Photo: westproperties.rsThe trend of building large residential complexes, which has been expanding in our country for the last fifteen years, has increased the need for investors to hire exclusive sales representatives. This delicate business, which requires extensive experience and a comprehensive approach to mediation between investors and future buyers, is one of the most challenging in the real estate sector and high-quality representatives are today a valued staff in the market due to many years of experience gained through participation in various projects. Ivana Grković began her career at the right time and in the right place when the growth of such large construction projects was in its early stages. For the first few years, she worked in the representative office of a foreign company, a pioneer in providing this type of service. She gained valuable experience working with well-known names in the investment and construction industries. After the successful sale of this project, which significantly improved the micro-location of Trošarina and made it more attractive, Ivana Grković, a permanent member of the West Properties team, deals with the exclusive representation of investors. Her current project involves representing the investor Coherence Group d.o.o in the sale of the residential complex Atria Residence in Zvezdara, which she describes as a new challenge for her.
IVANA GRKOVIĆ, SALES CONSULTANT, WEST PROPERTIES
How different is the sale of apartments in Atria Residence from the others, to be precise, more challenging?
The micro-location is interesting because it offers what is in short supply in Belgrade: a combination of nature and well-integrated architecture. Location conditions in this part of Zvezdara allow the construction of buildings with a maximum height of three floors. In a sea of multi-story buildings, the structure is a breath of fresh air. The complex consists of 85 residential units, six retail spaces and 127 garages, along with space for sports facilities such as a swimming pool, gym, spa center. In terms of characteristics, the Atria residence meets many high-end project requirements. The most difficult thing is to make it available to the wider city audience accustomed to the hectic life of the capital and is unaware of the benefits of living in such a location, which has not yet been so exploited in terms of construction. The chances increase when potential buyers come to the presentation, get acquainted with the technical characteristics of the facility, apartments, visit the location itself. This location offers precisely what they lack and what they may not even be aware of, and that is to live surrounded by nature, reduced noise levels and cleaner air.
When should an investor hire an exclusive representative?
One option, which is best for us representatives, is to get involved in the early stages while there is still no building permission. It is a significant stage because, based on our experience and understanding, we can detect potential problems in future sales by perceiving the project. We are optimizing apartments so that they can later be recognized as a quality product in terms of marketability. It is the best type of representation because we give the investor a product that will sell well, and we make the job a little easier for ourselves. Another option is representing the finished product when there is already a project and a building permit. Then we try to get the most out of the situation and notice which units are potentially harder to sell. According to that, we form a price that will compensate for what they lack.
THANKS TO THE SUGGESTIONS OF SALES REPRESENTATIVES, GREATER FUNCTIONALITY OF HOUSING UNITS IS PROVIDED
Who determines the price of apartments?
Representatives, in general, because investors do not have access to the market information as we do. It can sometimes be demanding because you need to meet the investors' expectations in terms of the expected earnings while also not disappointing customers by entering the market with too high a starting price. When it comes to sales, it's critical to start with a price that'll be acceptable. We can always adjust the price upwards when we position ourselves on the market and catch the momentum. The construction progress follows this growth trend. The worst-case scenario in practice would be to start with overly high expectations of the investor, which is why a considerable amount of revenue may be lost in the beginning, like the first months of pre-sale, and then go downwards.
How much do our investors rely on this type of representation?
It is still frequent for investors to sell their facilities by themselves, but usually when smaller facilities are being built. When the investor plans to start a project of 80, 100, 150 apartments, and more, he entrusts the sale to the sales representative. The sales process is becoming more complex due to the number of customers and the variety of requirements. Then it is easiest to entrust the entire process to a representative and be sure that each segment will be completed correctly. It is also important to us representatives whom we choose to represent in sales, not in terms of the sound of the name, but in terms of the results achieved in the form of completed facilities. When there is trust, all incidental difficulties are easier to solve. And trust is gained through transparent work and the daily exchange of information.
How many qualified professionals do we have in our real estate market that can handle the selling of such massive facilities?
There are not many of us who do this type of work comprehensively. It is a complex process, beginning with advising services and project modification proposals, moving on to establishing the representation of structures, pricing, determining the target group of clients, selecting equipment, creating an on-site showroom if possible, buying and selling. There are undoubtedly great sellers in our market. It is not easy to find a person who can comprehensively look at all these segments. It does take years of experience, though. Even though the primary responsibility of the job is sales, i.e. working with customers, I learned a lot about architecture and legal parts of the business. In addition to selling, my job is to research projects, floor sections, apartments, communicate sales contracts and so on. Thanks to that, I notice deficiencies or surpluses in the space, which can later be the reason for challenging sales. In these situations, I suggest simple changes based on frequent customer comments in current practice that do not disrupt the process but provide greater functionality in future use.
If you get exclusive representation for a facility that doesn't even have a foundation yet, when does it go on sale?
Most of my work consists of selling facilities that do not yet exist physically. It is very challenging, but on the other hand, I know very well what is crucial to people in the process. In my opinion, the first buyers who make a purchase decision should be rewarded because they are taking the most risk by investing in a facility that does not exist yet. The sale will begin as soon as the building permit has been obtained. Then I inform the market that we are selling, we are receiving calls, forming a waiting list until the first reservations and making a sales contract, where we also actively engage because we know from practice the most common comments of customer lawyers. The moment we receive the official draft of the reservation, the official draft of the sales contract, and everything else that is legally and formally important, then we have meetings with customers, product presentations, and first verifications.
THE SALE OF APARTMENTS STARTS AT THE EARLIEST IMMEDIATELY AFTER OBTAINING A BUILDING PERMIT
What do you provide to the customer as a sales representative?
We guide the buyer through the entire process, from getting to know the facility, predispositions of micro-location, technical characteristics of the facility, choosing the appropriate housing unit by living needs and budget, agreeing on financing and purchase negotiations, purchase contracts, choosing equipment, relationship with bankto the handover and refund of taxes later on. It is very important to always be there for customers, so we often say that our working hours are 24/7. Customers are as attached to us as we are to them throughout the purchasing process and frequently follow us on additional projects subsequently. As a result, West Properties is known as a reliable organization.
Text: PETRA VASILJEVIĆ
Photos: https://westproperties.rs/sr/projekti/atria-residence/21
