glad 2 b back

After a lot of agonising and what if's we have finally decided to put our Spanish property on the market. The only problem is is how to go about it. One thing I don't trust is estate agents, how would they value it and how would I know that they are even marketing it? Also if I sent them the keys whose to say they wouldnt rent it out without telling me (this does happen).
Did those of you who bought find your properties in the UK or Spain? and what is the property market like at the moment judgeing by this forum there is still plenty of people moving there.

dazzle

I was in the UK and l answered a few adverts for private sales in Daltons weekly although they turned out not to be suitable and I eventually found the house we bought through an estate agent.

Miss Naughty

As far as i am aware they value houses on the square meters.
apart from that i do not know much xxxx
some of the houses i looked at had actually been on the market 2 to 3 years and they are still not sold.

MnM

Hi glad 2 b back,

You could get several estate agents to value the property so that you have a ball park figure to work with. Also do a bit of searching on the web yourself (as you are not in Spain) for properties near yours to see what they are selling for. Check for m2 of land and m2 of build, also age of build as well as whether they have views or not (positioning), etc.

Do you have any trustworthy friends that could hold the keys for you in Spain and only give them to estate agents when there is a viewing?

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

What area of Spain is your property?

Martha

Miss Naughty

i could hold her keys for her

dazzle

The way I understand it, Estate Agents in Spain don't really value houses. They'll ask you what you want for it and add their commission on top to come to the asking price.

Which is why you can often find the same property on sale at vastly different prices - 18000€ difference in my case!!

glad 2 b back

thanks I think its going to be hard as I dont have anyone I could trust over there apart from my uncle whos not there at the moment. I won't be able to get over until the summer to show the agents around. I did think about advertising it privately but then I wouldnt know what to do when it comes to signing over or exchanging money. As for them asking you what you would like I had that before when I sold up the apartment and of course I said a very high amount and it ended up being for sale for ages and eventually we sold it for about 30,000E less.

I should have sorted all this out last year before we left but I wanted to be sure that I wouldnt want to come back and didnt want any regrets. Now we have found an area that we love with big edwardian house's and there is no way we could raise a mortage for one without selling up.

Its in Cartama in Andalucia (not Coin) and its difficult to gage how much as they vary so much in style and price.

Miss Naughty

Hi,
Would you not think about renting it out long term xxxx

MnM

Hiya dazzle,

Estate Agents do give you a ball park figure, but they have to go with your asking price. Usually their prices are realistic market values (most of the time). The problems start when the owner thinks their property is above and beyond the market value.

I do alot of web research and find prices varying on the same property anywhere from 10,000€ to 100,000€ or more! But having worked with Estate Agents, the bottom line is that they have to sometimes go with unrealistic prices that the owners want and then add their commission ontop. A bit sad, but there you go....

Martha

MnM

Have you looked into any keyholding companies. I'm not sure about Andalucia (never been there for work or leisure), but there should be a few. There is, of course, a fee involved, but if it would put your mind to rest, it may be something you should look into.

They can also let out your property long or short term.

I'm just throwing suggestions around....

MnM

See!

We've got one volunteer already

glad 2 b back

I did think about and even advertised but then got cold feet as I was worried I would get nightmare tennants who wouldnt pay the rent. After speaking to a few people I decided not too as if something did go wrong seemingly I would have a nightmare trying to evict them and I would have to come back denounce them go to court etc the 300 pound a month that i would get just didnt seem worth it.

glad 2 b back

I didnt think of that I'll have a look in the sur and check out the costs thanks x

Miss Naughty

I have heard of some nightmare tennants in spain. xxx

glad 2 b back

Not just in Spain tho I watched this program about tennants from hell it makes you think. Some houses in a town nearby have problems with kosovans one rents a 3 bed house and before you know it there's 15 or 20 living in it sleeping in the bath and everything. pretty rough.