I have just returned from a property hunt on the CDS (fuengirola area). I would like to share my observations and hope some of you guys can shed some light or insight into my experiences.

We want buy a villa/townhouse on the CDS, we spent three months compiling lists of properties from websites and Kyero etc. We had a file with shortlists etc.

We had one agent contacted with one of the lists to show us as many as possible.

We went with 3 agents in total after ringing more ads in Sur (paper) , None of them showed us any of our short listed properties, when we showed them the papers they sort of said you do not want to see that!

Some of the agents simply operated by mobile with a website and basically met the selling agent and passed us over to them (shared commission I guess).

They all said just how busy the market is, and were very reluctant to put forward offers that were not within 5k of asking price. I thought the market was dire with few viewers (opinion from forums and articles).

Some of the properties were so poor and still were being sold at 300k we were quite shocked, one in particular was cramped, totally cowboyed, damp and you needed to be Chris bonnington to cut the grass, they would never sell it in my opinion.

The whole experience seemed desperate, shady and non transparent.

On my next visit can anybody give us any tips to improve our experience.


regards

LPH

I would suggest that is norm for shoddy agents. You really need to select a better agent. I am not familiar with those in your chosen area, perhaps others can advise.

Yes I agree with Missile. The coast is full of people working from their home. A lot of properties on their websites are just copied off others and they are just to draw you in. They don't always have authority to sell them. Choose one that has a visible presence in the area. Not saying that indicates they are perfect but it's a start.

agree with the others, afraid it isnt regulated in the same way as in the UK

some websites show a property 3 or even 4 times, sometimes with different prices, but usually the same.
then it becomes a game of "hunt the agent", cos which one is actually authorised to sell

you may get an agent to meet you, go to the property and then meet up with the agent really responsible for the sale, who will have a % deal for introducing you.

you get your pulse racing about a property, nice area, good location but when you get there find it is 10miles away nowhere near where you were considering.
and thats before entering a good clean, well kept property to find it is a wreck or totally unfinished.
one property we visited the owner wanted a signature on lease so he could start 3months of work to get it habitable inside. presumably using lease to obtain bank loan.

we have given our details to 5 agents who reckon they have rentals to suit us coming in every day. 3months later still waiting.

just don't get me started on uk estate agents today....

I would suggest you scan the property section or even place an ad in fre rags for your chosen location.

been there, done that, have ad in the BE classifieds

also OH works with Spanish who havent been able to come up with anything better than we have done
(we actually want to move out of a flat to a house)

rgds

Have a browse at this site. I know nothing about them but I do know they have been around for as long as I can remember. At least they have an office!

http://www.mendoza-es.com/contact.php

When we show people property, we show them what they want to see, and any others that we feel meet their criteria. We will spend the day with them showing them the area as well. We will also put forward any offers as there are a lot of people desperate to sell, and you never know - they might accept!!

Not all estate agents are like the ones that you met, some of us are actually quite nice!!

cazzy, yep some are quite nice - know well a spanish agency, who have come up trumps for us before

"english" ? well when you are in the middle of house sale and agent in spain says wont talk to us about buying a property before we sell - sums it up nicely thanks

"english" ? well when you are in the middle of house sale and agent in spain says wont talk to us about buying a property before we sell - sums it up nicely thanks

Can't understand why they wont talk to you, a lot of agents have hit hard times. By treating customers in this way things will get harder!!

No way would I spend a day with one agent, that's for suckers. If I have seen a property that interests me then I made an appointment to view. No timewasting trailing around the rubbish

in case you havent noticed, but.....
this is Spain's shutdown period, what we used to call Miners Fortnight.

they have all gone away for 2-3 months to their country residence's to get away from the heat. even the little ferreteria down the road has shut for 2months, back early Sept.

good job there isnt a recession

Jacky thats for wannabe's, who try to cram in 6 or more viewings in a day, in the hope one of them may be right.
same sort of people do Granada in the morning and Cadiz in the afternoon before jetting off to Roma

I could go on and on about the shortcomings of some of the English estate agents here in Spain, thankfully they are the ones who have mostly now gone out of business!
The best way to find one that is reliable is by recommendation, then insist they show you the kind of property you are looking for and that's within your budget....there are more than enough out there, no matter what they say to the contrary!

Thanks for the link. The agents have a comprehensive list, and I don't know if it's only me, I haven't been down to the CDS for a while, but I thought there was some dire stuff on there.