An exhibition is a colourful, noisy affair. Orange and yellow are dominant colours, not only representing the Spanish flag, but lemon and orange crops too. The babble of noise is people talking...Sangria, that mass Spanish antidepressant, is usually available.

READING NEWSPAPERS

Looking for a property in Wigan, Walthamstow or wet and windy...Then browse in newspapers and gaze in the windows of estate agents. After all, newspapers have large property sections, sometimes greater than the news content itself and similarly a walk down the high street of any town will provide a display of many attractive properties for sale. Browsing may not take place with any specific intent, but it gives a real feel of style, price and location.

Finding a property in Spain follows a similar procedure. Figure 2 shows the many sources of property search information.

Each week the popular daily press and the Sunday press carry dozens of adverts for Spanish properties. They often have a drawing or photograph emphasising a low cost, high specification property in a sunny location. There are English language newspapers published in Spain too. As you would expect they too have large property sections. Living elsewhere in Europe, it is sometimes difficult to get hold of these newspapers but contacting the publishers should result in one being sent by post. From these you will get a real feel of style, price and location.

GOING TO PROPERTY EXHIBITIONS

Moving from ‘passive to active’ mode means making a positive commitment. This commitment is the first real step to the fulfilment of a dream. Armchair contemplation is now over. Going to an exhibition is metaphorically ‘getting one’s feet wet’. Property exhibitions are commonplace; small ones run in hotels throughout the year, large ones in conference or exhibition centres in the spring and summer.

Objectives

Before going to a property exhibition, have some crystal clear objectives. This is not a time to fall for the seductive charms of a salesperson. Nor is it the time to be woolly headed. What is the object of going to a property exhibition? Here are a few suggestions.

• To confirm perceptions about an area of choice.
• To obtain more facts about properties, styles and prices.
• To acquire brochures, particularly those with plans and photographs.
• To ask questions.
• To choose an agent, one who has sincerity, knowledge and a wide selection of properties to sell.
• Lastly, if relaxed about these facts, plan a visit to Spain to look at some properties.

The exhibition

It is a colourful, noisy affair. Orange and yellow are dominant colours, not only representing the Spanish flag, but lemon and orange crops too. The babble of noise is people talking, with much verbal fencing, displays of knowledge or lack of it, or locations being visited or revisited. Salespeople are anxious to ‘close’. Visitors are still wary, asking questions, getting facts. Sangria, that mass Spanish anti-depressant, is usually available.

What of the exhibitor? They may be an international property company, or a British estate agent with interests in Spain. What are their objectives? It is not to sell a house since they do not have the necessary detailed, up to the minute information to hand. It is simply to move people to the next step in the selling process, by giving facts and persuading them to go on a ridiculously cheap inspection flight.

VIEWING ALTERNATIVES

It is important to choose the best method of viewing a Spanish property. This cannot be overestimated. There are three options: inspection flights, viewing while on holiday or renting a property for a short period to look around. Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of all three.

Inspection flights

This is a three-day, escorted, highly focused visit to an area of your choice. Flights are cheap, a hotel is booked and entertainment is laid on. Viewing is from the comfort of a minibus with only a short stroll to each show house. The ambience of the area is highlighted. From the properties shown most people can decide what is best for their own circumstances. It is, however, a pressurised trip, where time and space to think are at a premium. It does not give freedom to appreciate the bigger picture, or the true ambience of town or countryside. It is a snapshot at a point in time.

Inspection flights depart almost every week from local UK airports, normally covering three or four nights over a weekend. These trips, by charter or scheduled flight, are solely for the potential purchasers of a property. Before travelling people are reminded of currency and deposit arrangements to secure a purchase.

Holidays

While giving more potential viewing time than an inspection flight, its use is less focused. When on a family holiday the emphasis is on enjoyment, the area itself and its facilities. Usually, it is only when these are satisfied that specific house hunting can begin.

Short-term rental giving time to look around

Simply the best method! It gives all the necessary time to consider the options. It is no longer a snapshot in time. Property and location can be considered at leisure. But it can take a good few months, leaving this option open only to those retiring or with time available.

INTERNATIONAL COMPANY

Big international property companies have marketing and sales offices in many European countries. Following on from the property exhibition in the UK, the selling continues in Spain with prospective clients moving along a highly organised conveyor belt. Of course an inspection trip is geared to the needs of the individual! Of course the client does not have to buy! Or so they say. Despite this less than obvious sales pressure the package offered by these companies is impressive. It covers inspection flights, property inspection, selling, bank and solicitor selection and most importantly, assistance during the difficult moving-in stage.

These companies tend to dominate the marketplace in which they operate, namely new off-plan property sales. By focusing on this they drive costs down. The huge scale of their operation gives the customer a wide choice. Their influence spreads to property design and development.

ESTATE AGENTS

Few lay claim to the label ‘estate agent’. Preference is given to names such as ‘International Property Consultant’, or perhaps ‘Blue Sky Property’ or even a more focused ‘Torrecasa Property Company’. Whatever the title of the company, it is designed to reflect an image, removed as far as possible from that of an old fashioned estate agency.

And quite right too! No one will buy a new, white, house in sunny Spain, close to the Med, if it is marketed in a dull, boring way. These companies have one or two European offices, but additionally have an office in Spain, or work closely with a Spanish associate. The selling process is again to visit Spain, probably on an inspection flight. Time is more flexible, but the consumer’s choice may be slightly more limited.

A word of warning! With such good value for money a Spanish property is a bargain, but it is no bargain if the dream home has been built on someone else’s land, or in a protected area, or is being sold by someone who is not the rightful owner. In 1973 the Federation of Overseas Property Developers, Agents and Consultants was formed and is now the UK’s primary overseas property organisation. Similar professional organisations exist in other European countries. A trouble-free transaction starts here.

SPANISH BASED AGENTS – INMOBILIARIA

It would be unusual for a Spanish estate agent to be at a property exhibition elsewhere in Europe. In tandem with a European colleague perhaps, but not in isolation. They have a curious name – inmobiliaria, a word almost suggesting that ‘a person does not move’. Yet in Spain these people are commonplace – small local estate agents who know their patch well, concentrating mainly on resale properties. They need not be Spanish — and indeed many are German, Scandinavian or British.

It is a good idea to deal with a registered estate agent. In Spain they belong to the Agente de Propiedad Inmobiliaria, have a certificate of registration and an identification number. They can be sued if anything goes wrong. Dealing with such a registered business gives the purchaser more security and confidence.

There are always stories in Spain of people losing their life savings because they have dealt with an unscrupulous estate agent. They may have bought a house only to discover the person selling it did not own it in the first place. One way to avoid this is to deal with a registered agent whose number should be on a sign outside the office, or on a window display, or on the exterior of the building. Grandiose marketing names mean nothing; it’s the number that counts.

Additional services offered by these companies are often limited; their main preoccupation is selling property. Some of the most difficult situations facing a newcomer to Spain occur in the first few days of moving into a new home when they are trying to cope with a multitude of issues. An offer of help is welcome. Some agents offer a superb service; their websites are packed with information about local schools, shops, hospitals and generally where to find things.

VIEWING OVER THE WEB

Using the internet to find a property will save time and money. There are now plenty of websites advertising Spanish properties which can be viewed from the comfort of home. Many agents maintain sites which can be found through internet search engines, and more are signing onto property portals for advertising.

Another alternative is to visit a website offering private sales. Direct sales are more common in Spain than in other European countries. Buyers often prefer dealing with owners direct rather than agents because they trust owners more and they have a better knowledge of their own property. The sales price too will not be inflated by the agent’s commission.

UNDERSTANDING SPANISH ADVERTISEMENTS

When an advertisement appears in a Spanish newspaper it has a few words of description, accompanied by a photograph. It is ‘word art’ to describe a home in as few abbreviated words as possible. An additional complexity is the language barrier; difficult enough at the best of times, but in the abbreviated form, even more obtuse.

Example 1 – a standard description

Playa Flamenca Al Andalus 702. Delightful 2 year old duplex. Immaculate condition. Partly furnished. End plot. 3 beds, 2 bathrooms, large lounge, fitted kitchen, balcony, solarium, 82 sq metres. Colourful mature gardens, car parking and communal swimming pool. Price...Tel...

Taken from the property section of an English language edition weekly newspaper this advertisement describes the property adequately. Note the use of square metres to specify size. A solarium is a top floor sun terrace.

Example 2 — a Spanish language description

Chalet, tres dormitories, dos banos, piscina, 80 sq metres, situada Playa Rio, Precio...Tele...

This example is very similar to the previous one, but in Spanish. Translation is not difficult. It means ‘A detached house, with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, swimming pool, 80 sq metres, situated in Playa Rio’. Again the size is quoted which enables the price per square metre to be calculated.

Example 3 — detached, luxury house

Chalet independiente aguas nuevas, parcela 425 m2. Const 125 m2, gran salon con chimenea, cocina indep con galeria. 3 dor, 2 banos. Porche, solarium, garaje 50 m2, estrenar lujo. Precio...Tele...

An altogether more imposing house set in its own grounds. 425m2 is again the size, this time of the plot. It has an open fire and many extras.

Estrenar lujo means a newly-built or newly-restored luxury house. Taken from a newspaper, this advert is too abbreviated and does not reflect the true nature of the property.