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Having decided to sell my property in Spain as I cannot manage to let it and stand no chance whatsoever of getting 16,000 euros a year rental income like the superior agent from Bristol I purchased the house from said I would I recently went across to put it in the hands of estate agents in Ayamonte. All the top ones who organise inspection trips from UK and advertise on the web charge a huge 8% commission. They justify this by saying they have to get clients over from UK and pay hotel bills and entertain them etc. They have a point but what happens if someone on holiday sees the house and decides to buy, they do not incur such a high expense so would they give you a refund? One agent I found charges 5% and a local Spanish one who deals specifically with the Costa de la Luz but does not advertise worlwide charges 3 %. Do estate agents in other parts of Spain charge such high rates?
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Phantom,
I have been talking to a lot of estate agents recently – and all of them, bar a couple, have said that they would charge 5%. Although I still consider this to be very high, given the amount of money I am asking for my apartment, I believe that this is now the sort of figure that the body representing Spanish Estate agents is recommending. Anything over that and I would not deal with the agency concerned.
There is a website (venderdirect.com) which is recommended by the moderator on this forum. It might be worth a go?
Good luck.
Regards,
777 Driver.
P.S. Be very wary of signing any “exclusivity” contracts – I am told you could end up paying commission even if you find a buyer yourself.
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I worked out that the commision earned by the estate agent we brought through in Asturias was on par with the UK at under 2%.
They have a good website and a UK based company they work with to target the UK market, they were lovely, very patient with us as we had three trips out here to view houses, spread out by several months and very helpful after the sale, sorting out transferring utilities and going with me to pay the notary bills/taxes etc etc.
I really don’t know how commision of 8% is justified! But if people keep using these agents, they will keep overcharging for properties to get their commision and get away with making huge amounts of money. Probably easier said than done, but why not blacklist all agents charging such high commisions?
Good luck selling,
Heather -
I’ve just finished a few days property research in Almeria.
Some big British agents working there, and further up in Murcia / south Costa Blanca, charge commissions of up to 20% – 25%, especially for cheaper properties on new developments. And believe me when I see the agents in question lay on a pretty abysmal service.
The 7.5% some organisations charge on the Costa del Sol seems modest in comparison.
Mark
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There is a fair degree of variation in commission rates and practices between different Spanish regions.
Here in the Valencia metropolitan area most agencies charge 5% plus 16% VAT, do not require exclusivity, and split the commission equally between the buyer and seller.
When examining commissions there is another factor to be taken into account – the possible existence of a ‘corredor’. This is an individual who uses his extensive social and lifetime contacts to introduce sellers to established estate agencies. He is especially important in rural areas.
Having introduced a seller to an agency he will expect to be paid if the property is sold. He will sometimes be paid by the established agent and sometimes paid directly by the seller in cash at the notary – and sometimes both.
A distinguishing feature of a corredor is that he is not registered for tax and can only be paid in cash. British and Spanish buyers are often unaware that a corredor has intervened discreetly in a sale. At the notary office he may appear to be a trusted friend of the seller.
In many ways, a corredor is a fossil of an earlier and simpler age when all sales were in cash and estate agencies – as we know them – did not exist.
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Sadly, all true, that agents have been charging 10 to 30% in the Costa Blanca and Calida for the past 5 or 10 years.
This get rich quick and run has ruined the market place and the promoters have been guilty too.
Now the quality Murica companies have replied with lower commissions and buyers are becoming so much more aware that agents commissions are coming down.
3 to 5% should be accepted as reasonable considering the Spanish agent does drive you around for the most part (ask a UK agent to do that!) and also should help with setting you up in a new country, such as NIE, Social, Banks, Mortgages etc.
Some of us here have been honest from the start!
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