Back from Cluj: “Dead – tired” but happy
The evening TAROM flight from Cluj to Bucharest is always a positive surprise for me. A bigger airplane awaits many people to fill it and usually I notice that the service of the flight attendants is excellent as well. After two very tiring days in the capital of Transylvania, I return back to Bucharest, for two more difficult days, before leaving for Greece, for my Easter holidays. So, this nice atmosphere made me open my laptop and share with you my experience from Cluj, on G. Monday and G. Tuesday…
More % of seriousness
I know, I have stated this several times, but I will not stop mentioning that once more I met in this city many serious people. Of course during my 17 meetings on G. Monday (some of them for 10 – 15 minutes, just to see a downtown commercial space) and my 8 on G. Tuesday I also came across guys who still believe that they can trick a foreigner. But the majority of the real estate agents, entrepreneurs and journalists I met made me feel really comfortable. People who know what is business, or at least they have a structured opinion and they are open to discuss another one as well.
I have written down on my notebook over 20 properties, which I saw or discussed about over these two days. Most of them were interesting, I didn’t meet many people who wanted to show me a stupid property and tried to convince me to purchase it. (Maybe it was also because this time I was really well organized, sent a list of requests some time ago and focused only to the companies who sent to my colleagues description, details and all about the properties in advance. It sounds obvious, but trust me, it is not).
What I am searching – what I have found
I came to find more or less the following categories of properties (following the mandates of my clients):
- • Income producing assets, commercial spaces or office buildings (as I search as well in Bucharest and the rest of the big cities around the country).
• Land for a retailer, with a surface of around 50.000 sq.m and opening on an important boulevard of exit road of the city.
• An empty office building, either delivered, or partially built (with financing problems), for another inquiry we have.
• A couple of commercial spaces, for clients who want to rent in the center.
• Downtown lands, for residential purposes mainly.
• A Hotel.
I didn’t expect to find a wide range of good assets. To be honest, there were times I was coming to Cluj and I couldn’t see not even two good properties. This time I was happy to write down details for so many good properties that I could do business with. I admit though the price is still crazy in the majority of the cases, but it is the first step. Once the properties appear in the market, sooner or later the owners will realize what is their real value and some of them will decide to make business and stop dreaming.
The most interesting thing is that the majority of agencies, we initially contacted, didn’t even reply to our email, they were not so keen in meeting us (probably they were too busy serving so many other clients). Also, from the ones I met, most of them had expensive properties, most good, and few bad. I had to “dig” more so as to obtain off market assets in really good prices (don’t ask me how I do it, this is my business in the end of the day). So, I ended up with several options for every category of interest, except the income properties. There we still need to wait, as people consider that they can sell with higher prices than London and Paris. Time will show if they are right or not…
“Let him, he knows the city”
I admire women with mind, an intelligent woman “eats 2 men just for breakfast” as we say in Greek. I met a lot in Cluj these two days, but there was one who was really interesting, as she was together with a guy who thought he could trick me. He was showing to me all possible bad properties, trying to convince me they are good for my clients. I noticed her kicking him under the table, so as to stop, but he was too busy trying his luck again and again. In the end she told him quite loudly “let him, he knows the city”. Let us hope that everyone will wake up soon and realize that the period when he could trick a (stupid in his eyes) foreigner has ended. Yes, speranta moare ultima (hope dies last) as I used to say, but I think that the ones who will insist in this tactic will die first, by hunger.
“You get upset with lies, you don’t like when I tell you the truth.
Finally what do you want?”
The citizens of Transylvania have a higher quality and culture than some other areas of the country. So they got a bit tired with several Real Estate agencies from Bucharest, multinational ones included, who were contacting them full of fitze (vanity), letting them know that they had clients who can buy anything, at any price, immediately. The problem was that usually they never showed up with the client in the end, or there was an agent coming to cities like Cluj etc, full of arrogance and pride, treating the locals bad. So, I heard many stories about “the lies of people from Bucharest”.
In the same time, I noticed that when a property was not good and I was informing the agent about this fact, he / she was upset on me! I was even trying to explain to them with arguments why a property is not good, but they simply didn’t care to listen. So, I met someone who initially told me the same story for “the bad ones from the capital”, but later one showed me four properties I didn’t like and one I liked. He got very upset because I was explaining to him what I didn’t like. He got even more when he showed me a list of many more and I told him that I simply don’t have clients for them. So, in the end, I felt the need to ask: “So, what do you want? When the others lie to you, you get upset. When I tell you the truth, you get angry. What do you want me to tell you?”
I think I was a bit harsh, he didn’t expect my response. But he smiled and told me that he wants me to tell him that we will do the deal. “Give me many good properties, in good prices, and I will give you many deals”. Isn’t it better to be honest with each other?
Don’t miss the opportunity to check the Real Estate market in Cluj!
Cluj is one of top cities in the Balkans today. If you discuss with some of its citizens, they will tell you that there are still many things to be done, many problems to be solved. They are very ambitious, with very high expectations, which is good in my opinion. Ok, most of them have not traveled and lived abroad, so as to know how lucky they are.
If you are interested in investing in Romania, don’t the opportunity to check the market of Cluj. With the right guidance, you will find many good properties, in a city which has excellent potential for the years to come. In some cases, it can be compared to Bucharest, but for sure it is one of the top Romanian areas to absorb investments and be in the leaders which will move the country towards the future.
I was exhausted these two days, but I really enjoyed every second. If my collaborators there (and in some cases why not, friends) will provide me what I need for my clients, I will be there more often than anyone can guess!
PS. G. Tuesday was super for one more reason, I had a transaction for a land inside the city. A friend who found out about it told me “this is probably the first land transaction in Cluj this year”. I replied: “I am sure it won’t be the last”.