Estate agents, Good or Bad?

Hi all.

Having now booked our flights out to Alicante for a self funded and organised inspection trip of Apartments in the Murcia region, I am unable to decide which agent to use or whether I should use more than one.

I have been warned away from some agents, but we all are able to form different opinions.

I would appreciate any further comments, advice, recommendations gained through personal experiences when buying your own properties.

Hi Timbernew,

We used La Vida Spain. We found their staff in the UK very supportive and helpful and their buyer's information extremely useful. Locally, their Spanish rep Joaquin, was extremely knowledgeable about the area, golf resorts and individual properties. He listened to what we wanted and took us straight to our dream property.

He was the most laid back sales person I have ever met and at no time tried to push us to a decision. We stayed on La Torre for a week and visited lots of properties on different golf resorts in the surrounding area but ended up buying the one he took us to first! Even after we had decided, we mentioned a different property and he asked if we wanted to see it and took us there.

La Vida Spain deal with the majority of bank properties on the golf resorts, as do most agents. They also deal with coastal properties away from golf resorts.

Thank you Duncan thats useful to know, with all the different agents apparently all offering the same or very similar properties on rightmove, but at different prices, it would be very easy to make viewing appointments with possibly the not so reliable agents.

Martin

All agents will share properties with other agents but what is key is to either deal with the original listing agent or a company that only works on colloboration contracts, where they equally share the commissions and don't charge the buyers any additional charges

What is difficult, if you start by finding the property you like is to find the listing agent, which you can sometimes achieve by doing a search on the photograph for the property which will show all of the listings and prices and yes some agents list the same properties at different prices

The other problem is that many of the best properties are not listed on sites like Rightmove, certainly not by some of the better Spanish agents, so you really need to work with a property search consultant who will look first at the requirement and not just push the properties where they can make the most commision or produce viewer for thw owners

As far as the properties around the golf resorts are concerned most agents have the same offerings, the banlks stock at the same prices, but agents like MGP and  Murcia Services, Chersun really list most of the resale properties directly on the Ploaris resorts, specifically resales

But the BIGGEST mistake people make is coming over and not knowing the area. When we have an inspection trip we spend the first day not looking at any properties, we look at the area, agree property type preferred and prices, long before we show a property.

A property online with glowing photos can be totally different when yo visit the area

Also, the way that La Vida Spain work is that the prices they quote you include their fees. We were quoted 60,000€ for our apartment. We paid 3000€ to la vida spain to "reserve" the property (which they said was refundable if we decided not to complete following investigations by our lawyer). When we decided to complete we then paid a 1,000€ non-refundable deposit with the bank to initiate the paperwork etc and on completion paid the remaining 56,000€ to the bank.

La Vida's prices seem on a par with most other agents. Like I said, I was more than happy with the whole experience.

La Vida are a vary good company but specialise in the properties, new, bank repossessions and resales on the golf resorts including La Torre, Terrazes etc and as explained they don't add money on to the direct selling price and if you are looking for a golf property it is a good place to start

Their beach selection around the Mar Menor tends to be again the new builds around Lo Pagan and Los Alcazares, upwards of €120k and not really the resale stock which is normally listed by the local agents in the area, which you ca see from their website

The process of paying a deposit of between €3k - €6k to reserve the property is normal,  the lawyer retains this and does not hand over any money until the paperwork is checked and ALL parties are happy to agree the property purchase contract, sometimes on a resale a further deposit will be asked for. On a newbuild staged payments supported by bank guarantee, you sign nothing without an agreement on YOUR INDEPENDANT lawyer

Find the area first, not the agent, look in local agents windows or work with an agent that can help

Finally Martin,

If you do plan to buy on one of the Polaris World resorts you will find a lot of info here

http://www.pathseeker.net/archive/polarisworld/

The original prices are eyewatering and the later developments didn't get fully completed.

I also suggest you look at Roda Golf.  Really close to the airport, beach and Los Alcazares. I really liked this resort but prices were over my budget.

This is a nice site to get an overview of the better golf resorts in the area

http://theresorts.co.uk/

Thanks to both of you for sharing your valuable knowledge.

Most resorts are above my budget Duncan, i am considering Terrazas and Corvera primarily, but I am aware of the golf course situation at Corvera. I have been in contact with several estate agents and formed an opinion about some of them. I am not interested in free or assisted viewing trips as I will make my decision myself, although no amount of pressure would affect my choices.

When we come out on the 29th March, taking some time to look around the area is my priority Roy, then as you said yourself I will be in a better position to make clearer decisions.

We are going to the Place in the Sun exhibition in 2 weeks to meet at least one estate agent (Chersun), and hopefully get more information to prepare for our visit to the area.

Finding which agent is the original listing agent will be important to me, so thank you for your advice with that Roy. 

I have been in touch with La Vida and I agree with what you both say, from my limited knowledge of La Vida they are a good company with a good reputation.

When looking for bank owned property, is it easy to contact the bank? A colleague of mine who owns on El Valle told me that his bank contacted him regarding further investments in properties there.

I am glad you mentioned The Resorts, Duncan, as I have had a lot of contact with that company, but I have not made my mind up about them yet.

Many thanks again, and your contributed advice and knowledge is most welcome.

Martin

Advice:

1. Rent for a while in the area you chose before purchasing. This way you find out the correct prices and the plus and minus points of the area.

2. Properties on resorts tie you to the resort. You may have no way to challenge community fees and the shops on the resorts are more expensive than those outside.

3. New properties tend to be expensive. The new properties in the next street to us sell at 147000E those on our urbanisation have much better communal facilities and sell for 70000E - 90000E for the similar floor space. New prices do not generally reflect the full fall in prices of the past 6 years.

4. Second hand properties may now, these days, be valued at more than the asking price by the regional government your 10% purchase tax will be based on this not the purchase price (ask before you put in your offer).

5. Always use an independent reccommended abogado.

6. Look into forming a company to purchase the property to avoid taxes.

7. If you decide to buy off-plan - pay the minimum stage payments you can, ensure that you have an open bank guarantee for all the money you pay, do not accept the keys without an escritura and appoint your abogado before you pay anything (let him see the contract).

I am looking to buy a holiday home which restricts the opportunity to rent before buying, I do appreciate all of the advice given.

Just to be clear Martin. I have had no dealings with the resorts as a company. I have nothing positive or negative to say about them. I just thought that their website was pretty good and a good place to start your research from.

I do know the people that own the The Resorts and they are nice people, what you get from them is no bull **** or lies.

No such thing as a good estate agent here in Spain -

nice people - possibly star ou that way

sales technique - disgraceful and lazy

overpriced - yes

value for money - no

liars - yes

con artists- yes

full of s**t - yes

ethics and moralty - NONE

Estate agents in Spain make the UK esate agents look like angels

Hi Timbernew,

There's some good general advice on this thread.  If you are visiting the Murcia area I suggest you include the puerto de Mazarron area which has most combinations in terms of large expat areas (Camposol & Mazarron Country Club) mixed established places close to the sea like Bolneuvo and Isla Plana and loads of mainly Spanish areas like the puerto itself which has a lovely "passeo" (which I would really called a promenade) and smaller towns. 

Within the area there is Murcia city which is marvellous for shopping and the arts, plus Cartegena an up and coming Spanish port, Totana an interesting Spanish market town, close to the Sierra Espuna a massive nature reserve.  Within the Sierra Espuna there are small villages for those who seek complete quiet and seclusion.  Of more interest to me is an old monastery now converted to a hotel, which provides a highly memorable stay.

As a region it is extraordinarily diverse and comparatively compact. so a one day trip to any part is quite simple.  The area has arguably the best beaches in Spain with a similar wide range to suit all tastes.  The skiing resort of Sierra Nevada, Granada and Alhambra is a 3 hour drive away.

The Mazarron area is not at all glitzy, in places it is a bit basic and the purto de Mazarron becomes a bit like Blackpool on a bank holiday for the entire month of August with the influx from Madrid.  But it is remarkably well priced, not just the property prices but also living costs.  A good menu del dia costs €10 or so at so many places, to the point that it's something that can be enjoyed as often as you like without becoming a routine.

As is becoming the practice on EOS I would confirm that I am not an estate agent, property developer etc etc, nor I am connected in any way to the Mazarron tourist office etc etc

Thank you again Guys.

I dont wish to look at anything through rose tinted glasses, but but I am not influenced by individuals who may have had a bad experience.

Thank you acer for your constructive advice, this is part of what I am looking for on here rather than trying to figure it all out for myself, I appreciate your knowledge.

Martin 

acer is one of the good guys. I'm not an estate agent either and don't get commission or any other such incentives for advice ;-)

Anyone who wants to live in Murcia should research The implications of  Inheritance tax , as there are no generous  regional allowances as in other regions, unless something has changed since day I moved from there last July.

I have been in contact with a really nice lady from Murcia Villas on Roda Golf.

She is really nice and I feel 100% honest. I don´t think all agents can be measured by some that give the good ones a bad name.Also she has never hassled me or chased me but left me to ask the questions that she promptly answers.

Murcia Villas have a good priced town house on Roda Golf, I have delt with Murcia Villas and would echo what you have said.