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HOME SHOPPING WITH A MOUSE
BY ALEX HESS
Over the past several years, online real estate
companies offering everything from basic rental listings to sophisticated
professional services have emerged in Egypt. The best of these sites
provide attractive and intuitive forums that help the user remove
the mystery from the property hunt. Whether you are moving to Egypt
for the first time or just across town, fishing for a good investment,
seeking that perfect storefront, or looking to sell or let your
property, the companies listed here can save you time and expense.
Egyrents is a barebones online real estate directory for residential
rentals and sales. There’s no registration, and no commercial
or industrial property cluttering this no-frills website. It doesn’t
even have a search function. For some, this might be an advantage,
especially if you don’t know exactly what you want.
Egyrents is a good place to begin your search, providing a quick
overview of the rental market. The site’s linear format lets
you simply scroll through all the flats and villas on offer. If
you want more information about a property you must contact Egyrents
by e-mail or telephone.
To advertise your own property with Egyrents costs $30 for six months
or $50 for one year. Negotiations between renter and lessor are
direct and Egyrents does not take commission. You cannot post an
ad yourself, but Egyrents will create one for you.
A slightly more sophisticated site, eDar combines the features of
a traditional real estate company with a user-friendly online forum.
Setting up an account is free and comes with an e-mail address so
buyers and sellers can communicate directly. Once registered, sellers
can place free ad postings with their contact information and property
address. Conveniently, buyers can respond directly to postings by
e-mail.
In theory at least. When Business Monthly attempted to test the
listing process we could not locate our posting even though it was
confirmed. This, along with the fact that all the property listings
we looked at were posted by eDar’s professional real estate
agency, suggests the forum may not be as public as it first appears.
An eDar account allows registered users to save properties for future
reference and set up auto-notification when new properties matching
their profile become available. The slick website features a highly
intuitive search function that allows users to sort results for
both residential and commercial properties simply by clicking on
column headings.
In addition to property listings, the eDar web portal offers several
useful features including a neighborhood guide, maps and contact
information for its professional real estate services. Unfortunately,
the low-resolution maps are limited to Maadi, Zamalek, Garden City
and Heliopolis, and are not searchable by property address.
In direct competition to eDar, Trenta offers a forum for negotiation
between property owners and seekers, primarily for mid- to high-end
rentals and sales. Registration is free but, like Egyrents, posting
a property requires a fee. Both buyers and sellers can set up accounts
and can contact each other through the web portal. Listings can
be saved for future reference and users can request automatic e-mail
alerts whenever properties matching their criteria are posted.
The Trenta website is well structured and includes comprehensive
listings of both commercial and residential properties that include
contact information for the seller and – most significantly
– the street addresses of the villas and flats. This allows
you to locate the listed properties to further narrow your search,
although no maps are provided. What’s more, the listings employ
a clear and informative set of symbols to make scanning search results
easier.
Sellers and lessors can list their properties on the website. A
basic ad with five pictures is LE 150. Additional design features
and photographs are available at extra cost. Although supposedly
anybody can post an ad, all of the listings Business Monthly looked
at were posted by the same two individuals, which makes us suspect
that, like eDar, Trenta functions like a normal real estate service.
For a more traditional experience, ERA Egypt is beginning to offer
online services. The website is attractive and simple to navigate.
The search feature is efficient and many property listings have
photographs. Listings include residential and commercial properties
as well as land and farms. However, many features of the website
remain under construction. This site is promising and should be
kept in mind during your online property hunt.
One of the most professional online realtors is undoubtedly Coldwell
Banker Egypt. The website is clean, easy to use, and contains all
sorts of useful information about the local legal environment and
real estate market. Coldwell Banker’s target audience is decidedly
upmarket and most residential listings are for villas and spacious
unfurnished flats. You can also find office space and other commercial
real estate on the site.
The database of listed residential and commercial properties is
expansive and the search function allows you to be as vague or specific
as you like. The site does not, however, divulge property addresses
or the seller’s contact information. Instead, buyers and sellers
negotiate through a Coldwell Banker agent, who charges a commission
on the final deal.
Coldwell Banker’s main advantage over other real estate websites
lies in its innovative services, which include relocation services,
property management and legal advice. The site contains a frequently
asked questions page that tackles intelligently some of the most
serious issues home buyers, sellers and renters are likely to face.
Specifically, it helps clarify title registration and taxation requirements
in Egypt. Coldwell Banker also helps individuals and companies relocating
to Egypt find appropriate properties and assists with permits and
other administrative tasks. Its free “Concierge” program
helps clients locate contractors, household help, moving services
and so on, which would be invaluable to those new to Egypt or with
little time to spare.
Online real estate companies cater to a variety of needs and the
number of e-realtors in Egypt is growing fast. Whichever online
service you select, it should help reduce the information gap between
buyer, seller and real estate agent so you can be sure that you
are getting the best deal.
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