A British couple was introduced to us by a private bank in London for help with their property search in Marbella, Spain. The couple worked in the music industry and wanted a second home where they could relax during breaks in their busy schedules with their friends and family.

We met up with the clients in London to find out more about their plans for the purchase. They had a budget of €4M to €5M which they were funding with cash from the sale of a UK property. Accessibility was very important to maximise their valuable holiday time and so they wanted to be less than an hour from Malaga airport and within a short distance of the chic, waterfront restaurants and vibrant nightlife of Marbella and Puerto Banus. They were looking for a large contemporary four-five bedroom villa with a sea view.

Spain property market

Spain will always be a favourite with international buyers due to its relaxed pace of life, attractive climate, wealth of culture and it is the number one European destination for Brits buying abroad.  

The property market is particularly complex with the majority of the country’s property sales taking place in a small number of areas. 60% of the country’s property sales occur on the Mediterranean coast and the islands (Canaries and Balearics). In fact, if you drill down further, 20% of all of Spain’s property purchases take place in Andalucia. 

Marbella exudes luxury and has been a hot spot for buyers looking to acquire prime property. A near constant stream of new developments as well as many resales coming onto the market in the Malaga province match the rising demand from international buyers, maintaining a steady growth in the property market. 

Developments and properties are marketed by multiple agents in Spain, with buyers often finding the same property at different prices. The role of an independent buying and property search agent is to protect our client’s interests, find what they are looking for but also use our expertise to ensure our clients do not pay above market value. 

The search for our client’s perfect property

With the client’s funds ready to go, we began our property search by engaging with all estate agents in the search area (56 in total). We also consulted our network for off-market properties for sale by private owners. During an extensive two-week search of the entire market we returned 32 properties that matched our client’s brief. From this, we worked with our clients to shortlist 17 villas to go and view together. 

We organised an efficient viewing schedule and flew to Spain, together with the couple, to view the properties over a four-day period.

Negotiation

After viewing all 17 properties, our clients decided on a final three that they would be happy to make an offer on. Their first choice was a property that had just come onto the market but at an inflated price that was well above our valuation. After a couple of runs negotiating, it was clear that the seller wasn’t going to move much and was way too ambitious with his asking price. We therefore decided to move on to their second-choice property without wasting any time. 

We entered into negotiations with the seller of the second property and after an intense week of going back and forth, the seller accepted our offer achieving 11.5% saving from the asking price. It was a great result for a very competitive and high-value property market and the clients were delighted to secure a property that met all of their requirements. 

The final stages

Once the offer had been accepted, we moved to the conveyancing stage with our team of experts to manage the sale through to completion. In this case the team consisted of a notary, a lawyer, a surveyor and a tax advisor. The clients also requested a landscape gardener to modernise the garden, so we arranged this on their behalf. 

The sale moved forward with no issues and completed quickly. The clients were impressed at how everything had been taken care of for them and that the process hadn’t involved any stress, unlike their previous property purchases. They were able to make use of the property right away and are very much enjoying holidays in the villa with their friends and family. We are still in touch and they went on to recommend us to their friends for their very own property search.

Whether you’re looking for a holiday home, a full-time family home, or are developing an investment portfolio in the UK, France, Monaco, Spain or Portugal, we are here to help you achieve your vision and make it as simple and stress-free as possible. Get in touch with us to get started with your search.