food, we always travel very slowly through Italy!

Donnchadh

I'd just like to say that Capital 99 are top quality and Laszlo Kosmar a very helpful man. It's a family-run agency and their after-sale service is excellent; sorting out bank accounts/utility bills/standing orders and all that tricky paperwork. Going the extra mile? He even paid upfront a police fine I picked up on the way back to the airport - this is months after my purchase - I reimbursed later him of course!

Les and Jenn

Glad to hear that other people have had good service from Laszlo - Carol it will be worth getting in touch with him.

Rural Hungary

Hi Donnchadh and welcome to the forum. Whereabouts in Kent are you as we lived there for several years.

Do you know how much commission the agent charges?

Donnchadh

Thanks for the welcome. Remember, I was buying - not selling. The only fees were the legals and stamp duty. In live in Sittingbourne in Kent, a world a way from Keszthely...

Rural Hungary

Hi, yes I know Sittingbourne, we lived near Ashford.

The reason I ask is that many buyers face the problem of agents charging the seller anything between 3-20% commission, subsequently, this is lumped onto the price of the property. Sometimes buyers discover this at the time of purchase whereas, others are completely unaware and only discover later that they have paid thousands over the odds by talking to locals or other Brits.
I have lost count of the number of Brits telling the same story. That's why I always advise buyers to ask what commission the agent charges and research property prices in the vicinity

paulette

Good morning everyone, new to the site. Am looking at visiting Lake Balaton sometime next month with a view to looking at properties for sale. Could members please advise one or two reputable estate agents in the area who we could contact. Many thanks in advance.

klarika

Hi Paulette,

I have sent you a private email with some details.
We have only just purchased last Oct.

Klarika

paulette

Klarika, sorry stillcannot access your replies?

klarika

Paulette,
up on the right hand side you should have private messages if not dont worry my email address is <snip> send me an mail and I can reply

fidobsa

I have had lots of very useful help and advice from Rural Hungary, this sites Hungary concierge. I suggest you send her a PM and explain what sort of place you would like.

anonimouse

Not 100 per cent sure on this but that may be because you don't have enough posts, not sure how many you need maybe 3 or 4, someone else will know

Rural Hungary

Hi Paulette and welcome to the forum. I hope you find the information here helpful. Most of the people here are very kind and will help in anyway possible.
It really depends on where you are looking to purchase. The North, South, East towards Lake Valence or West towards Austria/Slovenia sides of the Lake or away from the Lake itself? There are a few agents around who don't charge extortionate fees, that said, sometimes you are unaware of the fee as it is included in the house price! Some just blatantly inflate the house price for their own benefit.
The best option is, if you have the time, look around the area and find properties for sale in the areas you like - they will have elado signs outside of them.
We regularly look for property for buyers and a large majority of them are 20-30% less when bought directly through the owner. So it is worth it should you have the time to spend looking.

Good luck

Klarika, I would remove your email address from the post otherwise you will get picked up by spambots and inundated with junk mail;-)

klarika

Rural,
How do I delete my email address?