LIVING

First off, Mark Stucklin, who runs the website spanishpropertyinsight.com, advises buyers to do their research properly. “It’s box standard advice but it’s amazing how many people don’t have it in mind when they come to buy,” said Stucklin. “There is something about pursuing the dream that makes people drop their guard. Keep your wits about you. It may be exciting but that doesn’t mean to say it’s without risks. The more time you spend looking at comparative properties, getting an understanding of the state of the market in the area you are interested in, the better your position to identify good value. That means doing quite a lot of legwork, visiting the area, talking to people, getting different points of view.”

Xavi Collell, director of the Banyoles-based estate agency Finques Collell Riera, agreed. “It is very easy for people who are in the world of sales to sell smoke, not reality, through publicity and photographs,” he explained. “Sometimes properties are in the middle of areas that are not finished, with bad neighbours, bad services—a lot of things that the photos don’t show. It’s very important not to buy a view, a photo, an idea, but to buy reality.”

When Catalan Adela Robles returned from the US to live here with her English partner Peter Revill, they  looked for a house to buy together. “We dreamt of living in a small village,” Robles said. “Once we had started looking we realised there is no little house with a little garden close to the town. That’s not traditional. Traditionally people have a house in town and go to their fields. You don’t know that when you first come. You have to start reviewing your dreams.”

Having come from the States, where the estate agent does everything for the buyer, the couple found their experience of the Spanish system just the opposite. “Here the estate agents represent the sellers, not the buyers,” said Robles. “They get part of the profit from selling a house. You have to work out how much to offer for the house yourself.”

Another problem they encountered was the ‘English’ factor. “If they saw Peter, they assumed he was here on a 15-day vacation and wanted something that was rustic,” said Robles. “I could tell that either it wasn’t truly rustic or that it was overpriced.”

Many house sales are done privately, through word of mouth, because of the high commissions traditionally charged by estate agents. On a house-hunting trip to Mieres in the Garrotxa, Adela and Peter were introduced to the local clockmaker, a man who brokers deals between locals and outsiders. Through him they offered €270,000 for a house that eventually sold for €300,000 but had been advertised by an estate agent for €420,000.

Buyers need to be prepared for a tough negotiation process. According to Mark Stucklin, Spanish sellers can be some of the hardest to negotiate with, as they stick determinedly to the price they want, holding on until they get it no matter how long that may take. Once the negotations are complete and an offer has been accepted, the buyer signs a contract to formalise the agreement and pays a deposit (senyal) to reserve the property.