Viewing trip to Costa del Sol
One to three days on the coast, five to eight properties a day, and the whole programme organised for you: the dates, the pick-up, the route and every appointment. Most of what you learn happens between the viewings, in the car, because here the street and the urbanisation often decide more than the property does. And you are not held to what you told us before you flew.
The trip is short because the filtering already happened
A viewing trip works because most of the work is done before you land. By the time you get into the car, everything on the list has been confirmed as genuinely available, checked against what you actually asked for, and in most cases already shown to you on video.
- We confirm it is realAvailability and the price it is actually trading at, before it takes a slot in your day. A property that turns out to have been reserved for a month is a morning you do not get back.
- We check what the listing leaves outOrientation, noise, the walk, the community rules, what can be built next door. Whatever fails those checks never reaches the programme, which is why the programme is short.
- You see the shortlist on video firstOn the ones you are seriously considering we can film the property or call you live from it. Anything you rule out that way costs you an evening instead of half a day in Spain.
That is what makes five to eight properties a day realistic rather than punishing. You are not searching on the trip. You are comparing a list that has already survived a filter.
Do I have to buy the flight before I know what I will see?No. The programme is put together before you book anything and you see the list first. If nothing on it justifies the trip, we will tell you that instead.
Do I need to have chosen a property before I come?No, and most people have not. The programme is built from your brief, and part of the point of the trip is finding out which parts of that brief were wrong.
The drive between viewings is half the work
The time between properties is not dead time. It is where most of the questions get answered, and they are rarely the questions you wrote down before the trip. They are the ones that only occur to you after you have stood in two apartments and realised they are nothing alike.It is also the only way to learn the coast. Costa del Sol runs for more than 150 kilometres, and the stretch we usually talk about goes from Malaga west to Sotogrande. Two properties can carry the same town name in the listing and be nothing alike to live in.
What the listing gives youWhat the drive gives you
- A town name
- The street and the urbanisation. In Marbella, Estepona or Mijas a few minutes by car can be the difference between walking to the restaurants and depending on a car every single day.
- A distance to the beach
- The actual route, and the hill on the way back. You feel that once, from the car, and the number in the listing stops being an abstraction.
- A photograph of the surroundings
- What stands on either side, what is under construction, and what the street looks like at the hour you would really be arriving home.
- Nothing at all about the twenty minutes next door
- Central Marbella, the hills of Benahavis, walkable Estepona and the residential areas near Fuengirola are not interchangeable. They differ in price, climate, traffic, views, services and in what an ordinary Tuesday looks like.
- A price
- What the same budget buys twenty minutes further along: a different type of property, a different view, a different level of walkability, more privacy or more services.
Which is why we sometimes recommend a property ten minutes further out, even when the first one looks better in the photographs.It is also why we choose the place before the property. By the end of a day in the car you can usually tell us yourself which parts of this coast are not for you, and that is worth more to the search than any single viewing on the list.
Whose car do we go in?Most often ours, together, because that is where the locations, the prices and your questions get discussed. If you would rather drive yourself, you can, and you get the route.
The programme changes during the day, and that is normal
You are not bound by what you told us before you flew. It is very common for someone to arrive on this coast for the first time and work out inside a single day that they want a different location, a different type of property, or a completely different budget.Tell us as soon as you know. We change the programme as far as the day still allows. There is no point spending an afternoon viewing something you have already decided against.
- A location that is not workingIf the first two stops tell you the area is wrong, the rest of the day does not have to stay in it.
- A different type of propertyPeople arrive certain they want a resale property and leave interested in a new build, or exactly the other way round. It happens often enough that we plan for it.
- A budget that has movedSeeing what a number actually buys here tends to move the number, in both directions. Neither direction is a problem.
- Something new, added the same dayIf something comes up during the trip that you want to see, we try to get it into the same trip rather than the next one.
Can I change the plan once we have started?Yes, and most trips do change. Say it in the car rather than at the end of the day, and there is more of the day left to use.
What else is worth doing while you are here
The trip is the one part of the purchase that genuinely needs you to be in the country, so it is worth spending on the things that are harder to do from Czechia.
- Meet the lawyer in personIf you want, we introduce you to an independent lawyer during the stay. You can go through the legal and tax questions face to face: how a purchase here is structured, buying as an individual or through a company, and whatever is specific to your situation.
- Sign the power of attorney at the notaryIf you decide to continue, the power of attorney can be signed while you are here. It does not commit you to buying anything. It can be prepared a long time in advance and it simplifies the rest of the process considerably.
- Save yourself the apostilleIt can be signed from Czechia as well, but that usually means further formalities, an apostille and a translation. Signed on a day you are already here, it costs you an hour.
- Start the NIE and the bank accountYou need a Spanish tax number to complete a purchase and a Spanish account to pay for it, and both are easier to set in motion while you are in the country. The lawyer can take them on in the same meeting. If you would rather do it later from Czechia, that route exists too, and we would rather you knew that before you assumed you had to fly again.
- Meet the mortgage brokerIf the purchase is going to be financed, one conversation here is worth several weeks of email afterwards. You come out of it knowing roughly what you can borrow and on what terms, which is the difference between making an offer and hoping about one.
Can a lawyer meeting fit into a two-day trip?Usually, if we know in advance. Say so while we are agreeing the dates and it goes into the programme, rather than being squeezed into the end of a day.
What you take home with you
Five properties in one day blur into each other by the evening, and by the following week the good terrace has attached itself to the wrong apartment. So you do not have to hold the trip in your head.
- A PDF of what you actually visitedThe properties you saw, in the order you saw them, so the list you are deciding from is the real one rather than the one you remember. It is a record of the trip and it is not a verdict on it.
- The developers’ brochures for the new buildsEvery project you visited with its own material: the plans, the specification, the phases and the unit information the sales office hands out. That is the documentation your family will ask you for the moment you get home.
- The recommendations stay a conversationWhat we think of each property, and which one we would buy, we tell you and we keep telling you. It is not written up as a report at the end of the trip, and we would rather say so than have you waiting for a document that is not coming.
- Whatever is still missing, namedWhere a developer or an agency has not sent their material over yet, you get the rest and we chase the gap. It is normal for one or two properties to be waiting on the other side rather than on us.
Do I get anything in writing after the trip?Yes. A PDF of the properties you visited and the brochures for the developments among them, so you can go back through the trip accurately. Our own view on each property is something we talk through with you rather than something we write up as a report.
What we arrange
The trip is a programme, not a list of addresses. This is what sits behind it, from the first date we agree to the notary at the end.| What we arrange | Why it matters | What that means on the day |
|---|---|---|
| Before you arrive | ||
| The dates | The right week depends on what is actually available to view and who needs to be there on the other side. | We advise on the timing, then hold everything else around it. |
| The programme | A day that jumps between opposite ends of the coast spends itself in the car. | We build the route so the day makes geographic sense, and you have it before you fly. |
| The appointments | Every property has a different agency or developer behind it, each with its own availability and its own pace of answering. | We book all of them, and we chase the ones that go quiet. |
| On the day | ||
| The pick-up | The day should start where you are, not where the first property happens to be. | We collect you. |
| The driving | The car is where the locations, the prices and the questions that come up on site get discussed. | Most often we travel together in our car. You can take your own if you prefer. |
| The developer viewings | A developer sales office is set up to sell you the project, not to answer hard questions about it. | We organise the viewing and lead the communication for you. |
| The seller-side agent | The agent showing a resale property represents the seller and is paid by the seller. | We deal with them, and we ask for the things the listing does not contain. |
| The locations between viewings | The street and the urbanisation often decide more than the property itself does. | We show you the areas as we pass through them, instead of only the addresses on the list. |
| While you are in the country | ||
| A lawyer, if you want one | Legal and tax questions are easier face to face, and the lawyer is independent of us as well as of the seller. | We introduce you during the stay if you ask for it. |
| The notary, for a power of attorney | Signing it later from Czechia usually means an apostille and a translation. | If you decide to continue, it can be signed while you are still here. |
| The NIE and the bank account | A purchase cannot complete without a Spanish tax number, and it is paid from a Spanish account. Both are simpler to start in person. | We get them into the same meeting with the lawyer, if you want them started on this trip. |
| The mortgage broker | Knowing what you can actually borrow changes which properties are worth viewing at all, and it changes the offer you can make. | We introduce you if the purchase is going to be financed, and it goes in the programme rather than at the end of a day. |
Where the trip sits in the purchase
The full purchase is fifteen steps from the first call to the keys. The trip is step five, and steps six and seven usually happen around it rather than after it.Steps 5 to 7 of 15
- The viewing tripOne to three daysWe advise on the dates, collect you, and run the whole viewing programme. Between the properties we show you the locations, because those often decide more than the property does. And you are not bound by the brief you gave us before you flew: if the day changes your mind, say so and we change what is left of it.New buildWe organise the viewing with the developer and lead the communication for you.ResaleWe deal with the seller’s agent and find out the things the listing does not contain.
- A decision without pressureAt any point in the processYou do not have to buy on the first trip. Or the second. We can work with you for months or longer. If nothing currently on the market makes enough sense, we will say so: sometimes the right decision is to buy, sometimes to change the brief, and sometimes simply to wait.
- The lawyer and the power of attorneyWhenever it makes senseBoth can happen during the stay, and both are considerably easier here than from Czechia. Neither commits you to a purchase.
Coming on your own, or with us
The same three days, spent two ways.| On your own | With Arevont | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the day | You arrange each viewing with whoever holds that property, and you fit the route around the times you are offered. | We advise on the dates, book every appointment and build the route, so the day is a programme rather than a list of times. |
| Getting between them | A hire car, a map and the addresses you were given. | Most often we travel together in our car, and the drive is when the locations, the prices and your questions get discussed. |
| What you learn between viewings | The distance between two addresses. | The street, the urbanisation, what is walkable, where it is noisy, and what is going to be built there. |
| Language and distance | Spanish or English, arranged from Czechia around the other side’s timetable. | Czech, from people on the coast, including video before you arrive. |
| Who tells you the bad news | The person showing you the property also needs to sell it. | We tell you when a property is the wrong choice, and why. Even when it costs us the deal. |
| What it costs you | Nothing directly. The seller side’s commission is inside the price either way. | Nothing. The days, the car and the programme are not billed. |
The property that was not on the programme
A client was in the middle of a viewing trip when he came across a new build he genuinely liked. It was over the budget we had been working to, and it was not on the list for that day.- What was plannedA programme built around the brief he had given us before flying, at the budget he had given us before flying.
- What changed mid-tripHe asked to see it, and he asked during the trip rather than saving it for a second one. That is the moment most viewing programmes quietly refuse.
- What happened that dayThe viewing was arranged for the same day and fitted into what was left of the programme. Not the following week, and not on a return flight.
The brief you give us before you fly is a starting point, not a contract.
How much does it cost you?
- Buyer0 €The days, the car and the whole programme are not billed, whether or not the trip ends in a purchase.
- Developer or seller
- New build
- 2,5 to 6 %
- Resale properties
- 1,5 to 4 %
- ArevontOur fee is a part of that commission, and only if a purchase happens. Three days of driving that end in "none of these" cost us the three days, not you.
The property price is the same, even if you go directly. For a new build, feel free to take the developer's price list and check it.
Before you book the flight
Once is enough and twice is better. It can be done entirely remotely with a power of attorney, and even so we would rather you came at least once. If you cannot come at all, a large part of the selection can be handled on video.You do not have to buy on the first trip, or the second. We can work with you for months or longer. If nothing on the market makes enough sense right now, we will tell you: sometimes the right answer is to buy, sometimes to change the brief, and sometimes to wait.And if your budget for the property itself is at the lower end, we will say so before you book anything rather than after you land. Below a certain point we would not be focusing on this coast at all, and we would rather lose the trip than sell you a flight to see things we do not think you should buy.
Frequently asked questions about the viewing trip
- How long does a viewing trip take?
- One to three days, depending on how much you want to see and how wide the selection needs to be.
- How many properties will we see in a day?
- Five to eight. Most days stay under six on purpose, because past that point people stop taking properties in and the comparisons get worse rather than better.
- Who drives?
- Most often we travel together in our car, and the driving is part of the service rather than a gap between appointments. You can take your own car if you would rather.
- Can I change the programme during the trip?
- Yes. Tell us as soon as you know and we change what is left of the day. Continuing to view something you have already ruled out helps nobody.
- Do I have to buy something after the trip?
- No. Not after the first trip and not after the second. If nothing makes enough sense, we will be the ones to say so.
- How many times do I have to come to Spain?
- Once is enough and twice is better. It can be done entirely remotely with a power of attorney, and even so we would rather you came at least once.
- Can I meet a lawyer while I am here?
- Yes, if you tell us in advance. We introduce you to an independent lawyer during the stay, and if you decide to continue you can sign a power of attorney at the notary while you are still in the country.
