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The ultimate book on Spain, life in Spain, moving to Spain and Spanish property. - A REAL ESTATE - ‘Too much for too little’ seems to be the common refrain of both house sellers and lawyers alike when referring to estate agents in Spain. Tales of exorbitant commissions abound, together with stories of professional conduct that is, at best, immoral and, at worst, downright crooked. So what is the truth? How do estate agents work and how can buyers and sellers avoid the worst excesses of Spanish estate agency? To do justice to all sides, Spanish estate agency differs markedly from the UK. For example, with regard to sales to the British, the relationship between the estate agent, seller and buyer is blurred. Whilst the seller clearly pays the agent, it is with the buyer that an agent is most likely to form a close relationship. The complications of buying abroad and the very extensive pre and after sales care that a buyer expects have direct implications upon the commission charged by agents. Within reason, this enormously time consuming work alone justifies higher fees than would be considered normal in the UK. In Spain, furthermore, it is unusual for an agent to obtain a sole agency to a property. Most sellers place their properties with as many agents as they can, without signing any binding, written agreement that safeguards the interests of the agent over even a short, defined time period. Consequently, agents are invariably left to market and sell properties on a multiple agency basis with perhaps a dozen, or more, direct local competitors. This makes the marketing of a property a hazardous, treacherous and potentially expensive process. Sales commission to an agent tends to be worked out on the basis of one of two options. The most common, and least contentious, way of charging commission is for an agent to agree with a client a fixed commission, generally 3%-5%, of the gross sale price of the property. However, it is the second option that has caused so much discredit to the industry. A seller can agree with an agent that the fee for selling his property will be any money obtained from a buyer over and above a minimum sale price. So, a seller may state that he wants to obtain 200,000 Euros for his property. An agent will then be at liberty to set a sale price at any figure above the 200,000 Euros that he feels he can achieve. He may market the property for 250,000 Euros. If he finds a buyer prepared to pay 250,000 Euros, then he will receive 50,000 Euros as his sales commission – a handsome fee indeed. In many ways earning commission this way can be compared to any other business deal. The seller is happy because he obtains the price he wanted. Meanwhile the agent treats the transaction as a simple business deal in which he extracts the maximum profit possible. The buyer, by definition, must be content as he has willingly parted with his money! On the face of it this option is fair, however there are problems which have made this practice notorious. Firstly, sellers often rely upon agents to act in good faith when providing property valuations. If an agent deliberately undervalues a property, he can earn an inflated commission, which is unfair to the naive seller. Secondly, the size of commission can artificially inflate the true value of the property. This leaves a very sour taste in the mouth of the buyer, who may well have been relying upon the agent to act as an ‘honest broker’ dispensing sound advice on the true merits and value of the property. Thirdly, and in UK terms bizarrely, the same property may be on the market for wildly varying prices dependent upon where you look. In the raw, unforgiving world of rampant capitalism and ‘caveat emptor’ this conduct of estate agents cannot be too heavily criticised. After all, most businesses will try to achieve the highest possible profit from any deal that they can. Few high street shops, for example, will sell goods at less than 100% mark-up, let alone advise customers of the profit that they are making on a product. Nonetheless, it is hard to consider this method of obtaining commission on property sales as good practice and it is probably a poor way to run a business long term. Some types of properties can earn agents, in UK terms, consistently exceptional fees. These are generally, but by no means always, new development properties, particularly those aimed strictly at overseas buyers. These are frequently places which are built on very cheap land, creating an ‘artificial’ environment far from existing towns and villages which may well suffer from water shortages. A developer may, for example, construct a golf course and swimming pool complex in this sort of area and surround it with apartments. By their very nature the properties within these developments are difficult and expensive to sell and can be very hard for an owner to resell. Estate agents use ‘pressure salesmanship’ to earn commissions that can sometimes exceed 15% of the gross sale price, which is a lot of money for a property to appreciate before a buyer has any hope of a return on his investment. The size of commissions can be an indication of the profit margins that developers are making and, arguably, the over pricing of the properties concerned. This may be particularly true if land and money was forcibly extracted from the existing property owners in the area during an abuse of the spirit of the recently replaced and contentious LRAU. This law (6/94 of the Valencia Autonomous Community) has been used to demand that existing property owners in an area of a plan parcial pay towards the development and infrastructure costs. Valuations are another source of contention in Spain for all parties, including estate agents. The market has been consistently rising over the past few years and has resulted in properties, previously almost worthless, now selling for prices the Spanish find hard to credit. This is particularly true of country properties, the UK desire for which the gregarious Spanish find quite perverse and which can be particularly vulnerable to the application of the LRAU or variations of that law. The different property requirements of ex-patriots and the Spanish themselves, the influx of north European money, the rising market and the subtleties of location make valuations a minefield for all concerned. Most agents are left, somewhat inadequately, asking the seller what they feel their property is worth. Needless to say, it is of little real help to compare the prices of similar properties already sold. The sale price obtained can often be very different from that advertised and to find out the price actually achieved can be as difficult for an agent as for a private seller. At the end of the day, all too often, all parties are left hazarding a guess. Otherwise it may well be you who is paying too much for too little. ENDS

Move tospainsafely information spain

 

The ultimate book on Spain, life in Spain, moving to Spain and Spanish property. - A REAL ESTATE - ‘Too much for too little’ seems to be the common refrain of both house sellers and lawyers alike when referring to estate agents in Spain. Tales of exorbitant commissions abound, together with stories of professional conduct that is, at best, immoral and, at worst, downright crooked. So what is the truth? How do estate agents work and how can buyers and sellers avoid the worst excesses of Spanish estate agency? To do justice to all sides, Spanish estate agency differs markedly from the UK. For example, with regard to sales to the British, the relationship between the estate agent, seller and buyer is blurred. Whilst the seller clearly pays the agent, it is with the buyer that an agent is most likely to form a close relationship. The complications of buying abroad and the very extensive pre and after sales care that a buyer expects have direct implications upon the commission charged by agents. Within reason, this enormously time consuming work alone justifies higher fees than would be considered normal in the UK. In Spain, furthermore, it is unusual for an agent to obtain a sole agency to a property. Most sellers place their properties with as many agents as they can, without signing any binding, written agreement that safeguards the interests of the agent over even a short, defined time period. Consequently, agents are invariably left to market and sell properties on a multiple agency basis with perhaps a dozen, or more, direct local competitors. This makes the marketing of a property a hazardous, treacherous and potentially expensive process. Sales commission to an agent tends to be worked out on the basis of one of two options. The most common, and least contentious, way of charging commission is for an agent to agree with a client a fixed commission, generally 3%-5%, of the gross sale price of the property. However, it is the second option that has caused so much discredit to the industry. A seller can agree with an agent that the fee for selling his property will be any money obtained from a buyer over and above a minimum sale price. So, a seller may state that he wants to obtain 200,000 Euros for his property. An agent will then be at liberty to set a sale price at any figure above the 200,000 Euros that he feels he can achieve. He may market the property for 250,000 Euros. If he finds a buyer prepared to pay 250,000 Euros, then he will receive 50,000 Euros as his sales commission – a handsome fee indeed. In many ways earning commission this way can be compared to any other business deal. The seller is happy because he obtains the price he wanted. Meanwhile the agent treats the transaction as a simple business deal in which he extracts the maximum profit possible. The buyer, by definition, must be content as he has willingly parted with his money! On the face of it this option is fair, however there are problems which have made this practice notorious. Firstly, sellers often rely upon agents to act in good faith when providing property valuations. If an agent deliberately undervalues a property, he can earn an inflated commission, which is unfair to the naive seller. Secondly, the size of commission can artificially inflate the true value of the property. This leaves a very sour taste in the mouth of the buyer, who may well have been relying upon the agent to act as an ‘honest broker’ dispensing sound advice on the true merits and value of the property. Thirdly, and in UK terms bizarrely, the same property may be on the market for wildly varying prices dependent upon where you look. In the raw, unforgiving world of rampant capitalism and ‘caveat emptor’ this conduct of estate agents cannot be too heavily criticised. After all, most businesses will try to achieve the highest possible profit from any deal that they can. Few high street shops, for example, will sell goods at less than 100% mark-up, let alone advise customers of the profit that they are making on a product. Nonetheless, it is hard to consider this method of obtaining commission on property sales as good practice and it is probably a poor way to run a business long term. Some types of properties can earn agents, in UK terms, consistently exceptional fees. These are generally, but by no means always, new development properties, particularly those aimed strictly at overseas buyers. These are frequently places which are built on very cheap land, creating an ‘artificial’ environment far from existing towns and villages which may well suffer from water shortages. A developer may, for example, construct a golf course and swimming pool complex in this sort of area and surround it with apartments. By their very nature the properties within these developments are difficult and expensive to sell and can be very hard for an owner to resell. Estate agents use ‘pressure salesmanship’ to earn commissions that can sometimes exceed 15% of the gross sale price, which is a lot of money for a property to appreciate before a buyer has any hope of a return on his investment. The size of commissions can be an indication of the profit margins that developers are making and, arguably, the over pricing of the properties concerned. This may be particularly true if land and money was forcibly extracted from the existing property owners in the area during an abuse of the spirit of the recently replaced and contentious LRAU. This law (6/94 of the Valencia Autonomous Community) has been used to demand that existing property owners in an area of a plan parcial pay towards the development and infrastructure costs. Valuations are another source of contention in Spain for all parties, including estate agents. The market has been consistently rising over the past few years and has resulted in properties, previously almost worthless, now selling for prices the Spanish find hard to credit. This is particularly true of country properties, the UK desire for which the gregarious Spanish find quite perverse and which can be particularly vulnerable to the application of the LRAU or variations of that law. The different property requirements of ex-patriots and the Spanish themselves, the influx of north European money, the rising market and the subtleties of location make valuations a minefield for all concerned. Most agents are left, somewhat inadequately, asking the seller what they feel their property is worth. Needless to say, it is of little real help to compare the prices of similar properties already sold. The sale price obtained can often be very different from that advertised and to find out the price actually achieved can be as difficult for an agent as for a private seller. At the end of the day, all too often, all parties are left hazarding a guess. Otherwise it may well be you who is paying too much for too little. ENDS

 

Move to Spain Safely - information Spain

Do you want to move to Spain – or buy a Spanish property?

Have you seen the stories about:
Land Grab in Spain
Urbanisation
Crooked estate agents in Spain
Dubious Spanish lawyers

BUY NOW
(E-book only €12.75)

Are you worried about:
Spanish healthcare
Your pets in Spain
Spanish schools or education in Spain for your children
Your Spanish Will and Spanish Inheritance tax

Do you know the implications of buying:
 Spanish property on land that is classed as:
Urbanizado (building land)
Rural (agricultural)
 Because -  if you do not -  then you are mad even
 to be thinking of buying a property in Spain!

 Do you know about:
The typical construction problems of villas in Spain
The different types of housing in Spain
The key to buying apartments in Spain
Basic Spanish land law
The legal process of buying and selling properties in Spain
 
 Do you know:
How to work in Spain
The reality of Spanish contracts and disputes?
The different Spanish police and your rights upon arrest?
The laws concerning cars in Spain

 Do you know how to buy a property in Spain that is:
Resaleable
In the right long term location
Value for money
Legal, safe and free from future problems

Are you fully aware of:
The sales commission structure of estate agents in Spain
How to get a Spanish mortgage from Spanish banks
The pros and cons of running a Spanish business
How to go directly to Spanish property sellers

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 (E-book only €12.75)

HOW  TO MOVE SAFELY TO SPAIN
26 sections
plus over 160 vital Spanish Terms and Definitions
plus Useful Contacts
9 highly qualified, professional contributors (Spanish and British)
Written by a Spanish industry ‘insider’ and professional author
81,000 words – 290 pages

 What do you know about:
Your rights and obligations in Spain
The dangers of letting property in Spain
Tax in Spain
The importance of cheap flights to Spain
 
Do you want to either buy in Spain safely or live in Spain without avoidable problems?
 Because - if you do - then

HOW TO MOVE SAFELY TO SPAIN
is critical reading and will provide the guidance, advice and help
 that you need to make your life in Spain or your Spanish move safe and
successful – for the long term

 How to Move Safely to Spain provides you with authoritative, objective, hard hitting information about Spain without ever dodging the issues.  If you recognise the need for information on Spain and the importance of a guide to Spain that is succinct, clear and unbiased then this is the book for you.  ‘Move Safely to Spain’ is the ultimate guide to Spain – up to date and comprehensive. 

Can you really do without it?
 
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Move to Spain Safely - information Spain

Move to Spain Safely, Guide to moving to Spain, living in Spain and buying property in Spain. If you are thinking of Moving to Spain - Move to Spain Safely - the Book, Buy now! Deals with every aspect of moving to Spain. I invested in several books but this is the only one you need. This book is a must read for anyone thinking of moving to Spain permanatly or who wants to know about the Spanish way of life. I just decided to look into moving to Spain and being green behind the ears this was the perfect book for my stage of research. Nick Snelling steps forth and leads readers along the turbulent path of moving to Spain, smoothly and definitively. His book is packed to the seams with information. Guide to moving to Spain, living in Spain and Spanish property. ... authoritative seminars on moving to Spain and buying property in Spain. Published Books: Read the full text of

information spain move to spain

Move to Spain the definative guideMove to Spain Safely, Guide to moving to Spain, living in Spain and buying property in Spain. If you are thinking of Moving to Spain - Move to Spain Safely - the Book, Buy now! Deals with every aspect of moving to Spain. I invested in several books but this is the only one you need. This book is a must read for anyone thinking of moving to Spain permanatly or who wants to know about the Spanish way of life. I just decided to look into moving to Spain and being green behind the ears this was the perfect book for my stage of research. Nick Snelling steps forth and leads readers along the turbulent path of moving to Spain, smoothly and definitively. His book is packed to the seams with information. Guide to moving to Spain, living in Spain and Spanish property. ... authoritative seminars on moving to Spain and buying property in Spain. Published Books: Read the full text of

 

 

 

 

 

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