# Realtors in Spain (from a US perspective)



## RickES (Jan 26, 2021)

Sorry for the length of this post, but wanted to give appropriate background for my query. TL;DR at the bottom if you want to skip to it.

I have mostly been a lurker here for about a year and a half, trying to gain as much knowledge as possible before embarking on a move to Spain. I understand well that "things" move at a much different pace in Spain, and also understand and coming from the perspective of a US citizen, I need to adjust/temper my expectations about how business interactions may work.

With this in mind, I had a situation come up in the past week and wanted to get a perspective from some of you who have already made the move. We have already taken the first steps in the visa process, as well as started working with a tax professional to truly understand what our situation may look like once we move -- hopefully later this year. The sale of our house closes at the end of this week in order to try to time the sale in the US and purchase in Spain (to happen in the 2nd half of the year) in order to avoid CGT in Spain. Our net profit will not be subject to CGT in the US.

The company we are using for the visa application suggested a realtor in the town we are looking to purchase a home. We reached out, had a couple of short but pleasant WhatsApp conversations, and scheduled a meeting. We logged in as per the meeting invite he sent and had my phone nearby in case he decided to call via WhatsApp. After waiting about 30 minutes, we logged off and I sent a text. A few hours later he replied, stating that he was with a client and the meeting ran over. In the US, it would be customary to send a text (at least) to say that you were running late, or to end a meeting to attend a prior scheduled one. He apologized and asked to reschedule, so we did. Both of these meetings were at 8am Pacific time, which meant getting up early to be "camera-ready."

Fast forward to the second agreed-upon meeting date -- exact same scenario. This time I didn't respond when he texted two hours later as I didn't feel it necessary considering there was no consideration shown for missing scheduled appointments, especially seeing as we had decided that a realtor who could not keep to a schedule he set up is not a realtor we could rely on during the purchase process.

The question then is, should I expect that scheduled appointments are not to necessarily be counted on in Spain? I'm not at all being snarky or shady, but asking truly if I have not adjusted my expectations truly to the reality. 

TL;DR: Absolutely serious question, definitely not trying to act entitled. Realtor bailed on two scheduled meetings, then called me at 5am my time (he knows where we live) and left no voicemail. Am I wrong to feel like he is not a good person to entrust a real estate transaction to? Or, do I still need to further adjust my expectations of how business, etc. works in Spain?

Thanks for reading


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## alex T. (10 mo ago)

He is not hungry and he's a dick. Don't call him again. 
You have to look people in the eye before trusting them with such a huge purchase. Are you saying you want to choose an agent without ever meeting them in person?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

I'm an American in Spain and I've lived here for 36 years so I think I have a good idea about how things work.

I'd be very annoyed if I got stood up once and would probably start having doubts about the realtor, but if they'd been recommended to me I'd likely give them a second chance. But there's no way I'd continue working with them if they stood me up twice. It happens here but it's not considered normal or acceptable business practice. 

I have to add that part of the problem may be that you're trying to jump the gun too much regarding finding a place to live in Spain. You said you're probably going to buy in the second half of 2022, and I suspect that most realtors would be saying to themselves that they'd be happy to talk with you - in the second half of 2022. Most of them would also be much more eager to deal with you if you were in Spain, feet on the ground and ready to go see some houses. 

You can do a lot of the leg work yourself if you look on the websites https://www.idealista.com/en/ or Fotocasa.es: Flats for sale and to let . These are popular portals where both real estate agencies and private people advertise their houses for sale or rent. If you see something you like you give the agent listed a call. 

Good luck!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Unfortunately things like this do happen (but not with all estate agents as we call realtors) and not just to American citizens. A few years ago my husband had Power of Attorney for a close friend of his, a non resident owner of a property in Spain. He was terminally ill and we were trying to get the property sold for him before he died to make things easier for his family who would inherit. We set up an appointment with one quite prominent and long established local agent (not some one man band operating from home) for him to come and see the property and take photographs so it could be listed (and we were here on the ground and ready to proceed). We went along to the property and spent some time cleaning and tidying inside and out to make sure it was looking decent, and half an hour before the appointment time someone from his office rang and cancelled because he had another meeting. Against our better judgement we rescheduled and the second meeting was also cancelled (because he'd had to go to Málaga, but hadn't had the decency to let us know) with no advance notice. We refused to have any further dealings with him and wouldn't have used him when we sold our own house a few years after that. It is just rudeness and very bad business practice and the only thing you can do is make sure to avoid any firm or individual who treats you in that way. Other estate agents we have used have not behaved in the same way.


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## CltFlyboy (Feb 11, 2020)

Rick - this thread is awesome and is another reason we should consider standing up a US specific sub-forum! Thanks for sharing!!!!


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## RickES (Jan 26, 2021)

Thanks all! I truly appreciate your replies and the perspective. We are definitely done with this estate agent. We did decide to begin our search a couple of months early in order to start a relationship with an agent who would be able to show us properties in person and potentially those that we haven't seen listed on the multitude of real estate websites that we peruse weekly. Our plan is to visit in June or July in order to see properties in person and potentially begin the purchase process. Maybe we are viewing this in more of a US-centric approach of how to purchase a property.


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## RickES (Jan 26, 2021)

CltFlyboy said:


> Rick - this thread is awesome and is another reason we should consider standing up a US specific sub-forum! Thanks for sharing!!!!


Any idea of who/which admin we would need to start a conversation with about this?


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

RickES said:


> Thanks all! I truly appreciate your replies and the perspective. We are definitely done with this estate agent. We did decide to begin our search a couple of months early in order to start a relationship with an agent who would be able to show us properties in person and potentially those that we haven't seen listed on the multitude of real estate websites that we peruse weekly. Our plan is to visit in June or July in order to see properties in person and potentially begin the purchase process. Maybe we are viewing this in more of a US-centric approach of how to purchase a property.


You may want to think about renting a property for a year in order to get the lay of the land. I never understood how people in the US can fly into an area for a couple of weeks and make a purchase. I understand even less how it can be successfully done in a foreign country.


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## RickES (Jan 26, 2021)

timwip said:


> You may want to think about renting a property for a year in order to get the lay of the land. I never understood how people in the US can fly into an area for a couple of weeks and make a purchase. I understand even less how it can be successfully done in a foreign country.


That's a good point, however, we have visited multiple times with the idea of eventually moving to the area, including last fall when we spent our trip scouting desirable neighborhoods in the town we want to live in. We have dogs that we will be bringing with us and want to avoid moving them multiple times as well as all of our belongings. It also seems that visa considerations might be easier/smoother if we purchase immediately.


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

RickES said:


> That's a good point, however, we have visited multiple times with the idea of eventually moving to the area, including last fall when we spent our trip scouting desirable neighborhoods in the town we want to live in. We have dogs that we will be bringing with us and want to avoid moving them multiple times as well as all of our belongings. It also seems that visa considerations might be easier/smoother if we purchase immediately.


I just feel that if the realtor and seller sees that you are in a hurry the price will go up. You can probably rent a piso for a year for this delta. Then if you find the perfect house after six months, just buy it and eat the last six months of the lease.

Twelve years ago, my wife and I bought a place in her hometown of Oviedo. We knew exactly the neighborhood we wanted to live in since her mother lived there along with my wife´s five siblings and the church we were married in. Even having all these things going for us, it took us a year to find the right place.


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## RickES (Jan 26, 2021)

timwip said:


> I just feel that if the realtor and seller sees that you are in a hurry the price will go up. You can probably rent a piso for a year for this delta. Then if you find the perfect house after six months, just buy it and eat the last six months of the lease.
> 
> Twelve years ago, my wife and I bought a place in her hometown of Oviedo. We knew exactly the neighborhood we wanted to live in since her mother lived there along with my wife´s five siblings and the church we were married in. Even having all these things going for us, it took us a year to find the right place.


All fair points -- I appreciate the background and perspective. At the end of the day this may be what we end up doing. We know we have to keep our options open with a move like this, but still hold out hope of finding the perfect place at a good price and a smooth purchase and transition.


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## CltFlyboy (Feb 11, 2020)

RickES said:


> Any idea of who/which admin we would need to start a conversation with about this?


Not offhand, sorry. Maybe one can chime in here...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

CltFlyboy said:


> Not offhand, sorry. Maybe one can chime in here...


I have passed on the request to the forum owners.


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## CltFlyboy (Feb 11, 2020)

xabiaxica said:


> I have passed on the request to the forum owners.


Thanks Xabiaxica!!! ❤


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