What a Spanish estate agency is, and what it cannot do for you
An estate agency in Spain is an intermediary: it introduces a seller to a buyer and is paid for doing so. It does not build, it does not answer for defects in the building and, unless expressly agreed, it is not the party selling you the home. Confusing it with the promotor changes whom you can later claim against.
The confusion is understandable, because in practice four roles share one office and sometimes one person. Separating them is not a matter of vocabulary: it decides who is paid, who holds your money and who carries the obligation when a crack appears.
Who it is for
- Buyers dealing with an office that shows flats without knowing whether it sells on its own behalf or somebody else's.
- Buyers who have heard that the seller pays the commission and want to know what they themselves are signing at a viewing.
- Buyers about to transfer a reservation payment who do not know whose account that money should enter.
- Buyers who want to know whom they will claim against if the building shows defects after handover.
What it covers
What an estate agency does, and the three things it does not
Its work is intermediation: it takes instructions on properties, publishes them, filters buyers, arranges viewings, negotiates and accompanies the deal to signature. It may also handle formalities, order valuations and assemble paperwork. What it does not do are three things credited to it daily: it does not own the property, so it cannot fix the price or the terms without the seller; it has built nothing, so it does not answer for construction defects; and it is not a party to the contract of sale, which is signed between seller and buyer. Its brochure binds nobody but itself, and only as far as it can be evidenced.
Promotor, constructora and dirección facultativa
The promotor decides to build, provides the land and the capital and takes the result: it is the party that answers to the buyer and the only one that can commit specifications and dimensions, because it signs them. The constructora carries out the works under contract with the promotor and answers for execution defects. The dirección facultativa — the architect and the technical architect — designs, supervises and certifies, and answers for design or supervision defects. Spanish law groups all three as agentes de la edificación with overlapping liability: towards the buyer the promotor answers in any case, and the internal split with the others is settled between them. No agency appears on that list.
API, colleges and registers: which title is required
The title of Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria, API, exists, has professional colleges behind it and means accredited training — but since the activity was liberalised at the start of the century it is not required in order to intermediate in Spain: any company or professional may do it. Some regions have created their own register of estate agents, and in those regions entry can be compulsory, so it is a check to make in the region where the property stands. Being an API is not a guarantee of outcome, and not being one is not irregular in itself. What does say something is whether the business exists, which company it operates through and whether it carries professional indemnity cover.
Who pays the estate agency, and whom it therefore works for
The party that signed the instruction pays, and in most resale transactions that party is the seller: the commission comes out of his share of the price. Some agencies also charge the buyer for services of their own, and that has to be written and accepted before the viewing rather than implied at signature. In new construction the scheme differs: the comercializadora is paid by the promotor and the buyer pays it nothing, even though it handles him throughout. There is no established buyer's-agent tradition here, so the pleasant person guiding you is usually the seller's: that is not a defect, but it is worth knowing before asking for advice. Two questions settle it in a minute. Whom do you act for in this transaction, and who pays you? And is there any amount that will be charged to me, and in which document does it appear?
Who is holding your money while you decide
An agency may receive a reservation payment, but always on deposit and on the seller's behalf, with the purpose written down and with a record of whose money it is and on what conditions it is returned. When the home is new and sold off plan the rule is stricter and admits no intermediary: sums paid on account must enter the promotor's special account earmarked for the works and be covered by a bank guarantee or insurance in the buyer's name. A transfer of such sums into an agency's ordinary current account does not meet that scheme, and it is worth stopping there before ordering it.
Who signs the contract
The agency shows you round; the developer builds, carries the defects liability and signs. They are not always the same company.
How a new-build purchase moves, step by step
Verify the company before you judge the office
A well-fitted shopfront proves nothing. What proves something is the company: full registered name, tax number, registered address and registration, all consultable in the commercial register, with the name of whoever administers it and its status. That same data should appear on the contract, on the invoices and on the published advert. If the trading name and the signing company do not match, the question is not awkward: it is the first one.
Read the instruction form and the viewing note
Before you see the flat a paper usually appears to be signed: hoja de visita, nota de encargo, or a buyer exclusivity agreement. These are not formalities. They can contain an obligation to pay if you buy that property by another route, or an exclusivity period. They are read in full and signed as read; if something has to be struck out, it is struck out before you get into the lift.
Ask in whose name the contract is signed
At signature the contract of sale is made between the owner of the property and you, not with the agency. If the person opposite is not the owner, he has to produce a notarial power with sufficient authority, and it is worth reading which powers those are. In new construction the signing company must also be the one recorded in the Registro de la Propiedad as owner of the plot.
Separate the commission, the price and the tax
Ask for the items itemised in writing: price of the home, the tax that applies to the transaction, fees if any fall to you, notary, Registry and gestoría. Mixing everything into one figure makes two offers impossible to compare and usually hides a charge nobody has said out loud. An itemised breakdown also makes clear who issues which invoice.
What can be checked without asking anyone's permission
That the company exists and who represents it; whether it is entered in the estate agents' register of its region, where one exists; whether it carries professional indemnity and client-money cover; how long it has traded under the same name; and whether the property it is offering you is also published by other senders with different data. That last check costs nothing and brings the most contradictions to light.
What you can check yourself, and whom you ask for the rest
On your own: the agency's company and the seller's in the commercial register of the country of incorporation, with administrator and status; the owner and the charges on the property in the nota simple from the Registro de la Propiedad; the referencia catastral in the Catastro, which is a different register and describes the thing rather than the title; the licence file at the town hall; and the regional register of estate agents where one exists. For a company registered elsewhere in the European Union, the VAT number can be validated online in the European system.
From the agency you ask for its full tax identification, the document showing on whose behalf it acts, a written breakdown of any amount that falls to you, and its liability policy. From the promotor, when the home is new, you ask for the licencia de obra, the memoria de calidades, the dimensioned plan and a copy of the aval or insurance for sums paid on account issued in your name.
There are no promises from us here, and this replaces neither your lawyer nor your notary — and in Spain those are two different people: the notary is a public official who checks the deed, while an abogado acting for you is a separate hire. This is the list of what is verifiable and the name of whoever has to supply it. It is worth applying to everyone equally: to the agency that shows you the flat, to the promotor that builds it, and to SAVO as well.
Questions about new-build on the Costa Blanca
- 01
Do I need an agency to buy in Spain?
It is not compulsory: a buyer and a seller can go straight to the notary. Intermediation adds a filtered selection, local knowledge and handling of formalities. What it does not add, and is sometimes assumed, is responsibility for the state of the building or for the seller's solvency: that is checked with documents, agency or no agency.
- 02
Who answers if defects appear after handover?
In a new home, the promotor answers to the buyer alongside the builder and the technicians who signed, each for their part and within the guarantee periods the law sets. The agency that introduced the deal is not in that split. Which is exactly why it is worth knowing, before signing, which company holds the status of promotor.
- 03
Can I negotiate the commission if the seller pays it?
The commission is agreed between the owner and the agency, and you are not a party to that contract. What does concern you is that no amount falls to you that was not written down, and that the price you negotiate is the one that reaches the deed. Ask for the items broken down and check who issues each invoice.
- 04
Is it safe to transfer a reservation to the agency's account?
It can be done in a resale if the document states that the agency receives it on deposit on the seller's behalf, with the purpose, the destination and the return conditions written down. In new construction it does not fit: sums on account have to go to the promotor's special account and be guaranteed by aval or insurance in your name.
- 05
And if the same company is the promotor and sells without an agency?
That is common and shortens the chain: the person showing you the home works for the company building it and can commit what it signs. The trade-off is that you will only be shown its own scheme, so the comparison with the rest of the market is yours to make. What does not change is the verification: company, ownership of the plot, licence and the guarantee on your money.
Tell us what you are looking at
Two or three sentences are enough: which area you are looking in, whether new-build or resale interests you, and how you would like to be answered. The person who handles the Spanish market replies.