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Estate agents - the things to consider guide
Estate agents - the things to consider guide
Choosing the right real estate agent can have a huge impact on your plans. Unfortunately in Spain there are no laws to prevent anybody setting up and there are big differences between estate agents.

In the past there were literally thousands of agents’ big companies, small companies, 1 and 2 man bands, all selling and making what they could. Over the past 18 months a lot of the cowboys have disappeared, as they couldn’t survive. Practices have got better and naturally the good agents have prospered better than the average ones.

Some agents who had offices have closed them and now work at home and some have just reduced their staff to survive. Less property has been sold as demand has fallen and typically in Spain there is an oversupply.

Property España is a property portal with a huge difference. Our unique approach is quality driven. By exclusively limiting the number of agents to a given town or geographical area and independently reviewing them we aim to promote the best of the best and provide you more, so you can make an informed decision about who you are dealing with.

We go further than any other portal, by allowing the public to provide feedback direct to each agent which we continually monitor. An agent can easily loose this exclusive position, giving you the assurance that we constantly monitor the performance of each of our featured premium member agents.

Upon each Premium members listing FOUND HERE. You can use the ‘Customer Satisfaction feedback’ link.

Who’s to say what is good or bad?
Everyone’s level of acceptance and expectation is different, but we feel there are some clear elements that should be considered and pointed out. After all, employing the services of an agent is not cheap and you should expect at least a basic level of service.

After visiting and reviewing many agents it may seem they are all the same, but we promise you they’re not, for many reasons.

The way we review an agent is to ask questions and uncover a little more about them in order to give a buyer in depth knowledge. By limiting the number of agents in towns we aim to promote the best, and the ones that can help locally, which means you are dealing with local experts and not trawling through thousands of properties with many duplications like on other portals.

Differentiating agents
On an absolute basic level an agent could be seen as just a sales tool with a shop window.

Link with this the complexity of the Spanish system, many different nationalities and you end up with something far more complex. This is why each agent’s key differences are crucial.

You may also consider going it alone. The following is a brief overview which we hope will help you make your decision and compare the differences in agents.

Selling your property
Selling in Spain is more difficult than in the UK.

There are many languages and cultures to consider. Market conditions in respective countries drive trends of who is buying now and who may be in 6 months time.

There is not one single place that has captured the market enough to just advertise in. This pushes up the cost of sale for any agent if they are advertising on different portals, in newspapers, magazines, radio stations and so on. Also if you’re going it alone these costs are down to you.

In Spain it’s unlikely that you would place your property with one agent and agree a sole agency agreement. They do exist but the benefits they have for the seller are limited.

If you have your property with 2 agents you’re directly benefitting from the marketing network each use for their own businesses.

Don’t make the mistake of using many agents. You have to take into consideration that an agent only gets paid if they male a sale. Their cost of sale can be high. If you have taken on 7 agents they have a 1 in 7 chance of making a sale at the full 5% usual fee. If not and it’s shared a lesser percentage. Spreading your property to thin will not motivate an agent.

Pick up to 3 agents, make sure they are right for you and have a good marketing network. They will then concentrate and do their best for you and feel confident they can achieve a sale for you.

The average fee for sale is 5%. If you have your property with a few agents they may well share this fee, depending on how they have introduced the buyer.

Some may negotiate depending upon the value of your property. Some may naturally charge more. We have even heard some agents offered considerably more to move something quickly. In all cases consider what the pro’s and con’s are of that agent.

You may also consider what happens if you introduce a buyer, how does this affect the fee an agent may want to still charge, importantly what may you have to do if you then don’t use an agent?

Advice levels
Don’t expect all agents to be and do the same, advice differs greatly from one agent to another. This will become apparent from when you ask a few agents round to look at your property. Some will ask you the questions you’re expecting answers for and some won’t go into the detail they should do to inform you of the exact position you’ll be in should you agree a sale at a specific price.

Bear in mind, an agent taking a property on for sale isn’t guaranteeing a sale and importantly in Spain you can still always sell it yourself.

Service Levels
What you expect and what you get are two different things. Some agents will not let an opportunity pass, some won’t do a showing on a Sunday, some are lazy and some are very proactive.

How do you determine who is what? It’s difficult, and don’t expect that what one agent does another do will automatically.

How effective, proactive and hungry an agent is will make all the difference.

We’d like to think that if an agent receives an enquiry they act quickly. Some do and some don’t. Some are downright lazy. If you don’t get treated quickly and efficiently how do you know they are doing the best for you?

All you want to achieve is a sale. That’s why you use an agent. How hard they work on your behalf warrants their fee. As the market is currently experiencing difficult times each agent has to work hard to gain viewings and sales.

They should give you the benefit of their experience and allow you to make the decision.

We are not experts! An agent should be as it’s their livelihood. So an agent that says to you “what do you want for your property?” and doesn’t give you any advice is doing you no favours.

You should expect a good agent to tell you about the local market and what is achievable in the current conditions. They should also discuss with you what options you may have and what work you may need to do on your property to achieve a sale. This should all make you feel in control and well advised about the financial implications and tax issues when you do make a sale.

Ask yourself these questions:
How quickly did they respond to your initial request to list your property and did you have to jump through hoops to get their interest? If you experienced any problems think what a buyer may have to do. Simply choose another agent.

All in all service for the buyer and seller is crucial. After all you are paying them.

What do agents do for their money?
It starts with what the agent knows about you and your property and how they retain and access this information. They should check your Escatura/paperwork and ensure it is in order, they may well even help you get it in order if need be.

If the agent is relying on 1 staff member and they have 1000 properties for sale you’d expect that the level of service everyone receives to be low.

Bear in mind though there may be low numbers of staff the way their business is set up may mean it’s just very efficient.

Consider the following: what information do they obtain and list, how good are the photos they take and how quickly is it all processed or updated to get you online?

Each agent is effectively a shop window. Depending on how big and where their shop window is relates directly to the level of success they can achieve for you.

If an agent is tucked away and does little to advertise chances are you’re not going to sell. If an agent has a high profile, advertises in various places and in several languages you have a much better chance of selling.

Advertising costs money and operating a web site in many languages costs money, but opens up the potential market to different nationalities. An agent should have a network of contacts, to fully ensure their properties get maximum exposure. Passing trade in this environment is low, unless you’re in the peak tourist areas and even this is seasonal.

From a buyer’s perspective a good agent will do all that is necessary to help you buy. This will usually consist of ensuring the paperwork is in your language or getting it translated if need be. They should also help you obtain your NIE numbers and aid the solicitor gather the relevant papers for the contract.

Most importantly, most buyers don’t have a clear idea of what they actually want. They think they do but once they start to look this can quickly change and the whole brief of what they want may change. The agent may have already spent a week with them to come to this conclusion.

An agent can spend days, weeks or even months helping a potential buyer with no guarantee that they will buy from them.

We’d advocate finding the right agent first. See what they have on offer and if need be get them to check locally as to what other agents have that may suit . Or, tell them if you have seen another property with another agent.

Don’t waste the time you have invested in a particular agent as you’ll go through the same process with each new one. There are some advantages to this but bear in mind what time you have to spend in the first place.

Keep it local. An agent close to where you want to live or what you’re interested in has to be a better choice than one in a distant town. A local agent should know what’s going on in the area and have knowledge of the local town halls and any ongoing issues.

A good agent will listen and not take you to properties just outside your price range. They may throw a few in but until you’re sure, as long as it’s not wasting your, time why not!

All in all an agents costs can be very high and with fewer properties currently sold they are working hard to gain a sale to survive.

Residential Status
This is very important and can mean a big difference in sales tax should you get it wrong. Just having a residential certificate may not be enough. We advise you get independent advice and not leave it to the signing with the notary to see that you’re being charged a bigger percentage because of how the government view your status.

Agent collaborations
Most agents deal with each other or can do if necessary. Some have a set of friendly agents that they automatically send all their own listings to, so each agent can ensure more potential viewers.

Solicitor services
Compare the services in Spain to the UK. The UK solicitor is there to protect the buyer, as is the Spanish one. But we have found that there is quite a difference in solicitors here. Some are not experts in conveyancing and unless you know what questions to ask you are none the wiser.

Practice has become tighter, due to the many reports of fraud in the past, but we’d still advocate you choose a solicitor or agent carefully.
Most agents have their own network and it usually includes a solicitor. These may be directly employed or impartial businesses working in collaboration with an agent some even in the same office.

A solicitor is a registered person with a qualification and could far more easily be brought to book than a real estate agent.

The services of a solicitor can be performed by an agent themselves along with a notary. The notary is a highly trained solicitor. As you may have read, it isn’t imperative to use a solicitor.

Using an impartial solicitor is a clear way of guaranteeing no ties or allegiances to any party other than yourself, but you will of course incur more fees. Make sure they ask all the right questions as they should be protecting you.

Don’t automatically discount a solicitor working with an agent directly. There are some real advantages that can benefit you and don’t forget they are governed by a strict code of conduct.

The Safe Purchase Guarantee – What is it?
Property España have fully embraced this insurance policy and you’ll see on various properties the Safe Purchase logo indicating that the property is covered by the guarantee. We allow the agents who have joined this scheme to display the Safe Purchase logo on applicable properties.

Safe Purchase Spain is the only Network of Professionally Accredited Real Estate Agents that include a 20 Year Safe Purchase Guarantee to every buyer of Spanish property.

Working together, each partner is committed to:
* the highest standards of professional practice through their commitment to the Safe Purchase

Code of Ethics
* protecting the rights, properties and investments of their clients
* and enhancing the credibility of the Spanish property industry

Now for the first time in Spain and in collaboration with Caser Seguros, one of Spain's largest residential insurance companies, you can minimise and reduce the risks associated with property ownership in Spain, by buying with our unique Safe Purchase Guarantee.

The Safe Purchase Guarantee protects your rights, provides cover up to a maximum of €360,000 and gives you immediate protection from the day you sign at the notary for the next 20 years.

Protection covers;
FRAUD, COASTAL LAW PROCEDURES, ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIMS
HIDDEN DEFECTS, DEMOLITION ORDERS, IDENTITY THEFT
COMPULSORY PURCHASE, HIDDEN LEASES, LAND REGISTRY PROBLEMS
ADMINISTRATIVE ERRORS, FINANCIAL CLAIMS
ACCESS PROBLEMS, INCAPABLE VENDORS, DOCUMENT FORGERY
ILLEGAL BUILDING LICENCES, UNKNOWN HEIRS, LEGACY DEBTS
COMMUNITY DISPUTES, BORDER DISPUTES

If you’re an agent wanting to get involved in this click here for more details.

If you’re private individual wanting to sell your property click here.

Summary
There are good agents out there and there are bad ones. Unless you ask the right questions and compare you’ll be none the wiser. You’ll be left wondering if and when the property may sell and why have you had no or few viewings.

Every agent, contrary to reputation in Spain, has a difficult job in a very difficult climate. Choosing which agent is right for you will be different for everyone. Some will fit your criteria and others won’t, in terms of business ability, personality and reputation.

Choose carefully. Check out our Premium members here to help get you started.

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