Estate agents in Tenerife are known as inmobiliaria. There are still many here servicing clients from the UK though quite a few folded at the beginning of the economic crash.
When buying property anywhere in Spain you are better to enlist the services of a professional. Debts are transferred with the property. An experienced agent will ensure that there are no such problems attached to your new dream home in the sun.
Similarly, if you recall recently there have been quite a few cases in mainland Spain where beutiful properties have been bulldozed to the ground leaving their owners in tears amid the rubble. Dodgy planning permission is usually to blame (and greedy councillors).
A professional agent knows which land is allotted for building purposes and which is not. He or she will steer you clear of anything that looks less than 100% legitimate. (or at the very least tell you what you are risking should there be a crackdown of illegal buildings in Tenerife in the near future).
The little amount of money you might save on the estate agents fees is really a false economy unless you know exactly what you are doing.
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Dealing with Tenerife Estate Agents since I arrived on the island has been a very mixed bag – some can’t even be bothered to reply to emails – astounding in the current climate – while others don’t leave you alone from the minute you get in touch. Very few, in my experience have the professional skills to get the balance right between offering good service, valuable information and sound legal advice. One, established for some 2o years on the island has been shockingly poor and helped turn my dream of buying a property in the sun into a nightmare – TPS are best avoided.
We have set up a set up a site but only for repossessions, distressed sales and bargains or properties with 90% to 100% mortgages – seems kind of pointless listings anything else at the moment.
I have tried working with many agents in Tenerife and find them to be very greedy and dishonest – really difficult trying to do honest business with them as when they know they have to split commission they double it.
Out of 30 or 40 agents I know work with… 3!!!
I also do a lot of work in mainland Spain and whilst there are also rogues kicking around over there it is not nearly as bad as it is over here. Tenerife is light years behind in terms of transparency, honesty, openness about commission etc.
.-= Tenerife Estate Agents´s last blog ..Bargain Studios in Santa Maria, Playa de Las Americas =-.
Unfortunate that the first two posts on this page are negative. Personally, I have not used an estate agent in Tenerife but I can say that I have heard both sides of many stories. One family in particular who went through their first home buying process with no assistance from an estate agent in Tenerife and then, the second time round did use an agent, swear they will never go it alone again.
I would say the trick is to ask amongst your contacts and friends for their own recommendations regarding Tenerife estate agents.
Thats the trouble with even discussing it – there aren´t many positives I´m afraid… there are definitely far more bad than good agents and I get tired of the negativity of the subject myself.
I think a lot of the problems perhaps stem from the fact that a lot of these people have been here a long time and have worked in timeshare and other such rip off industries and have taken their set of poor ethics into their new career. Many seem to be stuck in a time warp where the methods of old (black money, massive commissions, doing literally anything to ensure a sale) was the done thing. I have been hoping that the advent of bloggin, social media, forums etc would catch up with them and help people avoid the bad ones but unless people know they have been ripped off during a sale they aren´t going to complain.
.-= Tenerife Estate Agents´s last blog ..Bargain Studios in Santa Maria, Playa de Las Americas =-.
Great article. When purchasing a property in Spain or Tenerife you must use a professional estate agent who you can trust and who is legitimate otherwise you will encounter numerous problems.
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