When you decide to buy property in Spain you will almost certainly contact a number of Spanish Estate Agents.

There is no law in Spain regulating the real estate industry and anyone may, quite legally, act as an intermediary in property sales. There are, however, two professional associations that promote a voluntary level of regulation for their members – API and GIPE.

Ask an Estate Agent if they have professional indemnity insurance, and, if so, for how much. Also ask if they operate an ESCROW bank account, a bonded client’s account, into which any deposits are placed, and which is inaccessible except for the recorded purpose of the deposit.

Estate Agents dealing with Spanish property typically charge commissions of between 5% and 10% of the sales price. This they justify because of the increased costs associated with international marketing and the complications arising from a market where a buyer comes from one country, the seller from another and the transaction taking place in Spain, potentially a third country.

Very few agents in Spain have exclusive rights to sell a particular property, so you will probably find more than one agent showing you the same property, sometimes at different prices.