Comments on: Estate Agents Commission – are YOU paying too much???

By: Cancasa

Cancasa — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:03:45 +0000

@Hans……It is your very mindset that perpetuates the fraud committed by many estate agents in the Canary Islands.
The mere fact that there is no standard says a lot about the sector as a whole. As another comment stated, some buyers don’t even know they’ve been had and that shows how trusting these clients are, but does that mean that they should be taken advantage of?
5% is a substantial commission to earn in comparison to other European agents and adding anything on this without the knowledge of the client is pure greed.
Is it any wonder that the housing market has collapsed exceedingly on the islands and much of it due to the antics of so many fraudulent agents.
As the author mentioned, it seems the one’s who get more benefit are the larger and more criminal ones and it soon becomes a cycle of fraud, deceit and daylight robbery.
In any broth, the scum always rises to the top but it is inevitably discarded for the pure stock.
These agents will come to rue it in the end…….so my advice to them would be to get some qualification and get a proper job as they are no better than a bookie in a betting shop.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:45:54 +0000

I would respectfully disagree Hans (which agency do you work for/with?)

If I go to a mechanic/plumber/joiner/mortgage broker/financial advisor then I want to know as their customer how much I am paying for their service. In exactly the same way, if I utilise the services of an estate agent, I want to know what it is costing me for said service because no matter how an agent spins it, the buyer pays the commission as in 99% of cases, when taking on property, the agent asks the buyer how much they want back to them to which they add their commission.

Commission seems to be a very dirty word in Tenerife – especially for estate agents and the main reason for this is that many of them charge an amount they would not be comfortable declaring to the buyer. Why would you not tell someone what you are charging them???

Given that I have seen commissions well in excess of 30% (and that is no exaggeration) the onus is on the buyer to ensure they are not being ripped off.

By: Hans

Hans — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:26:37 +0000

The client/buyer is not concerned about “transparency”. He only wants to know what the price is, and whether he is willing to pay that price for the particular property. It has nothing to do with him what the estate agent earns. If the estate agent is unethical, well, that is his problem.

By: Tenerife News

Tenerife News — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:30:22 +0000

The sharks are everywhere in Tenerife. Too much easy money in the past ripping off unwitting buyers.
Most of the people who have been ripped off probably don´t even realise it and will be happily recommending their dodgy agent to their friends.

By: Mark Storey

Mark Storey — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:48:34 +0000

Interesting to see how it really works!
We bought in Tenerife in 2003 and I didnt even think about the commission rate. No idea what we ended up paying. We are planning on buying another apartment this year though so I´ll definitely be looking out for these things if I use an agent.

By: Adding Contract Pitfalls

Adding Contract Pitfalls — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:50:49 +0000

The rate of commission varies according to agent and broker agreement, the type of property, and its value. Adding Contract Pitfalls