Chile Forum

RWS wrote:And now comes the move itself. May it go better than the house hunting, Tony!

I sure hope so too.. I have been quoted about US$440 for the move.. I find it a little expensive as I am used to hiring a truck myself and getting a few mates around to help with loading and unloading.. not having my mates here, having family too far away to help out and the fact that I cannot find any trucks for hire means US$440 is the cost of moving to Temuco..

I'd be grateful for your keeping us apprised of the details of planning and executing the move. It's information that could prove useful to me and, I'd guess, to other AllChileans, too. Also, I'm concerned to know how you fare.

RWS wrote:I'd be grateful for your keeping us apprised of the details of planning and executing the move. It's information that could prove useful to me and, I'd guess, to other AllChileans, too. Also, I'm concerned to know how you fare.

No problems.. will do my best..

Tony I am glad you were able to find a suitable house for you. It certainly has been cold here in Temuco. Frost all over the ground and a lot of fog. Sub-zero temperature? I still don't think in Celsius. Yes it has been below freezing.

mlightheart wrote:Tony I am glad you were able to find a suitable house for you. It certainly has been cold here in Temuco. Frost all over the ground and a lot of fog. Sub-zero temperature? I still don't think in Celsius. Yes it has been below freezing.

Always forget the Celsius and Fahrenheit differences.. Australians (like Chileans) work on Celsius.. sub-zero in Fahrenheit
would be too cold for me to live in..

was that fog this week?.. It felt (smelt) more like smog.. driving into Temuco in the mornings was 'fun' with about 20-30m of visibility .. we ended up staying at my In-Laws (near Carahue) and found the drive from about Nueva Imperial to Temuco interesting..

It's certainly spanner weather in Temuco compared to here in Concepcion... not looking forward to it.. thank God that the new landlord is leaving the Bosca behind..

It was definitely fog. There isn't a lot of houses close by to me, so it wasn't the smoke from everyones stoves covering our area. Though the area where you drove through probably had smoke mixed with the fog, so it could have been smog.

yea, on some level I almost wish the real estate agents in Chile were more crooked. At least crooks would do something for their money.

We hunt for rental properties very rarely for clients and we do about 98% of the work. The real estate agents only really get involved at the final stages of getting the keys to get in to the building, and arranging for the final rental contract.

We have a very few that we deal with, and only after careful testing and screening. Even then we do a lot of training before exposing our clients to them. Training in the sense of we need X, Y, and Z, and if we get anything less we are taking our clients somewhere else. In general, the best we hope for is them not doing something so incompetent as to blow a deal. We also use the stick and the carrot, by promising if they deliver good service we will be back with more clients. Most we will not even let our clients talk to because they are so bad, they would run them out of the country.

admin wrote:yea, on some level I almost wish the real estate agents in Chile were more crooked. At least crooks would do something for their money.

We hunt for rental properties very rarely for clients and we do about 98% of the work. The real estate agents only really get involved at the final stages of getting the keys to get in to the building, and arranging for the final rental contract.

We have a very few that we deal with, and only after careful testing and screening. Even then we do a lot of training before exposing our clients to them. Training in the sense of we need X, Y, and Z, and if we get anything less we are taking our clients somewhere else. In general, the best we hope for is them not doing something so incompetent as to blow a deal. We also use the stick and the carrot, by promising if they deliver good service we will be back with more clients. Most we will not even let our clients talk to because they are so bad, they would run them out of the country.

I am so glad we were able to find a house that didnt have a real estate agent that we would have to pay half a months rent to.. because it would have been very difficult for the real estate agent to understand that there was no way on earth I was gonna pay anything for such poor service..

What is it real estate agents do in Chile? This is not the first thread where I have seen them bashed. I'm baffled, as a (dreaded) R E agent,here, I work my tail off for my clients, and put 60 hour weeks,etc. Hold buyers and sellers hands through long complicated processes and legal situation (that don't seem to unlike Chile) Is there no educational or licensingand regulatory process there?

to be honest I don't know what they do.. but whatever it is, I am sure they do it wrong or half arsed.. I would go as far as not buy any property in Chile just for the fact that I would not want to pay any commissions to these so called R E agents.. and that's me putting it nicely.. Customer service is something Chile has a very long way to go in.. perhaps never even reach a satisfactory level.. just my opinion..

There is no licensing requirement or regulation in Chile of real estate agents, beyond needing to declare your activities with the IRS. Most "agents' are moonlighting and have no professional experience beyond the fact that they know there is a property for sale.

There area some good ones out there. They are mostly the exception to the rule however.

A lot of times if we feel the real estate agent has truly not performed or provided any sort of service, we tell the owners that they will have to sort it out with them. They hired the guy, and if they want to make the sale then they will have to work something out with the agent to pay both the buyer's and sellers commission. There are other times, where if you really want the property then you just have to factor it in as part of the cost. Be aware however, if a real estate agent is involved and he is your contact with the owner, they may very well blow the deal if they catch wind that you might not want to pay their commission. Be face to face with the owner when you discuss it. You can also negotiate it away as in talking down the price say 2%, and never even bring up the issue of the real estate agent.

The good news is that because real estate agents in general are so incompetent a lot of properties are not listed with them. The sellers are selling direct. Finding those is whole different problem.

admin wrote:There is no licensing requirement or regulation in Chile of real estate agents, beyond needing to declare your activities with the IRS. Most "agents' are moonlighting and have no professional experience beyond the fact that they know there is a property for sale.

Now this explains everything.. if I knew what I was dealing with I may have been a lot more understanding and lenient .. but then again I was too cold to be nice and understanding.. one thing I did notice about Temuco as opposed to Concepcion is that it is a lot cleaner but heaps more smog filled.. and COLDER!

admin wrote: a lot of properties are not listed with [agents]. The sellers are selling direct. Finding those is whole different problem.

It sounds like it would be a great opportunity for a web site for sellers to list their properties. But, I've kept an eye on http://www.vivaqui.com for 4-5 years. They don't have much activity. Many listed properties have been listed for as long as I've looked at the site.

Is that unusual? Or, is there a reason something like this wouldn't be more popular?

Mark

Well, we do list properties in allsouthernchile.com from real estate agents and private sellers for free. We have however almost never had a client ask for properties inside a city in Southern Chile. There is just very little demand by foreigners. Most are looking to get away from it all. Even among those, almost none of our clients are looking to buy an existing structure. Most are planning to build.

As for the smog in Temuco, this last week or so has been particularly bad because there is no rain or wind and it has been very cold. Finally tonight the wind picked up and the rain should be back. Dry cold years are the uncomfortable ones. Typically the highest months for burning wood are also the rainiest.

Just an update..

Well the owner has drawn up the rental contract and all seems fine except for one clause.. in which I am liable for any damages to the property caused by fire, floods, terrorist attacks, theft and any natural disaster and I am liable for any maintenance repairs that are required (for example if a water pipes bursts. i'll have to pay to get it fixed) .. I have sent back the contract saying that I will not sign for such liability and that he should reconsider this clause... and at the very least take out some insurance for the property.. my question would be.. is this common in Chilean rental contracts? has anyone else had to change/accept this clause in a contract?.. just doesn't seem right..

Other than that still very keen on the house as its well located for our purposes in Temuco..