- This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 6 months ago by
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Balou the simplest answer is don’t trust any of them. 😉 With so many desperate sellers just select your desired location, allow yourself a lot of time, drive around it and spot the se vende signs and negotiate yourself directly with the owner. Then get a good lawyer which are as hard to find as good agents. Alternative pick up the local free sheets and go through the small ads.
Agents who needs ’em. 👿 -
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balou, I generally agree with the 3 posters who have answered your post, such a list is probably impossible to find in Spain, personal recommendation if you know and trust the person is a start too. I don’t know much about agents on the Costa Brava and Costa Blanca, and many of those on the CDS who were once dodgy have since gone. Surprisingly, even after all the agent bashing on the CDS, I would now feel pretty confident with two agents who seem ok there.
Things have sorted the ‘wheat from the chaff’ to some extent but more work to do 🙄
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It would be a pointless exercise. This forum and many others, and a trillion private postings already highlight the dodgy estate agents operating in Spain and elsewhere.
If you feel strongly about injustices in the world, why not write about gays being hanged in Iran, water boarding in the US, women being raped in India, and UKIP wanting to expel dark skinned people from the UK.
The world’s your oyster.
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You could start by reading this blog. It applies to Spain as well as the world. I have bought and sold many, many properties in Spain, France and UK. I have never used an estate agent, only a lawyer. You save money and prevent yourself being manipulated.
http://taracoley.com/uncategorized/the-truth-about-estate-agents-all-first-time-buyers-must-read
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@balou wrote:
Hello, new here on this forum!
I´d like to find out if there is any website or something with a list of warned or not recommenable real estate agencys in Spain?My tip on buying property is try going to an auction as you might pick up a bargain there otherwise go to a bank and ask if they have any repossessed properties that they want to gid rid of and haggle down the price or alternatively if you do use an estate agent tell them what kind of property you want and above all state the price you are willing to pay rather than picking one of the properties on sale and within a few days you will get a phone call from the estate agent saying that a seller is desperate to sell and sell quickly who is willing to negotiate on price and come to some compromise with you.
Always bear in mind that the estate agents work in the interest of the vendor not the buyer so treat all estate agents as lieing thieves who would say and do anything to secure a sale and be careful, they could walk away with your deposit, never to be seen again.
One other point. Only buy a property in Spain when Spain finally drops out of the Euro and adopts the Peseta. Property prices will then be 75% lower than what they are today. Therefore don’t buy a property in Spain now, wait until Spain leaves the Euro before making a property purchase.
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@balou wrote:
Hello, new here on this forum!
I´d like to find out if there is any website or something with a list of warned or not recommenable real estate agencys in Spain?thank you
Unfortunately you will not find this. And many of the sources on the net have vested interests.
I think this is quite a fair article writing by Mark Stucklin about what to look for and watch out for.
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I know an expat couple who came to Spain many years ago and realised they were too young to just rot in the sun. They ran a bar for five years, became alcoholics and went skint. Their next venture was car sales, and they went skint again. They started up a rental agency for holiday flats with a fancy web site and promptly went skint again.
But they finally realised their dream and became estate agents. They’re still trading, some 10 years on. They open their office around ten in the morning and he goes out to take photographs of houses and puts up Se Vende signs while she fiddles about with Photoshop on their brilliant web site.
They shut up shop at two in the afternoon and head for the pub.
I was going to conclude by criticizing their lack of expertise and drunkenness etc, but, at least they’re triers and not dishonest like a lot of others I know.
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Nothing wrong with property agents, I expect them to lie whichever country I am in! Cheating is different, I think many of them have left…they will be back one day. Buying privately doesn’t always mean a bargain, lots of greedy sellers out there with unrealistic expectations. Many of those se vende sales you see scribbled out are actually agents when you call them!
The problem was in Spain a lot were like Rockers examples. Set up not knowing anything about spanish property law. They latched on to the Brits, lying they had property experience in the UK. Sending in their mates to do property extensions without the proper licences etc. Take a look at some of the websites some are still trying to sell illegal property. Axarquia region is a good example.
We were selling a house with Viva. One viewer hung back when he left with the Agent, said he was interested and maybe we could do a deal and cut out the Agent. He gave me his card which I promptly lost! 3 weeks later he came to the house and came out with a silly offer. I was very pleased to tell him we had sold at considerably more 😀
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Buying and selling property is no different to buying and selling anything if you remove the emotion involved. I have a good friend who makes a living buying cars from auction houses around Europe and selling them on e bay. All you need to be successful doing that is knowledge of your market and the commodity.
Property is a commodity like anything else. You need a good knowledge of the market. Would you use an agent to buy a car for example? No you buy it from the seller direct. I realise I’m simplifying this but in the end that’s what it boils down to. If you enter a market in which you have not a clue and rely on an agent to advise you then your asking for trouble.
Agents are paid by the seller and their loyalties are to themselves first and their seller next. The hapless buyer has not a chance.
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I think we all resent paying certain people in life because the services they provide are not easily recognisable. What do estate agents do apart from putting up a For Sale sign outside our homes? Bankers are even worse, we pay them just to keep our money safe. And lawyers? They charge us £20 a letter just to tell us nothing is happening.
The trouble is we can’t do without them, at least not easily. If I come to try and sell my house in Spain I’m not going to fluff about building a web site, stick up a Se Vende sign outside, or search around for an honest lawyer, an impossible task anyway.
I’ll pay an agent his 5% commission and hope he doesn’t cheat me too much.
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