Selling your home in Spain

Choose the right agent

When considering an estate agent to sell your existing home it is important to choose an agent that you can trust.

The whole process of selling a property is an art form – getting the right price, choosing the right agent and having your home marketed in the right way are all issues which need to be considered at the outset.

The property market here in Andalucia is not as vibrant as it has been in the past and therefore you need to consider every aspect of the sales process as important and discuss the way in which the house is going to be sold with your chosen agent.

You will need to work with them for a period of time and the chances of you selling will improve if you can work together – it is a team effort. The agent that you choose will be in charge of generating the enquiries through advertising etc however it is vital that you keep your home tidy and well presented for any potential viewings.

Many homes are sold as “holiday homes” and this can have a dramatic affect on the way a property is perceived – it feels less like a home and therefore potential buyers can feel less attracted to a “holiday home” than a property that is occupied permanently.

Why Torcal Estates?

Well, to start with, we consider the sale of people’s homes as an extremely important process – it is, at the end of the day, most people’s most valuable asset!

We are an established estate agency practice, which has many years of experience within this area of inland Andalucia. We have a reputation to maintain and enhance but most of all we want to help people through a process that can be very stressful.

So, there are many estate agents to choose from, as well as corridors and even friends within your local area. Why are Torcal Estates different?

Sole Agency – a new concept in Andalucia?

We have decided to provide a Sole Agency agreement for those clients who wish to appoint Torcal Estates and no other agents.

The reason for doing this is that there are so many instances where the involvement of many agents can create confusion and mistrust in the mind of potential buyers that come viewing from the UK.

It also creates a situation where estate agents appointed have no real conviction in selling your home and therefore will not spend any money, time or effort trying to find the right buyer for your home.

In general, properties being sold in the UK are only available through one estate agent and if they are available through others, they are always at the same price. When a buyer visits Spain (in person or via websites) and sees one property on the market with a number of agents (at different prices) this demonstrates a certain amount of desperation and can deter someone from taking a property further.

We want to offer a certain number of properties, which are wholly exclusive to Torcal Estates. This means that we can spend more time advertising these properties specifically and know that another agent is not undermining these efforts by offering the property at a different price.

If you decide to appoint Torcal Estates as Sole Agents this will mean that we can concentrate our efforts on your property rather than huge numbers of properties that are being offered by other agents, corridors and private individuals.

Torcal Estates will charge 3.5% of the eventual sale price (plus IVA at the prevailing rate) for all Sole Agency properties. This is a significant saving on the fee that many agents charge.

Additionally, Torcal Estates do not charge any up-front fee. You only pay Torcal Estates when we have successfully sold your property!

A lot of people wonder why commission rates are higher on the continent than in the UK and some other parts of Europe. Well the answer is predominantly one of volume – estate agents in the UK will have a much higher volume of sales during any one year than an agent in Spain (especially in inland areas) so to make the business viable a higher fee has to be achieved.

Torcal Estates working alongside other agents

Of course, we can continue offering this service. We would rather not, for the reasons outlined above. We firmly believe that using a number of estate agents can be detrimental to your chances of selling however if that is how you wish to proceed, we fully respect your wishes.

As you may already know, the level of service offered by estate agents can be very poor. We understand that this can make the whole process very stressful especially when a quick sale is needed. This is in some ways due to the number of estate agents that are appointed.

We will take your property onto our books however the commission rate that we will charge for any sale generated will be in between 5% and 7% plus IVA at the prevailing rate. This will include placing your property on our website and creating colour details for distribution.

Setting the right price

Possibly the most important factor in achieving a sale is arriving at the correct price for your home.

Due to the variety of properties available in the local area it is not easy to compare properties “like for like”. Your agent should be able to provide information about properties that are selling and should be able to provide sufficient comparable evidence to substantiate the price for your home.

It is important to recognise that a house that is 10,000 or 20,000euros over-priced will result in less viewings and less interest from your estate agent! Properties that are over-priced will not sell in the current market and there are examples of properties that have been on the market for many months and years due to an over-inflated price.

Also be aware of agents that tell you what you want to hear – this is not going to help you sell your home. Agents that over-value a home just to get it on their books is doing nobody any favours. These properties will be left on the market for months (and in some cases, years!) and they do little to encourage an active market.

Avoid Quoting a Net Price

When fixing the price of your property please ensure that you avoid fixing a “Net Price”. The price of the property should be based upon the market value and this should not change. Your estate agents fees should be paid out of the figure that you receive for the property.

If you agree a “net price” this will lead to your property being advertised at differing prices with differing agents and this can be disastrous to any potential sale.

If a potential buyer sees your property quoted at different prices it can lead to confusion and mistrust.

Net Prices can also lead an estate agent to act more for the buyer than the seller – this is quite wrong - however the situation is created by the agent not being sure what fee he will end up with.

If you quote a Net Price you are effectively telling your estate agent that you do not care about his commission – what affect is that likely to have? You should agree a fixed price for your property and pay the agent’s commissions out of that price.

There are only two things more certain than having to pay commission – having to pay tax and death!

Summary and some helpful hints on selling your home

Choose an agent you feel comfortable with and appoint them as sole agents for a set period of time.

Fix the price of the property and make sure that the agent’s commission is not added on top.

Make sure all your legal papers are in order – there is nothing worse than finding a buyer who then pulls out due to paperwork problems.

Get the agent to erect a for sale sign.

Ensure that your property is presented to a high standard – take care of those little DIY jobs that have been outstanding for some time.

Prepare an inventory of all items included within the sale and provide the agent with a copy.

Fincas and Country property - Málaga Property