New York City is America's richest city, yet it is a cesspool of scamming and uncaring realtors. Coming from that, the ineptitude and slowness of real estate brokers in Prague was more manageable. After watching dozens of expat videos and reading dozens of blogs and chat-pages from immigrants, Louis and I were still unprepared. So, I will graciously inform you.
Foremost, we recommend using SRealty as the most reliable website for researching apartments (flats) in Czechia. It is free to use. Other webpages requests fees to contact owners. Reputable realtors recommend it, too.
Lewis and I were delighted that almost every apartment in Prague included amenities of civility that are absent in much of America. Americans overpay 3-times the price, but they get less. Additionally, Americans must overpay more to actually achieve decency. (As I mentioned in prior blog entries, Americans must pay 3x the price in Prague to get the same size apartment, but it will be lower quality and outdated. Americans must overpay 6x the price to get decency). For example, most apartments in Prague include dining tables (not merely eating counters attached to kitchens). These images are from apartments priced at $900 per month...
Unlike America's third-world habit from the 1950s of eating on the sofa from food-trays...
... Czechs eat their meals on tables and chairs. That improves Life Happiness because people eat in dignified ways.
Prague's apartments usually include balconies or terraces, which are considered "luxuries" in the USA. Most of them are equipped with dishwashers and washing machines... which are classified as "luxuries" in America that cost extra. Regardless of size or price, most of Prague's apartments are refitted with updated kitchens and bathrooms with modern fixtures. In America, "affordable apartments" are neglected by cheap landlords who uncaringly make tenants use facilities that are 40+ years old. Please use this link to see examples:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/preview/4450910486741560693/9120747056891054801
On the topic of modern technology, many old buildings were improved with modern electrical circuitry, plumbing, and elevators, so they are comparable to new buildings. Historically-preserved buildings in the famous City-Center probably don't have elevators, but the other boroughs do. That type of improvement rarely happens in "prewar era" buildings in America. NYC is inundated with unimproved Walk-Up apartment buildings, and its greedy landlords don't care.
For smart sanitary purposes, toilets in Czechia are often built into separate rooms, so toilets are not close to where you brush your teeth. That reminded us of the clean societies in Japan and the Netherlands. They are usually equipped with small sinks, and that is handy for guests who can stay out of your personal bathroom.
It makes cohabitation convenient if one person uses the shower and another wants to use the toilet. That is truly first-world. Rarely do American builders want to invest in that infrastructure.
Another bonus is that most first-world nations beyond America invested in helpfully-dense public transit systems. Prague has the best in the world, offered at fair prices. Therefore, almost all of its apartments are near routes for trams, buses, Metro trains, or commuter trains... and that convenience doesn't increase the price as it happens in America! *Relatedly, we recommend downloading the PID transit app and buying the Annual Ticket (Pass). One year of all-inclusive transportation (including commuter trains and ferries, which are additional costs in America) is a great value. NYC's dilapidated transit system is one of the worst in the world, yet it costs 10-times the price as Prague's magnificence!
Each time that we considered a property, we used the PID app to locate nearest public transportation. Vastly superior to America, the app also shows stairs and entrances to each Metro (subway) station, and all stations have escalators and elevators... that truly function. The app also helped us calculate travel times to places, and it is searchable so when you start typing a name, it finds it for you. It was better than using Google Maps. In addition, SRealty shows the closest stores, grocers, and civic amenities to every apartment.
Thanks to my online research, I learned tips from one of Prague's honest realtors, Daniel Kotula, who is a native Praguer. His webpage has links to a plethora of his helpful videos that educate home-seekers and describe life in Prague: transit, parks, annoyances, taxes, schools, affordable food, well-made baked goods, parking, and cafes. He only helps home-buyers (not renters), but I emailed him for advice on reputable realtors. Nobody answered. Despite that letdown, his information and videos are useful:
https://realtorpraguekotula.cz/
These are his tips:
1. Get a three-party Reservation (Booking) Contract that is signed by you, the realtor, and the property owner... including fines if the owner cancels.
2. All appliances and furnishings (for pre-furnished homes) must be included on the documents.
3. Be certain that the square-meters of "usable space" excludes the balcony, garage, storage unit, and any flooring under partitions. You might request a Declaration of the Owner from the Real Estate Register ($2) that proves everything attached to the apartment or home. Czech government favors tenants, so those documents are accessible.
4. Include penalties for the owner that equal "double the daily rent" for every day that they delay your occupancy.
5. For home-buying, visit the Real Estate Cadastre for a Register of Rights for the seller (requiring the seller's name and government ID number) to see if they are withholding something attached to the property.
Nonetheless, my first tip is very helpful. Home-seekers in Czechia must be prepared for a slower pace. Life-Work Balance in civilized nations means that realtors might not work on Saturdays and/or Sundays, and they might not reply after 17:00 (5pm) when their day ends. We interacted with some who did, and that was rare.
Despite getting fees from the renter, as well as the owner, many realtors don't seem motivated to conclude transactions quickly. Lewis and I didn't use the website's messaging center; we emailed the realtors directly or we called them (internationally). Realtors' emails and phone numbers are usually provided. Alas, 2-7 days passed before some of them replied. Most never answered us. One guy waited 2 weeks before responding to my inquiry. Don't they realize that immigrants need to start their new jobs promptly? Relocating requires a lot of work: international movers, flights, stopping subscriptions, memberships, utilities, deciding to renew your lease for another month or not. Needless delays against applicants seems stupid and unprofessional.
Some realtors merely replied with 3-word answers. Some told us that the property was already sold... yet they didn't suggest a related property (as if they weren't interested in keeping us as customers). Often, the dialogue was "dry" and perfunctory. Coming from America, we were accustomed to realtors as pushy salespeople who are overhyped to keep customers by segueing to alternates. We liked Prague's lack of pushiness, but we craved salesmanship that when we contacted a professional, they did their best to sustain a rapport.
Prague has many inept realtors, so we repeatedly nudged them for information, corrected their mistakes, and reminded them to reply. Several listings were expired, despite being left on the website. We were aghast to see listings where the realtor stupidly included 3 photos of the same hallway but forgot to include photos of the bedroom or bathroom. How can a professional person be so dumb? Images of a bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom are essential. I felt tempted to request fees from them for helping them do their jobs, yet they were still better than any realtor that Lewis or I dealt with in the USA. Sadly, it is evident that there are low standards for getting a real estate license in the capital city of Prague.
Realtors should remember that a home is shelter for a human soul, and they should remember this wisdom:
After dealing with 17 realtors, we don't recommend "planning ahead" when dealing with them because there was usually a lack of stability with the plans that we assumed would happen. If you believe them that every transaction will succeed, you'll be "spinning your wheels but not going anywhere". Many times, we queued things for an expected transaction, but the realtors either never continued or they cancelled at the last-minute. It was exhausting. Furthermore, don't imagine your life at any property until the lease is signed by everyone. Unfortunately, those traits seem the same as in America's real estate industry.
Thankfully, all of the realtors communicated in English, including foreigners from outside of Czechia. Being polite, Lewis and I always spoke in Czech for greetings and closings. When realtors responded within 24 hours, I suggested using WhatsApp so we could communicate easier. They appreciated that. We used it for facetime calls and video-tours of the properties... because it was impractical for us to fly to Prague for every in-person tour or "Open House". Occasionally, realtors asked us to send a paragraph to describe ourselves, for the owners to read. We said that we don't smoke and don't have pets. We assured them of our cleanliness, and we gave astute compliments of each apartment. We mentioned the longevity we had at prior addresses and jobs because that impresses landlords. (That suffering in America was finally worth something).
You must overcome the difference in time zones. Compared to NYC, Prague is six hours ahead. When Lewis and I woke up in the morning, the day was half-finished in Prague. Before going to work, Lewis woke extra early to answer messages from realtors, resend messages to urge realtors to reply, and browse for new apartments and send inquiries. It takes effort.
In America, renting an apartment is "First come, first serve", so renters must act fast. Typically, after you pay an initial fee, the lease is created within 24-48 hours (unless they want to check your Credit Score, bank balance, and references). In NYC, a lease is usually completed within hours of agreeing to the apartment. After being conditioned to that treatment, Lewis and I strategized to position ourselves as desirable clients because we accepted prices without haggling for discounts... and we were prompt, polite, and prepared. Alas, in Prague, we were repeatedly told that we couldn't get apartments because tours were scheduled to occur and "everyone must have an opportunity to see the apartment". That seemed senseless to us. Imagine that you want to buy tomatoes, but the grocer says that you cannot because everyone else must have a chance to see them, first.
It seemed intuitive that a realtor would be happy to forgo several tours from uncertain candidates to accept a full-price offer from applicants who didn't need a tour. We figured that it would help the realtors save time and effort. No.
When an offer is accepted by a realtor, it must also be accepted by the owner. That is why renters must have lease contracts that include the realtor AND the owner. Do not accept contracts that are only signed by you and the realtor. It is advisable to include financial penalties if the owner cancels or delays the move-in date.
However, before renters get their lease, they must get a Reservation Contract, and a fee is required. That "guarantees" their interest in the apartment, and the Reservation Contract blocks other realtors from selling it (while the lease is prepared). That type of civility doesn't exist in greedy America. e.g.: For my prior apartment, I paid my realtor and they dealt with a landlord who assured me to have a home, but then gave his apartment to somebody else. Lewis and I appreciate Czechia's decency to use Reservation Contracts, but it is an additional step... and owners can change their mind. When a lease is finalized, that fee becomes the Broker Fee, so it is already paid.
Alas, nobody warns immigrants that realtors can be very slow after you sign/pay the Reservation Contract. After they get some of their money, they may waste a week or two before providing the lease. It's pathetic and unprofessional but true. Once you signed/paid, you cannot cancel or you usually forfeit your money. You must pester them to ensure completion. Before you sign, you should insist that a "completion date" exists for the lease. That will protect you against Prague's pathetic realtors. As I said, nobody will warn you about this, so I warned you.
Tragically, within our first weeks, we encountered realtors who accepted our offers to pay full price, sent drafts of leases (so we could preview them and ask questions), and promised to create Reservation Contracts... but then they told us that the owners didn't want us. I was livid with frustration as our.
Thankfully, Czech realtors do not participate in the scams that are prevalent in America. For example, American brokers request non-refundable fees from prospective renters. That's insane. Who wants to give away hard-earned money without assurance from the realtor? Trying to cheat their customers, many licensed realtors uncaringly demand that money before they work on securing the desired apartment. That "locks you" into dealing with them (despite their unhelpful behavior), or you forfeit your money. It only guarantees money for the "shady" realtor... and once they have your money, they treat you worse. America's authorities don't care. Lewis and I were happy to be away from that.
Eventually, we interacted with a realtor named Igor. He provided a video-tour and Q&A about the apartment. We said that we wanted to rent it. He sent me a blank Reservation Contract and requested me to sign it. I replied that I would never sign a blank form; it is like signing a "blank check"! I told him to complete the form to show the fees, contact information, dates, et cetera. That was my first clue that Igor was in idiot. After we signed an accurate Reservation Contract and submitted payment, he didn't provide the lease for seven days. Instead, he took an unannounced "business trip" and didn't respond to us clearly, and nobody at his office assisted us. Igor was pathetic at answering our growing concerns about the delay. Despite us asking for a timeframe (so we could set our expectations), nobody answered us. That was rude. We had no idea of how long the processes would take. Yet, until we had a signed lease, we had no guarantee... and that was torturous.
Traumatized by realtors in America, we cannot trust that leases will be accurate until I review and scrutinize them. We became terrified that something had gone wrong or the landlord didn't want us. On the seventh day, Igor finally replied. But, the buffoon put errors in our lease (occupancy for one person, instead of two), and we had to instruct him and his team to fix their carelessness. His assistant sent us a lease, but she still had a segment that stated "one person occupancy". I gave her a photo of the error, but nobody answered us for two days. We were shocked that the realtor company was so incompetent that it couldn't create an accurate lease; that is the main job of any realtor!
Meanwhile, we still called Chase Bank to fix its errors. During that same time, a responsible realtor contacted us repeatedly about his apartment... but we couldn't accept because we didn't know the status with our realtor. It was stressful. As I said, needless delays against applicants seems stupid and unprofessional.
When Igor finally gave us an accurate lease, we signed. I asked him to tell us when the landlord signed, so we could proceed with sending payment. Igor replied that the landlord would not sign the lease until the move-in date. That's crazy! I responded that we needed a signed lease from the landlord to guarantee us somewhere to live. Otherwise, we would cancel the contract and look elsewhere. (It was unnerving to consider starting from the beginning again).
Those situations made Prague seem unwelcoming...
... but time proved that there are many welcoming and helpful people in Prague, and our experience blossomed into this...
Be prepared to send international wire transfers from your bank to the realtor for the Reservation Contract, deposit, first month's rent, et cetera. (In many situations, utilities are paid with the rent, based on a monthly average. At the end of the year, you determine if you overpaid or underpaid). Dealing with America's banking industry is like being in a third-world country. For more than 10 years, Lewis and I had accounts with TD Bank, which promotes itself as America's most convenient bank.
In truth, it is not modern, convenient, "instant", mobile, fun, personable, friendly, easy, or approachable! (False advertising is rampant in America since the 1850s). If you only do things in America, TD can respond to your needs... but still not in any of those ways. Despite being the year 2024, TD never invested in infrastructure to allow online wire transfers. Uncaringly, it does not have that capacity! That's absurd! We were required to go to a local branch of the bank to do it with an employee. As usual, our local bank was disorganized. Unchanged for 30 years, banks still have many Customer Service desks but only half of them are staffed with employees. (Supermarkets are sadly the same). That cheapness is ugly. Therefore, we were forced to wait 30 minutes to be assisted, and the "specialist" required another 30 minutes to complete our seemingly-easy transaction. TD had the affrontery to charge us a price of $50 for that inconvenience (and their lack of infrastructure)!
(During our time at the bank, an ATM "swallowed" a customer's debit card. The bank had no capacity to open the ATM to retrieve it, and the man missed his train while waiting 30 minutes in the queue to be assisted by Customer Service. Only then did the bank realize that it's "credit card making" machine was broken, so the man was forced to travel 1.5 miles to the nearest branch... and wait in that queue!)
Next, we told the specialist about our upcoming relocation, and we asked how we could transfer money after we lived in Prague? Looking stupid, she uncaringly answered that TD Bank had no way to help us; we were required to fly back to the USA and visit a bank every time that we wanted to send money to our new bank-account in Prague. That was outrageous! The only alternative was for us to add co-signers to our accounts, but that is a huge liability. That was typical behavior for American industries: refuse to improve (like a third-world nation), yet overcharge customers with high prices.
(Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the USA, yet it has the same uncaring problem of no infrastructure). Please watch this quick video to hear another testimony...
Later, we messaged our banker in Prague, whom we met at Česká Spořitelna (the nation's oldest bank) during our first visit, and he was shocked at how bad things are in America (where people still mail paper checks to pay for things, instead of using online payments).
He recommended a money-moving app that is very helpful in Europe: Revolut. It outclasses America's PayPal because PayPal charges high fees of 5% of every transaction, plus currency exchange fees (typical of America to have many fees). Alas, when I tried downloading the app, I was confronted by an Error Message. During the previous 6 months, Revolut is stalled during its negotiations in America for a new financial partner, so they cannot accept Americans as new customers. Click this image to make it bigger/clearer...
When we reside in Prague, we will apply for Revolut and be able to interact conveniently like Europeans. Lewis and I were awed by that bankers assistance, which occurred before we got to Prague to open our accounts. He willingly helped us before we were his official customers. That is great!
I also considered a competitor named Wise, but it suffers from restrictions from America's financial requirements. The only other nations it suffered from were dictatorships and third-world countries.
Unchanged problems and thievery never seems to end in the USA, and we'll be grateful to escape its captivity.
Despite those challenges, we were undaunted and chose Chase Bank that was capable of letting us initiate international transfers online. Happily, I closed my old account with pathetically-unhelpful TD, and I moved into the future of the modern world. Alas, we dealt with an unscrupulous banker: an Assistant Vice President who worked there for 30 years and did whatever she wanted. On the pretense of orienting us with the phone app, she slyly enrolled us in programs--without our permission--that we didn't want. Later, we searched through the website to unenroll from them, to protect our privacy. Illegally, she used our phone apps to access our full Credit Report (instead of the mere Credit Score that banks see), which is private information, so she could snoop and see how many assets and credit cards we had and how many years we maintained them.
I thwarted her by asking why she did that, and she was suddenly flummoxed to explain her actions. Until then, she was rude to us and repeatedly left her desk to greet customers in the bank or talk with coworkers. But as soon as she knew our credit score and wealth, she gave us her undivided attention. People like that can go f*ck themselves. Sadly, she failed to correctly set up our new accounts for international wire transfers, so I had to call Customer Service three times to get it done. I was also told that domestic wire transfers are allowed after a security code is messaged to your phone, but international transfers require a phone call to Chase in the USA to get the code. That is dumb and inconvenient. Lastly, Chase's website and app allowed us to arrange bank-to-bank transfers, so we could input funds to our new accounts. However, Chase stupidly never alerts you that you can't import the money; it merely rejected the transfers. After two calls to Customer Service, we were finally informed that we must go into our other bank accounts and export the money to Chase. The employee told us certain banks don't allow Chase to request money like that. Why does Chase allow users to set up transfers that can't be done?! (It had TD Bank in a drop-down menu of options). Chase should provide a list of the banks that don't cooperate, and tell users to export the money from those banks, instead of trying to import from Chase. That would be an easy solution, but Chase prefers to inconvenience and upset its new account-holders. That is the type of crap quality and unprofessionalism that you get at America's biggest bank!
Thankfully, nowhere outside of America uses a Credit Score, which is a huge scam. Only America forces its citizens to use credit cards to achieve a Credit Rating that is needed for leases, cars, home ownership, loans, mortgages, cellular phone plans, and credit card applications. Nowhere else on Earth does that. It forces home-seekers in America to use have/use credit cards to obtain a Credit Score. Consequently, it allows banks and money-lenders to enrich themselves from Credit Card Usage Fees, Credit Card Membership Fees, Interest Rates, debt-related fees, and various hidden fees for having credit cards. If you avoid America's credit cards, you are penalized with barriers to accomplish normal things. Leaving that corrupt scheme, we were relieved to operate in Czechia's truly first-world society.
Unlike scenarios in NYC, our realtor informed us that we must purchase Renter Liability Insurance for our protection and safety. It is affordable... because it is not in America. We recommend Czechia's oldest insurance company, and here is a direct link (in English):
https://www.pvzp.cz/en/subproducts/property-insurance/
Unlike much of America, renters in Czechia are responsible for minor repairs that cost less than a total of $175.00, unless the landlord says otherwise. That includes light bulbs, interior door handles, and window handles. Regardless if there is a Property Manager or Superintendent, renters must arrange annual inspections of their apartment. Landlords handle everything else. (During our search for an apartment, we noticed a landlord who employed a Property Management Company that handled everything for the tenant and gave 24-hour Customer Support... and the all-inclusive rent was $835 per month. Americans would expect it to be $3,000 per month for that type of service). The apartment we chose has a Property Manager, but we are responsible for the minor things.
Another pleasant experience was when the current tenant contacted us via WhatsApp to introduce himself and help us get acclimated with a choice of providers for electricity and TV/internet. In a courteous gesture, he offered to answer any questions that we had because he knew that we would relocate from across an ocean. That was welcoming and gentlemanly.
Using WhatsApp, Lewis and I began polite interactions with our landlady, and she was very appreciative. By then, we already selected our international movers, had double-walled shipping boxes, purged unwanted possessions, and settled our affairs before moving. The adventure could finally commence!
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