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<head><title>Why you can't avoid the dreaded estate agent - if you’re serious about buying property in Spain...</title>

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Why you can't avoid the dreaded estate agent - if you’re serious about buying property in Spain... by <a href=http://www.mp-spain.com/articles/profile/Objock/2>Objock</a> Sadly, you can’t avoid dealing with estate agents in Spain if you’re serious about buying property in Spain. However, property buyers take note; the estate agent doesn’t bite… usually! 
 
 
For those who are buying a property in Spain everything seems so much easier these days doesn’t it? 
 
Find your perfect villa on one of the many Spanish property websites or visit the region you’re most interested in and wander round the Costa Blanca window shopping in the estate agents offices until you see something you like. 
 
Simple isn’t it? 
 
Well actually no – it’s not that simple – as we’re sure you already know. There comes a point in time where you realise that web sites and shop windows are all well and good but that’s NEVER going to reveal - at any given time- all the property which is out there. To ensure that you have an accurate view of the Costa Blanca property market and are able to make an informed choice from ALL the apartments , villas, townhouses and fincas which are available .. and…. which suit your (very personal) tastes in terms of location, aspect, type of décor, heating, garden etc. you NEED to begin working closely with your estate agent. 
 
 
For most property buyers in Spain, the process seems to be as follows: 
 
You’ve decided to buy a property in Spain. Great. As a potential purchaser and investor, you already know that Buying a Spanish property involves a LOT of leg work, hundreds of web sites, thousands of pictures showing every conceivable variety of villa, townhouse, fincas and Spanish apartments. Then, after you've waded through that lot, the hard work really begins – i.e. the property viewing trip to check out all that Spanish property and equally importantly meet your estate agent (or agents) in Spain. And it’s at this stage where many potential investors in the Spanish market risk making a fairly large mistake which will also limit their chances of finding the right property. 
 
Why? 
 
Well, with some buyers the objective seems to be a game called “whatever you do, try NOT 
to get too close to the nasty estate agent”!!! It seems as if their mission is to minimise the prospect of talking to or meeting with or … in any way committing to the estate agent. 
OK, maybe this is a slight exaggeration but it's true to say that for many property buyers in the Costa Blanca or other Spanish areas there is a marked reluctance to spend ‘face-time’ with the estate agents. 
 
What exactly do I mean? Well, here's a good example.. 
 
Take client X, he's interested in buying a 400k euro villa in the North Costa Blanca. He's been looking now for 5 years – all over the northern region of the beautiful Costa Blanca. 
In all that time, he has bought nothing – i.e. all that effort expended on his part looking for a great Costa Blanca villa and so far, nothing has happened except property prices in this part of Spain have risen by well over 100% since client X started looking. 
Client X still doesn't own a property in Spain. Why not ? 
 
Put simply, he won't commit to the estate agents. He wont 'work with' the estate agents. He studies their web sites till he's blue in the face, he makes 3 viewing trips per year but.. he refuses to pre-arrange any meetings with the local agents. 
 
When asked why, he simply says that he doesn't want to tie himself down to a fixed meeting….and that he can see exactly what’s available from their web sites and their shop windows….. 
 
OK , to a degree, this reluctance to conform to a pre-arranged schedule may be understandable but.. in the context of a very short 7 day viewing trip, his objective seems to be to see how long he can go without having to commit to the estate agent in anyway because in his mind, agreeing to meet/ work with the agents is somehow a sign of weakness. He feels that as a buyer, by getting too close to the estate agents and actually entering their offices this is somehow going to disadvantage him (the client) and allow the wicked estate agents to exploit and manipulate him as their poor hapless ‘victim’ (client). 
 
And this is where we have to say "please remember the estate agent does not bite - the estate agent (love them or hate them ) is considerably better informed than most buyers regarding local market conditions and the range of available properties in that area. How are you going to find your dream Spanish property if you limit your knowledge of the local market to the brochure pages of a website which, in reality, may not be updated more run once a week. 
 
Well, in the case of client X, he believes that he can simply walk in to the office of whichever estate agent is showing a property of interest to him and expect to receive quality time with senior staff who will, at the drop of a hat, abandon everything else they were doing that day, to spend time with client X. 
 
Understandably, client X is disappointed a lot of the time during his viewing troops in Spain and can't seem to understand why he never seems to be receiving the attention which other clients are obviously receiving from these estate agents. 
 
So, at the risk of preaching, if you’re in the market for Spanish property and if you go to Spain on viewing trips would (surprise, surprise) STRONLY urge you to consider pre-arranging SOME time with these companies. Ultimately it's the only way for both you AND them to work. 
 
OK, we all want a sale at the end of the day but NOT to the exclusion of providing a good service to our clients. Generally speaking, the agents Spain are hardworking people and generally will do a VERY good job for you if they can factor you in to their workload properly. And with some advance warning. It's the ONLY way you'll get the best out of them. 
 
Most folk try hard NOT to commit to seeing the agents at a pre-arranged time. And the result... 'most people' never really get the best out of their 'casual' viewing nor do they buy with as much knowledge, perspective and exposure to the market as they need!! 
 
I can already sense you recoiling in horror as the iron claw of the estate agent begins to grip your arm but.. in reality ... there's really no other way to do it if you're serious. Please believe me when I say that most of the house hunters who simply walk in off the street .. 
 
- do not receive assistance of the appropriate calibre because senior staff are already occupied. 
- nor do they get to see the full listing of property which meets their requirements 
 
Perhaps, right now , your response to these 2 points may be "so what" !! 
 
Well… 
 
We’ve had 3 calls recently from clients who are in Spain house- hunting now and who were extremely irritated because the agent wasn't around when they 'popped in' ........Even more infuriating (for everyone!) is the fact that two of the agents in question have (between them) the most comprehensive listing in the area -I.E. other agents in town HAVE to go through these principal agents to get access to some of these properties so.. because my clients wouldn’t make an appointment with the local agent in Moratoria -they' couldn’t access anything like the required number of properties they needed to see ..... 
 
Just remember, the estate agent (usually) won't bite!!

John Tweedy 
For more information about Spanish Property on the Costa Blanca 
<a href="http://www.mp-spain.com">Moraira Property</a> 
tel: +44 (0)7836 33 55 82

Article Source: <a href="http://www.mp-spain.com/articles">mp-spain.com</a>

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Why you can't avoid the dreaded estate agent - if you’re serious about buying property in Spain... by Objock

Sadly, you can’t avoid dealing with estate agents in Spain if you’re serious about buying property in Spain.  However, property buyers take note; the estate agent doesn’t bite… usually!

For those who are buying a property in Spain everything seems so much easier these days doesn’t it?

Find your perfect villa on one of the many Spanish property websites or visit the region you’re most interested in and wander round the Costa Blanca window shopping in the estate agents offices until you see something you like.

Simple isn’t it?

Well actually no – it’s not that simple – as we’re sure you already know.  There comes a point in time where you realise that web sites and shop windows are all well and good but that’s NEVER going to reveal  - at any given time- all the property which is out there. To ensure that you have an accurate view of the Costa Blanca property market and are able to make an informed choice from ALL the apartments , villas, townhouses and fincas which are available .. and…. which suit your (very personal) tastes in terms of location, aspect, type of décor, heating, garden etc. you NEED to begin working closely with your estate agent.

For most property buyers in Spain, the process seems to be as follows:

You’ve decided to buy a property in Spain. Great. As a potential purchaser and investor, you already know that Buying a Spanish property involves a LOT of leg work, hundreds of  web sites,  thousands of pictures showing every conceivable variety of villa, townhouse, fincas and Spanish apartments.  Then, after you've waded through that lot, the hard work really begins – i.e. the property viewing trip to check out all that Spanish property and equally importantly meet your estate agent (or agents) in Spain. And it’s at this stage where many potential investors in the Spanish market risk making a fairly large mistake which will also limit their chances of finding the right property.

Why?

Well, with some buyers the objective seems to be a game called “whatever you do, try NOT 
to get too close to the nasty estate agent”!!! It seems as if their mission is to minimise the prospect of talking to or meeting with or … in any way committing to the estate agent. 
OK, maybe this is a slight exaggeration but it's true to say that for many property buyers in the Costa Blanca or other Spanish areas there is a marked reluctance to spend ‘face-time’ with the estate agents.

What exactly do I mean?  Well, here's a good example..

Take client X, he's interested in buying a 400k euro villa in the North Costa Blanca. He's been looking now for 5 years – all over the northern region of the beautiful Costa Blanca.
In all that time, he has bought nothing – i.e. all that effort expended on his part looking for a great Costa Blanca villa and so far, nothing has happened except property prices in this part of Spain have risen by well over  100% since client X started looking.  
Client X still doesn't own a property in Spain. Why not ?

Put simply, he won't commit to the estate agents.  He wont 'work with' the estate agents.  He studies their web sites till he's blue in the face,  he makes 3 viewing trips per year but.. he refuses to pre-arrange any meetings with the local agents.

When asked why, he simply says that he doesn't want to tie himself down to a fixed meeting….and that he can see exactly what’s available from their web sites and their shop windows…..

OK , to a degree, this reluctance to conform to a pre-arranged schedule may be understandable but.. in the context of a very short 7 day viewing trip, his objective seems to be to see how long he can go without having to commit to the estate agent in anyway because in his mind, agreeing to meet/ work with the agents is somehow a sign of weakness. He feels that as a buyer, by getting too close to the estate agents and actually entering their offices this is somehow going to disadvantage him (the client) and allow the wicked estate agents to exploit and manipulate him as their poor hapless ‘victim’ (client).

And this is where we have to say "please remember the estate agent does not bite - the estate agent (love them or hate them ) is considerably better informed than most buyers regarding local market conditions and the range of available properties in that area. How are  you going to find your dream Spanish property if you limit your knowledge of the local market to the brochure pages of a website which, in reality, may not be updated more run once a week.

Well, in the case of client X, he believes that he can simply walk in to the office of whichever estate agent is showing a property of interest to him and expect to receive quality time with senior staff who will, at the drop of a hat, abandon everything else they were doing that day, to spend time with client X.

Understandably, client X is disappointed a lot of the time during his viewing troops in Spain and can't seem to understand why he never seems to be receiving the attention which other clients are obviously receiving from these estate agents.

So, at the risk of preaching, if you’re in the market for Spanish property and if you go to Spain on viewing trips would (surprise, surprise) STRONLY urge you to consider pre-arranging SOME time with these companies. Ultimately it's the only way for both you AND them to work.
 
OK, we all want a sale at the end of the day but NOT to the exclusion of providing a good service to our clients. Generally speaking, the agents Spain are hardworking people and generally will do a VERY good job for you if they can factor you in to their workload properly. And with some advance warning. It's the ONLY way you'll get the best out of them.  
 
Most folk try hard NOT to commit to seeing the agents at a pre-arranged time. And the result... 'most people' never really get the best out of their 'casual' viewing nor do they buy with as much knowledge, perspective and exposure to the market as they need!! 
 
I can already sense you recoiling in horror as the iron claw of the estate agent begins to grip your arm but.. in reality ... there's really no other way to do it if you're serious.  Please believe me when I say that most of the house hunters who simply walk in off the street ..
 
- do not receive assistance of the appropriate calibre because senior staff are already occupied. 
- nor do they get to see the full listing of property which meets their requirements
 
Perhaps, right now , your response to these 2 points may be "so what" !!
 
Well… 
 
We’ve had 3 calls recently from clients who are in Spain house- hunting now and who were extremely irritated because the agent wasn't around when they 'popped in' ........Even more infuriating (for everyone!) is the fact that two of the agents in question have (between them) the most comprehensive listing in the area    -I.E. other agents in town HAVE to go through these principal agents to get access to some of these properties so.. because my clients wouldn’t make an appointment  with  the local agent in Moratoria -they' couldn’t access anything like the required number of properties they needed to see ..... 
 
Just remember, the estate agent (usually) won't bite!!

John Tweedy
For more information about Spanish Property on the Costa Blanca
Moraira Property
tel: +44 (0)7836 33 55 82

Article Source: http://www.mp-spain.com/articles

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