Spanish Estate Agents

A new low cost fixed fee Estate Agency Network website has been launched David Wood to bring together buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants throughout the South Yorkshire area. This innovative concept is spearheaded by David who has a wealth of property expertise behind him, not only in the UK market but also throughout Europe including Cape Verde and the Canary Islands.  Complimented by their thought provoking blog, dwood-property.com is definitely the place to start whether you are a Landlord or private individual, when considering buying, selling, letting and renting property.

Nowadays, more and more expat families are looking to buy property in the less touristy parts of Spain – the “real Spain” – places where they can immerse themselves in the local culture and live the Spanish way of life.

They’re looking for somewhere ideally with little or no interest to other overseas buyers – Spain all to themselves.

The problem is everyone now wants these types of locations so instead of moving into ‘real’ Spain, overseas buyers end up creating and living in foreigners’ ghettoes. Take Monda, Coin and Alhaurin el Grande in Malaga, for example. In these traditional Spanish rural villages, English is now almost as widely spoken as Spanish.

When wealthy overseas property buyers come to Spain, the locals are happy to sell their place at an often significant profit and move into a shiny new urbanisation down the road.

So you sell up, move all the way to what has to be the real Spain – inland, rural, surrounded by goats, pigs, bulls and horses – only to find that your next door neighbour is from Birmingham.

But still the dream exists. Settling in Spain, living that dream lifestyle of tapas, siestas, flamenco, sunshine and no stress…turning that dilapidated rustic property into your own version of Iberian “chic”… One day, becoming as Spanish as the Spanish.

Featured Location – Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura is the second largest of the Canary Islands, located just 100 kilometers off the coast of North Africa.

It’s one of the last remaining Spanish paradise isles – sparsely populated, untouched, unspoilt, and free of crass commercialism and overdevelopment.

The island is home to 152 of the longest beaches in the archipelago. There are 50 kilometers of fine, white sandy beach and 25 kilometers of black volcanic shingle.

Fuerteventura is widely regarded as having some of the best beaches in the Spain – endless stretches of fine white sand bathed by pristine turquoise waters that stay warm all year long. It’s a paradise for sun, beach and water sports fans.

The large winter swells and summer trade winds create excellent wind and wave conditions, making Fuerteventura a year-round surfers’ paradise. It’s also a very popular location for sailing, scuba diving and big game fishing. Whales, dolphins, marlin and turtles are all common sights in these clear blue waters.

Many believe that Fuerteventura is the oldest of the Canary Islands. Its strange volcanic form was born out of a series of eruptions thousands and thousands of years ago.

Most of the inland areas on Fuerteventura are made up of lavascapes and volcanic mountains as well as large protected plains. Although the island looks highly volcanic, the last activity took place over 4,000 years ago.

If you’re looking for somewhere with endless sunshine, year round warmth, stunning deserted beaches, a good quality of life and (as of yet) no mass tourism, Fuerteventura is well worth considering.

Investing in Fuerteventura
Residential and commercial properties, on this paradise island, are seeing great returns through strong property appreciation.

Many UK and Irish holidaymakers are now choosing to extend their yearly two-week vacation on a more permanent basis. Making the permanent move to Fuerteventura is becoming an increasingly popular option and with all it has to offer, why not.

The growing numbers of visitors who are investing in many of the off plan new developments, residential and commercial properties will have a knock-on effect of pushing the property prices up, creating a strong return for investors.

Prices are still low but expected to escalate. If your considering Fuerteventura, now is the best time to make a move, before it’s too late. Click here for the latest Fuerteventura Property for Sale

The latest figures from the National Statistics Institute points out the hottest, coldest, brightest, darkest and wettest places in Spain.

As one might imagine, the Canary Islands or “Happy Islands” come out tops when it comes to sunshine and warmth. And of the seven islands, Tenerife enjoyed the hottest average temperatures and the most sunshine.

The Canarian Climate
Located just above the Western Sahara Desert, the Canary Islands enjoy a privileged location and climate. Drenched in year round sunlight, washed by warm Atlantic waters, they have what arguably the world’s best climate.

The Canaries are the only place in Spain and Europe where you get guaranteed winter sunshine and warmth.

Andalucia in southern Spain is certainly a lot sunnier than the UK and most other parts of Europe but can get very cold during the winter months. Any expat living in Spain will tell you that shorts and a t-shirt won’t always do.

Southern Spain is however, a great place to spend the winter months away from the gloomy northern European winter.

The Canary Islands were also the driest places in Spain last year, with the least rainfall. Fuerteventura, famous for its vast desert-like landscape and endless sandy beaches, received just 63.1mm of rain.

Lanzarote and Santa Cruz de Tenerife were the second driest locations. They both got twice as much rain as Fuerteventura, approximately 125 mm – not very much.

Spanish Hotspots
Tenerife topped the charts when it comes to bright and balmy year round climates. Last year the island had an average of 21.8 degrees centigrade – warmer than any of the other Canary Islands. Tenerife also received more sunshine – 3,565 hours a year, which is around ten hours per day.

Lanzarote, with its weird lunar-like volcanic landscape was the second hottest location and Rota on the Costa de La Luz (Coast of Light) was the sunniest part of mainland Spain with 3,010 hours of sunshine.

Cold and Damp Spain
If all that sunshine gets too much for you and you want some “real” weather, head inland. Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe and accordingly can get very very chilly at altitudes with strong wind chill factors.

Last year the coldest recorded temperatures were found in Puerto de Navacerrada ski station, north of Madrid. Temperatures averaged at a chilling 7.9 degrees for the whole year. Izaña de Tenerife was the second coldest location and at 2300 metres in altitude, one can imagine why.

Labacoa, near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, received the most rainfall – well over two metres. Other towns in this lush green part of Northern Spain saw similar deluges.

The darkest part of Spain, which was probably still a lot brighter than the UK, was the Costa Verde or Green Coast. In towns like Asturias, Bilbao and Cantabria, they received less than half the sunshine Tenerife received.

Island Life – Moving to the Sun
Tenerife, home to a large UK expat community, amazing beaches, good value properties, low cost of living, high standard of life and perpetual, sunshine is a fantastic place to live. Every year more and more UK nationals are choosing to escape the doom and gloom of rainy England and set up home on this island paradise.

Buy-to-let investments are also a popular option. With year round sunshine and warmth, you can command peak season prices all throughout the year.

Finding a Home
The Internet is the fastest and most efficient way to find property abroad. There are literally hundreds of real estate agent sites and independent property portals providing everything from property listings (with prices and photos) to legal advice, buyer’s guides, local area information and climate reports – everything you could possibly need. Try the following link – Tenerife Property Search

If you’re genuinely looking to start a new life, away from the pollution, cold, high prices and endless grey skies, Tenerife is certainly well worth considering!

Property for sale in Tenerife
Here’s a few example of what you’ll find on Canarypropert.com, one of The Canary Islands leading property portals…

Playa Paraiso, Tenerife
Casa Dulce
Typical Canarian restaurant in Playa Paraiso. Restaurant has large eating area and bar with terrace with views to the sea.
Sale Price: €37.500

Costa del Silencio, Tenerife
Marino Tenerife
Studios
Opportunity good size studio, 1 bathroom, separate fitted kitchen, terrace overlooking swimming pool, recently renovated on very well kept resort.
Sale Price: €58.000

San Eugenio Alto, Tenerife
Island Village Heights
Studios
Beautiful studio located on the second floor in San Eugenio Alto. There is American kitchen, lounge, one bathroom, terrace. Panoramic sea views.
Sale Price: €88.500

Up until the year 2000, anyone selling property in Spain had to be a member of the one of the two professional real estate associations – API and GIPE. Now, since the market was deregulated in 2000 basically anyone can play the role of intermediary in Spanish property transactions.

When buying a property in Spain, your biggest risks often come from your choice of estate agent. Their levels of competence, attitude and ethical standards can greatly effect the success or failure of your investment.

Although there certainly are some that should be avoided, thankfully there are many highly trained, very competent and ethical agents in the Spanish market. The challenge is finding them.

Types of Real Estate Agents in Spain
Before you choose an agent, it’s a good idea to get a brief understanding of how the market works. There are several types of agent – all offering varying levels of service.

Spanish Estate Agents
A lot of the Spanish agents belong to the API or GIPE professional associations. This should indicate a higher level of training and professionalism. The problem is that these titles are often abused so in some cases aren’t really a true guarantee of professional service.

Spanish agents normally just sell property in their local area. Sometimes they’ll have nationwide chains and networks throughout Spain and the Canaries.

Most of them don’t speak English, so this can be a problem for UK buyers. In the popular coastal areas (Costa del Sol etc.) you’ll find an increasing number of Spanish agents with English-speaking staff.

Foreign Estate Agents in Spain
It’s usually the case that a UK family looking to buy a place in Spain will instinctively go to an English or Irish-run estate agency.

Foreign owned-and-run estate agents normally try and sell to buyers from their home countries. British and Irish agents focus on buyers from the British Isles, the Germans focus on the Germans etc.
Most foreign agents are now adopting English as their operational language.

Setting up as a real estate agent in Spain is very easy. Ever since the market was deregulated (2000) no qualifications are required and barriers to entry are low.

Foreign estate agents in Spain have come under much criticism over the years. Unfortunately, there’s been a number of cases where these agents have been found to be incompetent or unscrupulous or in some cases both.

You’ll find them mainly in the very touristy areas like the Costa del Sol, Costa de Almeria, Costa Calida and Costa Blanca. A lot of times the commissions charged are blatantly excessive and the level of service low.

Outrageous (time-share style) pressure-sales techniques are often used and in some cases agents tell clients half-truths; anything to close a quick sale.
Be warned – such companies do exist.

UK-based Estate Agencies
There are more and more UK-based estate agencies offering Spanish property every year. They’ve been drawn into the market by the huge numbers of UK buyers that are looking for property in Spain and the very high commissions they can make.

Multi-listing Networks
This is where a group of foreign estate agencies participate in a network where they share clients, properties and commissions. For example, one agency might have a buyer but not the right property, while the other agent has that property but not the buyer.

They collaborate with each other, make the sale and “split” the commissions – everyone’s happy; you get the right property and they make the sale.

The only problem is that instead of splitting the commissions between themselves, they more often than not increase the commission. So the buyer pays an inflated commission for a service of little extra value.

Spanish Corredores
In rural parts of Spain, corredores are still used extensively. These are property brokers that know the local community extremely well and know when someone wants to sell their property.

If you’re looking for a place in a rural community, using a corredor is a likely to be your best option. It’s doubtful however, that they’ll speak any English, so be sure to bring an English/Spanish friend with you if you don’t have the lingo.

It’s usually an informal arrangement but there’s no reason whatsoever to think that a corredor might be less trustworthy than your average foreign estate agent.

They’re certainly a lot cheaper. They’ll often just charge a commission of 1% to the buyer and 1% to the seller. Some foreign agents add on commissions of up to 35%.

Corredores can often be difficult to locate, as they don’t usually work from a commercial premises. But, if you ask around the local community, you should eventually find one.

It’s everyone dream – jetting off the Spain’s endless sunny skies whenever you feel like it, not having to worry about accommodation – and feeling and being right at home as soon as you arrive.

Buying a second home in either Spain or the Canary Islands is a relatively uncomplicated process. There are, however a number of things you should consider, like getting a second mortgage, for example. This is often more difficult than a primary mortgage. Sometimes higher down payments are required too. These are just some of the financial considerations you’ll have to take into account.

Before you start your property search have a look at some of the pros and cons of buying a second home in Spain.

The Benefits of Buying in Spain
Provided you’ve chosen a good quality property in a good location, it should be going up in value every year. Spain has always been regarded as an excellent long-term investment option.

Rental income is the perfect way to pay off a mortgage. The property just pays for itself. Spain and the Canaries are two of Europe’s most popular holiday locations, meaning no shortage of demand for rental properties. On the Canaries, you can rent out your second home all throughout the year at tourist prices.

A holiday in your own “home away from home” is a delightful experience, much more enjoyable than staying in a hotel. Apart from having your own personal comforts and privacy you’ll have a lot more money to spend, having not paid for a hotel.

You could retire to the holiday home. Most people do. After a number of years making good returns through rental income you could decide to have the property all to yourself. By this stage it should have gone up in value significantly.

Thousands of people make the permanent move to Spain every year. Most never look back. It’s warmer, brighter, healthier and safer with a very laid back pace of life.

Things to Consider:

Additional Costs
These are ongoing and can mount up – things like property taxes, utility bills, and community fees etc – the same traditional costs you have to pay on your primary property. Even though you might just be there for short periods of the year, as the owner, you’ll be responsible for all of them.

If you’re going to rent out the property, you need to consider the tax implications – renting can greatly affect your own tax situation, meaning you’re sometimes liable for more tax payments and at other times you’re no longer eligible for certain tax exemptions.

Speak to a tax professional. They can give you advice about your individual situation (good or bad). In Spain and the Canaries there are plenty of English/Spanish speaking consultants.

Holidays
Will you (and your family) really use the place every year?
Staying in your own home is so much more comfortable than a hotel or holiday apartment but if you want to travel to new destinations every year, you might just end up paying for hotels and other services on top of your second mortgage.

Advice
Buying a holiday home in Spain is an incredibly rewarding experience – most UK buyers never look back.

Proper research often determines the success or failure of any local or foreign property investment - research the property, the area and the legal and tax implications. Spend as much time in the area as possible before you take the plunge.

Investing in the future
You might not be in a position to buy a second home now but in a few years time you might be. If you’d like your own home in Spain or the Canaries, the best time to start planning is now. If you remain focused, disciplined and start far enough in advance you too could become the happy owner of a dream home in the sun.

Speak to a financial planner or advisor. He or she should be able to come up with realistic financial targets that can help you reach this goal.