Ambitious new Estonian property developer transforms the home-buying experience

Livida, which burst onto the real estate market earlier this year, started out in Tartu with the simple idea of improving the home-buying process. Its thoughtful home-buying experience offers a premium service to those who’d rather find their dream home with ease, as well as those who feel it’s important to understand every detail of their home.

Barely a year old and only now making itself known to the public, the Livida Group has managed to launch three highly ambitious developments in the space of just 12 months. The first properties in its portfolio are all located in Tartu: Radhaus on Town Hall Square; the former Pärmivabrik factory; and residential land on the corner of J. Kuperjanov and Veski streets.

Livida Group is owned by Kaarel Kiidron, a property developer with many years of experience, and Urvo Männama and Paul Padrik, who are known for founding Foxway.

When the main topic of conversation at dinner is a bad home-buying experience

“It’s often the case that during the property planning phase, developers promise to try and provide the best home-buying experience,” remarked Livida founder and senior partner Kaarel Kiidron. “That idea gets sold to clients as well, and everyone of course has the best intentions. But with the light starting to show at the end of the tunnel, these plans tend to turn out altogether differently. Clients end up badmouthing the developer at the dinner table, since the experience has left them with nothing but bad memories.”

Kiidron says this is a reflection of what is actually happening on the property market. “All the big ideas are brought crashing down by setbacks, red numbers all over Excel sheets and the developer saving their own skin,” he said. “They focus on keeping the project cost-effective. The customer view ends up way down the to-do list. This makes it incredibly difficult to build trust in property developers, and it’s pointless pointing the finger, because the sector as a whole is complex enough as it is. But the future homeowners there at the end of the tunnel don’t get that. Nor should they have to, since it’s not their problem.”

Principles agreed jointly with everyone on the team

As such, Livida’s raison d’être is quite clear: to provide the best home-buying experience. “For us, it’s important that every home is timeless, elegant and well thought out – a place people enjoy living and simply being in,” Kiidron added. “Luckily, we have a very dedicated team that’s made up of professionals with a shared vision and a passion for creating the best real estate experience.

When we started out, the whole team agreed that we’d learn from our mistakes, and from those that others have made, and that we’d go into detail on everything.” Years of experience in the sector have shown the Livida team what a positive customer journey can be like in the home-buying process. The team is made up of the best and brightest in the field: they know the real estate scene and developments in the company inside out, and are fully committed to their clients and ongoing projects.

“We sat down together, mapped everything out and came up with the goals and principles we’d always follow and never back down from,” Kiidron explained. “For our clients, that means clear communication, delivering on what’s been agreed and a premium service.”

A key aspect of this, says the senior partner, is the need to standardise customer relations, which is to say to ensure clear communication. Put simply, clients know where they are in the home-buying process, and what the next steps are, at all times. “When exchanging information is standardised, dates are in place and people are aware of what’s required of them, there’s less chance of mistakes occurring and people getting upset as a result,” Kiidron noted.

What is Livida’s home-buying process like?

From the moment you first contact Livida to the moment you pick up the keys, every interaction has been thought through and made as clear as possible. At your first meeting, you choose your prospective home and ask any questions you have, which Livida gladly answers. You also discuss all of the aspects involved in buying an apartment. The next step is to select the service package that best suits you. This becomes the starting point for everything that follows. Livida offers three packages: easy, premium and personalised. Once further plans have been agreed, the intermediate step is to go to a notary to sign a contract under the law of obligations.

From there, you and the company move on to the design phase. Decisions need be made about doors, door handles, flooring and lots of other details, depending on the package you chose. “Easy and premium are good options if you prefer a ready-made solution and only want to get involved in basic decisions,” Kiidron explained. The principle here is that it’s up to Livida, not the home-buyer, to ask questions.

Those interested in the more in-depth planning of their home should choose the personalised package, letting Livida know about this as early as possible – that way they will have more say in the design of their apartment. “A good example here is that within two months of overall construction starting, decisions need to have been made about where exactly the interior walls of the apartment will be located so as to ensure that the construction process goes as smoothly as possible,” Kiidron said.

Once these choices have been made and the building work is far enough along, you inspect the apartment to make sure everything is in order. Then, following the final touches, Livida bids you “Welcome!” and hands you the keys to your new home.

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Livida is an Estonia property developer that’s dedicated to simplifying the process of buying and designing homes. Find out more about Livida at www.livida.ee or take a look at the Radhaus development online at radhaus.livida.ee