Along with the upsurge in buyers wanting to purchase a riad or dar in the Medina of Fez has come a growth in the number of real estate and property companies offering houses for sale. Many of them have sent information to The View from Fez so that we can advise buyers about what kind of services are on offer. Others have chosen to advertise on our site.
While we have no commercial interest in any business in Fez and offer our advice simply to promote responsible restoration and conservation, we are happy to endorse those companies who have a sound ethical approach to dealing with their clients.
Ethics, what ethics?
Recently it has come to our attention that some companies appear to have forgotten ethical behaviour and are indulging in inflation of prices, unreasonable commission and in one instance even charging a viewing fee for showing clients a property.
Under no circumstances should a buyer pay a fee for being shown a property and any commission over 5% is unreasonable.
If a company does decide it wants to charge viewing fees then they should advise potential clients on their website and during the first meeting with them. Also be aware that the prices advertised on websites can be very much more expensive than what would be accepted on the street.
One reader of The View from Fez was recently asked to pay a viewing fee by company "Mad About Fez". We hope the company will not continue this and will also bring its commission down to the normal percentage and certainly not more than 5%. One of our readers commented: The 'normal commission' is actually 2.5%, not 5%.We should not encourage foreigners to pay more than this as it could ruin the whole house buying process for everyone.
Another reader had this observation: Well, those people are asking 10% !!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's insane! They are not only taking advantage of foreigners who are buying properties here in Fez, but also the Moroccan agencies they operate with. If you choose to do visits with these people, expect 2 middlemen: madaboutfes and a Moroccan agent. I think the whole fez medina community should be involved in this as it is “ruin[ing] the whole house buying process for everyone”
If you are interested in property in the Fez Medina we suggest you spend some time reading our collection of articles - Buying Property in Morocco - The Essential List
Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
6 comments:
The 'normal commission' is actually 2.5%, not 5.
We should not encourage foreigners to pay more than this as it could ruin the whole house buying process for everyone.
Unscrupulous agencies will soon get known - Thanks for the warning
Ethics! What a refreshing thing that would be. Thanks for the great blog - I read it every day.
A few comments...
"Under no circumstances should a buyer pay a fee for being shown a property"
In fact virtually all Moroccan agents expect a modest fee each time you see houses with them...maybe 10-20 dhs per house or 50-100 dh per half day. Any Moroccan looking for houses with a simsaar would give a tip/fee.
As for Mad About Fez, I've not heard of them asking for a viewing fee. Another foreign agency was doing this, but they've stopped.
I spent some time yesterday with Abdelileh from Mad About Fez and was very impressed with the houses he showed, and the prices. I saw two very nice small houses for 160,000 and 180,000 dh. Although their 10% fee is very high, if you know about it in advance and they're showing you good houses for "real" prices, then perhaps it's not so bad.
I have friends who were asked for a viewing fee. So maybe it depends on who you are.
I am afraid that "David" is dead wrong. I was personally asked for viewing fee and the 10% is not upfront or on their website.
Just because you saw a couple of nice houses and smoozed a bit does not make it a more ethical arrangement and there is a big difference between a tip and a viewing fee.
Sorry David, I respect most of your judgments - just not this one.
I ended up buying a small dar near Bab Ziat - without a viewing fee or 10%.
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