Why we represent buyers
Buyer-side representation is a model most foreign buyers have never met, so it is easier to explain as a contrast than as a claim. The agent showing you the property is instructed and paid by the seller, and their job is to sell that specific property. Our job is the opposite one: to find out whether buying it, at that price, actually makes sense for you. We are not built around our own stock, we search the whole market, and as a buyer you pay us nothing.
A model most foreign buyers have not met
In your home country a buyer usually deals with whoever is selling. On the Costa del Sol that is still the default, and it is worth saying plainly that there is nothing wrong with it: the seller’s agent is doing the job they were hired to do. The problem is only that the buyer arrives believing there is somebody on their side of the table, and there is not.Buyer-side representation puts one there. It is a normal arrangement in several markets and an unfamiliar one in ours, so we explain it as four concrete commitments rather than as a promise about attitude.
- We represent buyers onlyWe do not take listings and we do not act for sellers. There is no property on this coast we need to move, so no property has a claim on our recommendation.
- We search the whole marketAgencies here share most of their listings, so almost everything is reachable through almost anyone. We work with developers directly, with individual agencies, with the professional networks and with the public offer. Found something yourself on a portal or at another agency? Send us the link.
- We are physically here, all yearLiving on the coast is what makes daily contact with agents, developers and deals in progress possible, and that contact is where the useful information comes from. A portal shows you asking prices. It does not tell you what a type of property in a town is actually trading at.
- You pay us nothingOur fee comes out of the commission the seller has already agreed with their own agency. If you decide not to buy, no fee arises anywhere.
Is the seller’s agent not supposed to look after me too?They will be helpful, and many of them are entirely straight. They are still instructed and paid by the seller side to sell that property on the best terms for the seller. Saying so is not a criticism of them, it is a description of the job.
The seller’s agent and us, side by side
Seven concrete differences. None of them is about effort or goodwill. All of them follow from who instructed the person and who pays them.| A seller's agent | Arevont | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose side | Represents the seller or the developer. | We represent you and nobody else. |
| The job | Their job is to sell that specific property. | Our job is to work out whether buying it makes sense. |
| What you get shown | Mainly the properties they have on their own books. | We search across the whole market. |
| After completion | Their role usually ends when the sale closes. | We stay with you after the keys are handed over. |
| The lawyer | Will recommend a lawyer they already work with. | We recommend an independent firm, or you bring your own lawyer. |
| Language | Communication is usually in Spanish or English. | We take you through the whole process and read the Spanish for you. |
| Who pays | Paid for arranging the sale. | As a buyer you pay us nothing. |
What this looks like when it costs us the deal
One client had already reserved an apartment in Mijas at 495.000 € and had paid the reservation deposit. The plan included short-term rental. Working with the lawyer we found that a community meeting was due shortly after the reservation, with a vote on short-term rentals on the agenda. The vote did not allow what the client had been counting on, so we advised against continuing. The deposit came back and the client withdrew.The client did not just avoid a bad purchase. They did not lose the reservation deposit either.
Who pays for it
- You, the buyer0 €The price of the property is the same whether you come directly or through us. Nothing is added on top and nothing is paid to us afterwards.
- The seller or developer
- New build
- 2,5 to 6 %
- Resale properties
- 1,5 to 4 %
- ArevontIf we represent you, the seller’s agency pays our share out of that commission. If you come without representation, the whole of it usually stays with them.
Who pays our fee does not decide whom we represent. The seller’s agency represents the seller. We represent you. If we conclude that a particular property is not a good purchase for you, we say so, even though we earn nothing from that deal.A fair question follows from this, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a reassurance: can the size of our fee influence which property we recommend? It does not, and there are five reasons why, set out in full on the page below.
Some agencies on this coast also charge the buyer a commission. You will not meet that with us.
What buyer representation does not do
We are not lawyers, tax advisers, valuers or architects, and we do not do their work. An independent lawyer checks the property and the transaction, a technical inspector or architect is brought in where it makes sense, and a tax adviser answers tax questions. What we do is make sure all of it happens in the right order and that nothing falls between two of them.Nobody can promise you a discount either. The price is set by the seller or the developer, not by an agency. What changes is what you know before you decide.And representation does not make a bad fit into a good one. If your budget will not reach what you actually want on this coast, the useful answer is to say so early rather than to spend six months proving it.
Frequently asked questions
- Will the property cost me more if I come through you?
- No. Agencies here share their listings, so the same apartment or villa appears at several of them, and the price is set by the seller or the developer rather than by the agency. On a new build the price is identical however you come. The variable is not the price, it is who is standing on your side while you decide.
- Can I still use your help if I found the property myself?
- Yes, and it happens often. Send us the link, whether it is from Idealista, another agency or a developer. We will check what is checkable, tell you what we think, and if it makes sense we will take you through the purchase.
- Do you have your own properties to sell?
- No. We are not built around our own stock. It matters more than it sounds: an agency with its own inventory has a reason to steer you towards it, and we do not have one.
- Do I have to use the lawyer you recommend?
- No. We recommend an independent Spanish firm and you are free to bring your own lawyer at any point. The lawyer represents you, not us and not the seller.
- What happens if I decide not to buy at all?
- You pay us nothing. Not for the search, not for the viewings, not for the time. The one possible exception is a reservation fee already paid to a seller or a developer, and whether and on what terms that is refundable is something you will know before you pay anything.
