If you are an executive relocating to the wonderful city of Kiev, chances are, you are doing so with a help of a relocation services agency or their local partner (which your company has contracted out to make your transition more seemless) Unless you are a first time international assignee, chances are you have worked with these firms in the past. For those of you who have not dealt with these firms in the past, relocation agencies typically provide the following services to their corporate clients:
- Logistics (Furniture & Personal Items)
- Immigration & Local Legal Compliance
- Home Search –apartment / house search in Kiev, negotiations on price / terms, preparation of the lease agreement. – this step is handled through a local real estate agency
- Settling- in & Departure Services
There are few relocation service agencies which are operating locally in Kiev amongst them:
In theory home search is supposed to be conducted with cooperation of an independent, reliable and knowledgeable real estate agency which will locate every single feasible option available on the market and make sure the needs of the client are fully met.
On the contrary, most, if not all of the relocation services agencies in Kiev work through a network of incompetent real estate agents, who while provide the least proficient service to the client, provide the largest kickback sums (from their commission) to the relocation companies. Their property selection is very limited due to the very fact that they work with limited portfolio of properties, where even after factoring in the kickback amounts (as high as 70%) the agency and the realtor still generate enough profit to make it worthwhile. When dissatisfied clients inquire about properties which can be found online, the relocations agencies / brokers proceed to further mislead them with stories about «window dressing» marketing, owners who want nothing to do with children, pets and foreign tenants etc.
The unfortunate byproduct of this malpractice are the foreigners and their families, who afer their relocation to Kiev and securing less than perfect (at best) apartment or a house, get faced with a prospect of starting the property search, moving all over again, and sometimes even paying for this expenses out of pocket.
As an international assignee you are fully entitled to appoint a real estate agency which you feel comfortable working with, and who will pursue your best interests. All it takes is one phone call/email to us and we'll contact your relocation service provider on your behalf and inform them that our agency will be conducting home search.
As a leading expat real estate agency in Kiev we would be glad to not only provide you with the most complete property selection available, but also with the best service, knowhow and advice, which our clients so highly value. You can see portfolio of our clients here, and these will known companies trust us for a good reason.