Buying property - Bartering?

So, within the next 6-18 months we are hoping to be able to be in a position to buy a small/medium sized property, most likely a cave house. What are peoples opinions and experience with Spanish properties in the area for price? bartering/negotiating price reductions, particularly with estate agents?

Are we talking aim low and meet in the middle like in the eastern countries?

Go to a bar or coffee shop and negotiate over a drink?

Is there a little or a lot of room for price reduction? particularly on properties that have been on the market for a while?

So far I have been recommended 'Cuavas Spain', 'Spanish Inland Properties', and 'Rusticom'. What are these agents like for pricing? Similar homes seem to fluctuate between them in terms of how much you get for your money.

There is always room for some negotiation in the purchase of any property, simply depends on how much you want it and how much they want to sell it.

Some properties have been on the market for years, often these are owned by other family members who can have unrealistic expectations of value, I have seen properties reduced by 50% or more, but as always there is a reasonable level.

I have purchased 2 different cave houses over time and on both occasions was able to get around 15% reduction on the advertised price, but on both occasions I found what I was after at the time and was not prepared to lose then over a few thousand euro.

If you are in no rush and are happy to get knocked back and move on then good reduction can be achieved but not always, both sides have to be realistic, no matter what you are told, estate agents in Spain are very different than the UK they will go to a lot of effort for a sale, often spending a day showing you up to a dozen properties, they get paid very well when they make a sale.

You will also find the same property for sale with a number of different Agents.

Also bear in mind that often Spanish properties come furnished to some extent, this needs to be clarified.

I have viewed with all 3 Agents you mentions, they seem to be the main ones in the area, I have actually purchased with 2 of them too and found the experience to be quite different.

Hope this helps.

Cave-Monkey wrote:
I have viewed with all 3 Agents you mentions, they seem to be the main ones in the area, I have actually purchased with 2 of them too and found the experience to be quite different.
Hope this helps.

If you are happy to, please PM me with details of which estate agents and what experiences. The more intel and research, the more likely we will make the best of our money.

Thanks for the reply in general. I have a reasonable poker face, and am usually willing to walk away if the deal isn't generous enough or if the other person in the negotiation isn't giving. But we shall see once cards are on the table for what we consider the perfect home!

I'd agree with Cave-Monkey!
It's good to have a clear idea of your budget, plus an extra allowance if reform/repair is needed (often the case with cave houses). Most local people expect that foreigners will pay more than local people for property and, if their cave is registered with an estate agent, it will likely be priced accordingly. However, (and this is just my opinion) most foreigners selling up need to sell and will have priced their property with this in mind. There's some great bargains out there!

Hi Miron, thanks for the reply.

We would be looking for minimal reform, we ideally want something we can move right into. If it has a few unreformed cave rooms or an attached dwelling of some kind that needs work doing, thats fine as I enjoy putting my stamp on a home. My wife is not so keen and is drawn to the furnished, ready to move into homes, but I'm sure we could compromise there.

We are hoping to have a much clearer picture of where, how much and when after our visit next week.