Re: Estate Agents
 

Yeah I know what you mean.
I used to be a member of " The Guild Of Master Craftsmen " for a year, using the logo on vehicles, paperwork etc and all they wanted to see was my 25 quid. :eek:

Re: Estate Agents
 

No jdr, A.P.I., is not quite as you have tried to insinuate it is. Maybe, a bit more information is in order..........

Although the property sector was deregulated, the "Colegio oficial de
agentes de la propiedad inmobilaiaria" (official college of estate
agents) or "COAPI" is still the only state recognised body of estate
agents in Spain and its members, the "Agente de la propiedad
imobiliaria" or "API" are the only officially qualified estate agents.

The official college of estate agents is not a trade organisation and
just like the official college of Lawyers or the official college the
Architects, only those properly formed and qualified can become members.
It is quite true that to sell property in Spain it is no longer
compulsory to belong to the official college of estate agents but only
those that do can officially call themselves estate agents "Agente de la
propiedad inmobilaria".

Ask yourself this; if they deregulated say the legal sector who would
you prefer to use a qualified member of Spains official college of
lawyers or somebody with a law book, 10 words of Spanish, an office in
their garage and who watches LA law on a regular basis?

Re: Estate Agents
 

I was just saying how easy it is to get paperwork that people look up to and assume is kosher, I mean it is an impressive title for 25 quid and nobody even checked who I was.
Are you trying to tell me that estate agency is not a trade, but on a par to a Lawyer or an Architect ?
My daughter in law used to work for the biggest legal estate agent in Spain and she and hundreds of others are still owed loads of money with no recompence at all when it went down the pan.
Probably a lot of their clients will be in the same position also, so you cant say that any paperwork with letters on in Spain is a safeguard.
I will mention no names but as you are in the business you will know them.

Re: Estate Agents
 

So ..... how many estate agents are in this association then, and is it bonded in any way. Its just that when you come to Spain and you see the number of agents here all selling the same properties at different prices, and you see and hear all the stories on the forums etc about rip offs and misrepresentations, its difficult to believe theres any control whatsoever.

I think JDR is just pointing out that in the UK you can become members of recognised associations for a few quid, but in reality it can mean nothing. Blimey, I was a Fellow of the Institute of Freight Forwarders (FinstFF) but to be truthfull all it meant was I was £299 a year worse off!!! :)

Re: Estate Agents
 

Having said that about the £299 a year worse off, perhaps it brought in more than that in increased contacts and work. I knowfrom UK experience, that when looking for a firm like a removals firm, I would look to see if they wre a member of BAR, if not, no go. I always felt thqt if someone had joined their proff. body then you at least had some comeback even if only through the proff. body as I assumed they did have some sort of insurance cover.

Re: Estate Agents
 

Oh yes it did for sure, but my point was that it was not really a regulatory body and the worst someone could do would have been to report me to them. I wouldn't be disbarred from trading or have any action taken against me. If being a registered estate agent in Spain is the same then its really a false comfort.

Re: Estate Agents
 

With respect, I think you've misunderstood. If you read the posts nobody has likened the API to a pays-your-money trade association, just pointed out that there ARE many worthless trade association type organisations out there for real estate agents.

Whilst only those that have trained, qualified and as a result belong to the API can call themselves "agente de la propiedad inmobilaria" there is absolutely nothing in law to stop any newly arrived Ryanair wannabe estate agent calling him/herself an "estate agent". And which route will those wannabe estate agents go down? Train, qualify, become an API member and have their commissions regulated and capped? Or, don't train, don't qualify, don't join the API and charge 10-50% commission? Hmmm, difficult choice!

I'd not heard of the API before moving to Spain and neither will the majority of other expat newcomers - to them an estate agent is an estate agent.

Nobody can call themselves a lawyer, doctor, architect, engineer etc without the relevant qualifications (or at least, not without getting into severe trouble!) because these are regulated professions and will never be otherwise. For now, estate agency in Spain is most definitely NOT regulated.

If you Google for API you will see what a small number of estate agents belong. And who knows the real number of "expat" estate agents here.

Re: Estate Agents
 

I would say that the same applies to lawyers in Spain. In order to be a Spanish lawyer all you have to do is bribe or bluff your way through law school and get a degree.

The provincial Colegios de Abogados are certainly not a regulatory bodies and exist mainly to protect their associates against highly justifiable complaints from members of the public.