Buyer registers: how to get on estate agents' lists

This can happen through the estate agent's (ejendomsmægler) buyer register (køberkartotek), an off-market sale (skuffesalg) or a coming soon (kommer snart) listing.

Early access is not a shortcut to a cheap home. It is an extra way of discovering homes that are not yet in your usual property portal search.

For that route to be useful, you need to be able to describe your search in concrete terms:

- Where are you looking?

- Which type of home could work?

- What is the financial framework?

- Which requirements are essential?

- When can you buy?

The clearer the profile, the easier it is to judge whether a home really fits.

In brief

• A buyer register collects information about interested home buyers.
• Signing up does not automatically give you priority or a guarantee of being contacted.
• An off-market sale and coming soon are not the same thing.
• Early access does not necessarily mean a lower price or less competition.
• The estate agent in the specific sale represents the seller.
• Your search profile must be concrete enough to be matched.
• Documents and finances still need to be reviewed, even if the process moves quickly.
• Local groups and networks can give leads, but they cannot replace documentation.
• Do not share more personal or financial information than necessary.

The estate agent represents the seller

When you talk to the estate agent about a specific home, it is important to understand their role.

Boligejer.dk describes the estate agent as the seller's representative. The agent must look after the seller's needs and interests and may not act as the representative of both buyer and seller in the same sale.^[1]

This does not mean you cannot ask questions or get documents from the estate agent.

It means you need to distinguish between:

• Information about the home
• The estate agent's work for the seller
• Your own assessment of price and terms
• The review you get from your own professionals

The estate agent can be helpful and still have the seller as their client. Both things can be true at the same time.

What is a buyer register?

A buyer register is the estate agent's database of people looking for a home.

The profile can include:

• Name and contact details
• Search area
• Type of home
• Price range
• Size and rooms
• Time frame
• Other key requirements

When the estate agent takes on a new home, the register can be used to find possible buyers. Boligejer.dk mentions buyer registers as one of the ways an estate agent can find a buyer quickly and possibly without ordinary advertising.^[2]

How the register is used varies between chains, offices and systems.

Signing up therefore does not mean:

• That you are first in the queue
• That all new homes will be sent to you
• That the estate agent contacts every match
• That you get a specific deadline
• That the home is not shared with others at the same time

What is an off-market sale?

An off-market sale is a home that is marketed on a more limited basis and is not necessarily advertised publicly on the usual property portals. See how off-market sales work before public listing.

The seller may have various reasons:

• Wanting a quiet start to the sale
• Limited public exposure
• Testing the level of interest
• Contact with buyers who are already registered
• The material is not yet ready for a full public listing

How many homes are sold this way is not documented. The extent can vary between areas, periods and estate agents.

Read the in-depth guide on off-market sales and homes before public listing.

What does coming soon mean?

Coming soon is used for homes that are expected to be put up for sale, but where the ordinary sales process or document package is not yet fully ready.

Boligsiden explains that off-market sales are not advertised on Boligsiden, while estate agents can show certain upcoming homes as coming soon.^[3]

A coming soon listing may have:

• Few photos
• A provisional price
• A limited description
• Missing reports
• No full sales listing (salgsopstilling) yet

You are welcome to get in touch. But you cannot assess the home as thoroughly until the material exists.

Early access is not a price advantage

A home does not automatically become cheaper because it is not publicly advertised.

The price can still be affected by:

• The seller's expectations
• The estate agent's valuation
• Demand in the area
• Other interested buyers
• The condition of the home and its documents

A bidding round can also arise without a public portal listing.

Early contact gives you early information. It does not automatically give you:

• A lower price
• Less competition
• Priority
• A better home
• More room to negotiate

So stick to the same purchase budget and the same document requirements as for a home advertised in the ordinary way.

Make your search profile concrete

An estate agent cannot match a profile that just says “house in Copenhagen at a good price”.

Instead, write:

• Geographical area or specific neighbourhoods
• Type of home
• Price range
• Minimum number of rooms
• Conditions that cannot be compromised on
• Possible compromises
• Time frame

Example:

> We are looking for a terraced house (rækkehus) or a smaller detached house in the south of Roskilde or along the railway towards Copenhagen. The price range is up to 4.000.000 kr. We need three proper rooms and a commute that works without a second car. An older kitchen and older surfaces are fine.

The profile explains both the framework and the flexibility.

Use the guide on prioritising your housing requirements to make requirements and compromises concrete.

Clarify your finances without sharing everything

A clear price range makes the profile more useful.

It can be based on:

• Purchase budget
• Your own money
• The bank's preliminary assessment
• Expected purchase costs
• Room for renovation

You do not need to send bank statements, your CPR number (personnummer) or all the bank's material to be in a buyer register.

Only share the information needed for the purpose. If you are asked for sensitive information, ask why it is needed, how it will be processed and who will receive it.

Read the guide on the bank meeting when buying a home and use the Purchase Budget calculator for your own overview.

Which estate agents are relevant?

Look at who actually sells homes in your areas and types of home.

You can find out through:

• Property portals
• The estate agents' own websites
• Sold homes in the area
• Local offices
• Coming soon listings

You do not need to contact a specific number.

Prioritise the estate agents who are active where you are searching. In a small area, a few contacts may cover it. In a larger city, the market may be spread across several offices and chains.

How to get in touch

You can get in touch through:

• The estate agent's form
• Email
• Phone
• Open house
• A personal visit to the office

Ask concrete questions:

• Do you have a buyer register for the area?
• What information should the profile contain?
• How do you contact possible buyers?
• Does the profile need to be renewed?
• Can I change or delete it myself?
• Does it cover off-market sales and coming soon?

Keep a copy of what you send. That way you can keep the information consistent and update it if your finances or requirements change.

Message template for the estate agent

> Hello

I am looking for a home in \[area\].

Type of home: \[type\]

Price range: \[amount\]

Essential requirements: \[two to four concrete requirements\]

Possible compromises: \[short description\]

Time frame: \[period\]

Do you have a buyer register that matches this search, and how do I keep my profile up to date?

Kind regards

\[Name and contact details\]

The message is short enough to read and concrete enough to match.

Following up without being a nuisance

Follow up when:

• Your price range changes
• Your search area changes
• You are ready to buy sooner
• An important requirement changes
• The estate agent asks you to renew
• You are no longer searching

When a home does not fit, give a short explanation.

Example:

> Thank you for the home. The area fits, but the layout does not give the three rooms we need. Please send similar homes with three proper rooms.

That kind of reply makes the profile more precise.

Portals and registers should work together

The buyer register does not replace the property portals.

Use the portals for:

• Public listings
• Saved searches
• Price changes
• Time on market
• History
• Market data

Use the register for:

• Homes marketed on a limited basis
• Early contact
• Coming soon
• Direct dialogue about your search

Read the guide on property portals and search alerts.

Local groups and personal network

Local groups can show:

• Private sale posts
• Requests to swap homes
• Coming soon
• Discussions about the area
• Contacts with people active locally

Your own network may also know someone who is considering selling.

But a post or a private message is not a document package.

Pay attention to:

• Who the sender is
• Whether the home is really for sale
• Whether the price is provisional
• Whether there is a sales listing and reports
• How personal data is shared
• Whether communication is moved to a secure and documentable channel

Local groups' views on price, area and home are personal input, not a professional assessment.

When a home matches

Early contact can create a feeling that you have to decide straight away.

Keep to this order:

1. Get the available information
2. Compare the home with your requirements and budget
3. Research the area
4. Ask for the documents
5. Go through the finances and reports
6. View the home
7. Clarify financing and conditions
8. Decide on price and terms

If the material is missing, you can still show interest without making a final decision.

Use the guide on screening a home and red flags and the viewing checklist.

The documents still apply

When a home is sold through an estate agent, a sales listing must be prepared. Boligejer.dk describes, among other things, the requirements for finances, insurance, encumbrances and debt in the sales listing.^[4]

In an early dialogue, however, the sales listing and reports may still be in preparation.

Ask for:

• Sales listing
• Property data report (ejendomsdatarapport)
• Condition report (tilstandsrapport), where relevant
• Electrical installation report (elinstallationsrapport)
• Energy label (energimærke)
• Association documents for an owner-occupied flat (ejerlejlighed)
• Easements (servitutter)
• Information about planning conditions
• Draft purchase agreement (købsaftale), when the process gets that far

A quick sale should not be based on less information just because contact started early.

Price, bids and negotiation

The estate agent must pass bids on to the seller and works for the seller's interests in the sale.

Compare the home with:

• Your budget
• Comparable sales
• The condition of the home
• Documents
• Expected work
• The terms of the sale

Do not base your bid on an assumption that an off-market sale must be cheaper.

Read the guide on bidding rounds and negotiation when buying a home.

When the purchase agreement arrives, the bank condition (bankforbehold) and lawyer condition (advokatforbehold) can be decisive. Read the guide on lawyer conditions and bank conditions.

Complete checklist

• Have you written a concrete search profile?
• Is the price range based on the full purchase budget?
• Have you chosen estate agents who are active in the area?
• Do you know how the register works?
• Do you know how the profile is updated and deleted?
• Have you distinguished between an off-market sale and coming soon?
• Are you still using property portals?
• Are you only sharing necessary personal data?
• Are you sticking to the document review?
• Have you clarified financing and conditions before the agreement?
• Are you assessing price and terms without assuming an off-market discount?

Common mistakes

You expect priority

Signing up does not mean the estate agent has to contact you first or reserve a home for you.

Your profile is too broad

A profile without a clear price, location and type of home is hard to use.

Your profile is too narrow

If every wish becomes non-negotiable, relevant homes can be filtered out.

You share all your finances

The estate agent does not need all your sensitive documents to understand a price range.

You assume off-market sales are cheaper

Limited marketing does not in itself say anything about the right price.

You skip over the documents

Early access does not change the need for reports, financing and legal conditions.

You forget the estate agent's role

The estate agent can provide information and show you the home, but represents the seller in the specific sale.

In short

Buyer registers and networks are an extra route in your home search. Finances, documents and conditions still apply.

Make your profile concrete. Contact the estate agents who work in the area. Keep your information up to date. And assess every home on the same basis, whether you found it on a portal, in a register or through a local contact.

Know your price range before you join a buyer register: work it out in the Purchase Budget calculator.

BoligKlar gives you a second pair of eyes and an overview. The estate agent represents the seller in the specific sale.

Frequently asked questions