For some time now the pressure inside the bubble of the boom that Spain once enjoyed has been slowly deflating - and to the horror of many Estate Agents operating on the mainland, not only because of the slow fall in sales but also due to the rising number of buyers opting to look elsewhere in Europe now the borders have opened up.
But who is to blame? Obviously, the main people to bite the bullet have been the Estate Agents themselves, unfortunately. Not only are these companies not to blame and certainly not in terms of people losing their lively hood, definitely not in the choices that these unfortunate people have made.
Spain, unlike many countries around the world does not regulate their Real Estate industry in terms of licensing and education making Real Estate extremely easy to make a good living from. There are thousands of Estate Agent companies operating in Spain today, another reason for the falls in sales and increase in competition, however with the way it stands in Spain this will continue to rise with persons looking simply to make a quick buck from the relaxed laws that are in place.
This is when we start to hit problems, unregistered companies, untraceable persons and a lot of money to be made.
So, Mr.
Smith whom for some time has been dreaming about his retirement with his wife to a hotter climate and 'better quality of life' sets upon the idea of selling up in the UK and upping sticks to move to Spain. With current situations in England with taxes, pensions and ill health Mr. Smith rushes straight to Spain to start his search for his home in Spain.
After a weekend inspection trip which he booked through a property website selling Spanish property, Mr. Smith swiftly makes the decision of a life time and places a deposit on what he thinks is his and his wife's dream place in the sun. Returning back to the UK to start packing and kicking his heels with excitement over his new property, Mr. Smith can hardly control his delight.
Time moves slowly over the next couple of weeks which near the completion of the property sale, and as the day arrives the gleam from his face couldn't be wiped off by anything, he thinks. The day of reckoning has arrived; he arrives at the notary hand in hand with his wife to sign the documentation for the change of ownership, now to 'his horror' the notary has no indication of his pending property purchase and the agent is a no show to make the day ever better. Now, in desperation Mr. Smith frantically pulls out his phone to contact the agent to seek answers to why the completion has not gone ahead. Dead line-Lawyer, dead line.. Mr. Smith is now trying to recall how he came across this agent, the man he met in a bar, introduced him to the company lawyer, took 10,000 pounds deposit and has now done a runner.Choice is such a treasure; make sure you make the right one.Ensure you do your research before making the first trip to Spain, information can be found right under your nose if you dare to look, find a respectable and trusted company - don't buy a property over a beer ! Or even better buy direct from the owner - that will save you money, just make sure you get all legal checks made. Use an independent lawyer / legal team, don't hand your money to just anyone and don't blame the REAL Real Estate companies for property purchases gone wrong in Spain - it's usually the buyers fault trying to cut corners to save money.
