One estate agent is enough to buy a house on the Costa del Sol

One estate agent is enough to buy a house on the Costa del Sol – it sounds obvious. But is it? On the Costa del Sol almost all real estate agents work together in a system that is different from most other countries. This means you have to think before you approach an estate agent on the Costa del Sol. Here is why.

Most real estate agents work together

Most estate agents on the Costa del Sol use the ‘resales’ database. This is a database in which every estate agent who is a member of this network can list their properties. These properties are then shown on all the websites of affiliated estate agents – but you never know whether the estate agent you approach is also the agency that has the property for sale. That does not have to be a problem.

Situation 1. Suppose you approach Estate Agent Costa to view an apartment that is for sale in Marbella. Costa has the property for sale, so there is nothing to worry about. You make an appointment, view the property and if you buy it Estate Agent Costa receives his commission (which by the way is paid by the seller of the property).

Situation 2. You want to view a villa in Estepona, which you have seen on the website of Agent Costa – but this agent doesn´t have the villa for sale himself. Costa then looks in the database, sees Estate Agent Marbella offers the property for sale and will then contact him to make an appointment for a viewing. Costa takes you out to view the villa. If you buy it both estate agents share the commission.

Situation 3. Suppose you have viewed a villa with Estate Agent Costa. A few days later you see a villa on the website of Estate Agent Marbella – the villa of your dreams. What you don’t know is that Costa is de agency that has the villa for sale. What happens? Estate Agent Marbella calls Estate Agent Costa to make an appointment for you. Costa, however, indicates that he already has you registered as a client – and doesn´t want to show you the villa. After all, if you buy it he will have to share his commission. In this case you may even get the answer that the villa is sold (or another excuse).

Talk to only one estate agent if you buy a house on the Costa del Sol

Complicated? Yes. But that’s the system if you want to buy property on the Costa del Sol. Unfortunately we cannot change it. We can only advise you to talk to only one estate agent and make sure that this estate agent has access to all homes for sale in the resales database.

Why Molino Property?

Molino Property is of course part of the resales network. If you want to buy a house on the Costa del Sol you can view all properties with us whether we have them for sale directly or via another estate agent. And not only that. We also have a database of over 1,500 employees of estate agencies on the Costa del Sol. That means we can place your property search with all larger and small offices with just the touch of a button. We work with all offices and don´t have commission as our highest priority – but finding you your dream home on the Costa del Sol. Want to know more? Send us an e-mail or ask us to do a property search for you. We will be happy to help.