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I have been looking at properties in and around Almoradi over the past week or so and I'm getting significantly differing quotes and ideas on this. Can I also have an understanding of whether buyer pays Estate agents fee or is it split with vendor or something else
Many thanks
Owen
Posted: Tue Feb 7, 2023 3:57pm
Super helpful member
Agent's fees usually re paid by who requires his service. However, common practice is that the agent charges both buyer and seller if possible.
Posted: Tue Feb 7, 2023 4:44pm
Very helpful member
killjoy wrote on Tue Feb 7, 2023 3:57pm:
Agent's fees usually re paid by who requires his service. However, common practice is that the agent charges both buyer and seller if possible.
My experience is that 5 real estate charge 999 euros to Purchaser/ Buyers. Any other estate agents I have talked and viewed properties with do NOT charge Purchaser/Buyer.
I would make it one of my first lines of enquiries with Estate agents if they are any fees to be paid by you the Purchaser/Buyer
That has been my experience
Posted: Thu Feb 9, 2023 10:51pm
Legendary helpful member
Hi Owen and welcome to the forum,
Estate agents work for the vendor, not the buyer - although some may try to tell you otherwise, especially if they market themselves as 'property finders', as that implies they're working on behalf of the purchaser. Linked to this is the so-called "reservation deposit", a creation of the estate agency industry that has no basis in law, but became commonplace during the pre-crash property boom. The first you may hear of this is when you make an offer on a property and the agent asks you to sign a "reservation contract" and hand over a deposit, typically, around €3,000, but could be as much as €6,000. There are people who have done this and will tell you everything proceeded to plan. However, there are others who, when the sale fell through for whatever reason, couldn't get their deposit back from the selling agent. You should not sign such a document and you should NEVER pay money to an agent - if an agent tries to pressure you to do this, tell them that you want to run it by your lawyer first. And don't use a lawyer recommended by an agent, always use an independent lawyer who is working solely for you, not tied into the agent and their vendors - ask forum members about recommendations for independent lawyers.
The only legally required deposit is the 10% of purchase value that has to be paid to the vendor's lawyer once the vendor has accepted your offer and lawyers have drawn up a draft contract, subject to searches. Your own lawyer should ensure there are no bad debts on the property which, if not cleared before completion, become your responsibility as the new owner. Once the 10% deposit has been paid, should you pull out of the purchase, the vendor has the right to keep your deposit. If the vendor pulls out, you have the right to claim twice that amount although, in reality, the actual sum claimed is usually negotiated between the parties.
A lawyer's quote should cover their own fee and disbursements, the notary's fee and the costs associated with updating the land registry (Cadastre). If you're receiving large variations in fee quotes, it could be that you've approached gestors, as well as lawyers. Gestors are great for helping you navigate Spanish bureaucracy, such as applying for a NIE (Foreigner's Identity Number), but I would not recommend using one for anything contractual. A lawyer in this area should be registered with Alicante's 'Colegio de Abogados' and their registration number should appear on their letterhead. If it doesn't, you can check their registration by name on the Colegio's website.
Kind regards,
Kim
We’ve just bought a place there and pay only fees to the vendors real estate agent. Check first before going on with the process. We searched for a lawyer, who did everything for us and it worked perfectly. (For exemple; the check the “nota simple”, meaning if there are still any taxes or debts on the property) good luck!
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Hello Owen,
We paid 1400e for solicitiors costs & a further 1350e for the gestor. The solicitors were appointed by us to act for us checking the legality of the house , title, no outstanding debts against the house etc plus setting up the DD for electricity, water, SUMA ( rates) , Basura ( ribbish collection) .
The Gestor was selected jointly by the vendor & us to perform the official transfer of title & handing over the keys.
As a buyer I would not agree to pay for any estate agents fees, this is 100% the responsibility of the vendor.
Hope this helps
Mike
Kimmy11 wrote on Thu Feb 9, 2023 10:51pm:
Hi Owen and welcome to the forum,
Estate agents work for the vendor, not the buyer - although some may try to tell you otherwise, especially if they market themselves as 'property finders', as that implies they're working on behalf of the purchaser. Linked to this is the so-called "reservation deposit", a creation of t...
Read more...
...he estate agency industry that has no basis in law, but became commonplace during the pre-crash property boom. The first you may hear of this is when you make an offer on a property and the agent asks you to sign a "reservation contract" and hand over a deposit, typically, around €3,000, but could be as much as €6,000. There are people who have done this and will tell you everything proceeded to plan. However, there are others who, when the sale fell through for whatever reason, couldn't get their deposit back from the selling agent. You should not sign such a document and you should NEVER pay money to an agent - if an agent tries to pressure you to do this, tell them that you want to run it by your lawyer first. And don't use a lawyer recommended by an agent, always use an independent lawyer who is working solely for you, not tied into the agent and their vendors - ask forum members about recommendations for independent lawyers.
The only legally required deposit is the 10% of purchase value that has to be paid to the vendor's lawyer once the vendor has accepted your offer and lawyers have drawn up a draft contract, subject to searches. Your own lawyer should ensure there are no bad debts on the property which, if not cleared before completion, become your responsibility as the new owner. Once the 10% deposit has been paid, should you pull out of the purchase, the vendor has the right to keep your deposit. If the vendor pulls out, you have the right to claim twice that amount although, in reality, the actual sum claimed is usually negotiated between the parties.
A lawyer's quote should cover their own fee and disbursements, the notary's fee and the costs associated with updating the land registry (Cadastre). If you're receiving large variations in fee quotes, it could be that you've approached gestors, as well as lawyers. Gestors are great for helping you navigate Spanish bureaucracy, such as applying for a NIE (Foreigner's Identity Number), but I would not recommend using one for anything contractual. A lawyer in this area should be registered with Alicante's 'Colegio de Abogados' and their registration number should appear on their letterhead. If it doesn't, you can check their registration by name on the Colegio's website.
Kind regards,
Kim
Hi Kim
Thanks very much for the information
Owen
Mike207 wrote on Sun Feb 12, 2023 11:23am:
Hello Owen,
We paid 1400e for solicitiors costs & a further 1350e for the gestor. The solicitors were appointed by us to act for us checking the legality of the house , title, no outstanding debts against the house etc plus setting up the DD for electricity, water, SUMA ( rates) , Basura ( ribbish collec...
Read more...
...tion) .
The Gestor was selected jointly by the vendor & us to perform the official transfer of title & handing over the keys.
As a buyer I would not agree to pay for any estate agents fees, this is 100% the responsibility of the vendor.
Hope this helps
Mike
Thanks very much
Owen
Benno67 wrote on Sun Feb 12, 2023 9:09am:
We’ve just bought a place there and pay only fees to the vendors real estate agent. Check first before going on with the process. We searched for a lawyer, who did everything for us and it worked perfectly. (For exemple; the check the “nota simple”, meaning if there are still any taxes or d...
Read more...
...ebts on the property) good luck!
Thank you
Owen
Sligogent wrote on Tue Feb 7, 2023 4:44pm:
My experience is that 5 real estate charge 999 euros to Purchaser/ Buyers. Any other estate agents I have talked and viewed properties with do NOT charge Purchaser/Buyer.
I would make it one of my first lines of enquiries with Estate agents if they are any fees to be paid by you the Purchaser/Buyer...
Read more...
...
That has been my experience
Thanks
Owen
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