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Micaela wrote on Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:07pm:
"Welcome to Spain, this won't be the last bit of scamming or corruption you will experience for sure"
Precisely! Thank you Pauline!
Although the agent may be trying it on it doesn't mean there's a problem with the property. Just saying
Regards
Pauline
The agents fee was 'built in' to my purchase price which I discovered whilst doing the legals. Saying that the agent has been really helpful post purchase and has gone over and beyond their role to assist me.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:58pm
Michelle72 wrote on Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:52am:
Hi, we have just purchased a new build and did not pay agency fees nor would have expected to. I do not know if what the case is with resale properties though as the agencies do not get as much for these as new build. Maybe refer to a place in the sun literature as they tend to set ou...
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...t what is 'normal'.
This was the same situation for us purchasing in 2018 (new build)
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:27pm
Mags44 wrote on Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:29am:
It's definitely the vendors who pay the commission. They are the ones who have contracted the agent to sell their property and you as buyers can buy the property off whichever agent you prefer, although it is only good manners to use the agent who originally showed it to you. If this agen...
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...t is trying to extort money from you, then see if the property is also on the books of another agent. It sounds to me like the vendor has been persuaded to reduce the price of the property in order to get the sale by getting the agent to reduce his commission from the usual 5% to 2% or 3% and the agent is trying to make up his commission by getting you to pay the difference. As you haven't signed a contract with the vendor's agent, you don't have to pay him anything! The usual purchase fees will be charged at the moment of sale at the Notary and the monies for this should be held by your solicitor, as should any holding deposit for the property purchase, that may have been agreed. Never pay the agent anything at all and don't use that agent's recommended solicitor either - he sounds pretty dodgy! As Peter C says above, the buyer pays all the purchase fees but the vendor pays the plus valía, which can't be paid before the sale. Your solicitor or the Notary should retain a certain amount from the monies that you pay for the property, to cover any outstanding bills and the plus valía, which is the difference between the value of the land since the property was last sold and its current value. Good luck!
I’ve read the postings regarding agent commission fees and found it really interesting. I recently purchased a property and during the process gave power of attorney to my solicitor. I had absolutely no idea that as a buyer I would be paying commission to the agent who I purchased through. Only after the completion and upon checking my (Spanish) bank statement did I see that the solicitor made three payments equivalent to the purchase price + taxes. The three payments from my account were to the vendor, to the solicitor (fees and taxes) and a large payment of approximately 5% was paid to the agents, all payments were made directly from my account. I had no idea that when purchasing the property that agents fees were included in the purchase price so just to make people aware that these fees are paid but can also be hidden within the purchase price.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:13pm
Very helpful member
meluk wrote on Wed Oct 27, 2021 11:48am:
The agents fee was 'built in' to my purchase price which I discovered whilst doing the legals. Saying that the agent has been really helpful post purchase and has gone over and beyond their role to assist me.
I'm curious to understand how the agent's fee was built into your purchase price. Did you actually receive a separate invoice from the agent for the services that were offered for the purchase of the property or are you confusing the break-down of the payment cheques at the Notary, that included a cheque for the payment of the commissions to the agent? I worked in real estate for the last 10 years of my working life here in Spain and have never heard of any agent charging commission to the purchaser. The breakdown of the cheques from the bank that are handed over at the signing often includes one for the agent but this is taken from the vendor's part of the money and not the buyer's. The Notary divides the payment made by the purchaser for the agreed amount of the property, into payment for the agent, any retentions made for unforeseen bills etc. and then the vendor only gets what's left of that. This is to ensure that the agent does get paid as in the past, vendors have been known not to pay the agent the agreed amount for his/her services. This does not mean that the purchaser has paid for the agent.
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Mags44 wrote on Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:13pm:
I'm curious to understand how the agent's fee was built into your purchase price. Did you actually receive a separate invoice from the agent for the services that were offered for the purchase of the property or are you confusing the break-down of the payment cheques at the Notary, that included ...
Read more...
...a cheque for the payment of the commissions to the agent? I worked in real estate for the last 10 years of my working life here in Spain and have never heard of any agent charging commission to the purchaser. The breakdown of the cheques from the bank that are handed over at the signing often includes one for the agent but this is taken from the vendor's part of the money and not the buyer's. The Notary divides the payment made by the purchaser for the agreed amount of the property, into payment for the agent, any retentions made for unforeseen bills etc. and then the vendor only gets what's left of that. This is to ensure that the agent does get paid as in the past, vendors have been known not to pay the agent the agreed amount for his/her services. This does not mean that the purchaser has paid for the agent.
The purchase price I had agreed included the agent's cost which I did not realise until my solicitor did a breakdown of all the costs. This transaction was carried out remotely with power of attorney granted to the solicitor. Very similar situation to that mentioned by Cooopersmum.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:45pm
Very helpful member
meluk wrote on Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:23pm:
The purchase price I had agreed included the agent's cost which I did not realise until my solicitor did a breakdown of all the costs. This transaction was carried out remotely with power of attorney granted to the solicitor. Very similar situation to that mentioned ...
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...by Cooopersmum.
Hmmm.. interesting.Thanks for clarification!
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:16pm
Mags44 wrote on Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:13pm:
I'm curious to understand how the agent's fee was built into your purchase price. Did you actually receive a separate invoice from the agent for the services that were offered for the purchase of the property or are you confusing the break-down of the payment cheques at the Notary, that included ...
Read more...
...a cheque for the payment of the commissions to the agent? I worked in real estate for the last 10 years of my working life here in Spain and have never heard of any agent charging commission to the purchaser. The breakdown of the cheques from the bank that are handed over at the signing often includes one for the agent but this is taken from the vendor's part of the money and not the buyer's. The Notary divides the payment made by the purchaser for the agreed amount of the property, into payment for the agent, any retentions made for unforeseen bills etc. and then the vendor only gets what's left of that. This is to ensure that the agent does get paid as in the past, vendors have been known not to pay the agent the agreed amount for his/her services. This does not mean that the purchaser has paid for the agent.
No the payment made on my behalf to the agent was very separate to that taken fly the solicitors and which included his fees, taxes etc. I was asked to pay a completely separate amount (several weeks after completion) which the solicitor explained was the retention he had to repay the vendor so the fee taken by the agent wasn’t connected to this. Perhaps I’ll ask for an invoice to explain the agents fee🤔. I just presumed that this was normal practice.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:28pm
Very helpful member
Coopersmum wrote on Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:16pm:
No the payment made on my behalf to the agent was very separate to that taken fly the solicitors and which included his fees, taxes etc. I was asked to pay a completely separate amount (several weeks after completion) which the solicitor explained was the retention he had to repay the vendor so t...
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...he fee taken by the agent wasn’t connected to this. Perhaps I’ll ask for an invoice to explain the agents fee🤔. I just presumed that this was normal practice.
It sounds like your solicitor didn't do his job properly and/or was in cahoots with the agent. The deeds of the property should show exactly what the price of the property was and how any retentions were (or were not) held by the solicitor to cover any additional costs. There should never be any "additional or separate costs" and never anything that hasn't been mentioned in the deeds at the moment of signing.
Micaela wrote on Sat Oct 23, 2021 9:53am:
Hi all: Please, I’ve read most everything r/t this topic in this forum but most info dates back to 2018, if not mistaking. I have also researched online.
Question: As of today, who pays Agent’s fees when purchasing a home in Spain at large. This Agent insists on charging ...Read more...
...us, the buyers, 3% above everything else. Haven’t signed anything with the Agency. BIG THANK YOU.
We just bought a property in Andalucia. It took 9 months to complete due to delays caused by the agent. Most agents are not agents but FINDERS!! If you want a real estate agent, you have to deal with a Spanish speaking property agency.
The agent/finder we used asked a €3000 deposit for taking the house out of the market. The €3000 were deducted from the total balance owed to the vendor during signature at the notary. In hindsight, we should have used the solicitor immediately and put the amount in escrow. The reason why you must not pay anything to a finder is that in case, things go sour, you are likely to loose the deposit unless there is a clause in the reservation contract stating "subject to mortgage approval or survey if you decide to do a survey".
For us, things turned out positively in the end but the morale is: never give a penny to an agent until you have the official sales contract or mortgage approval.
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