Should you work with a real estate agent or a property finder? To answer this question, we need to differentiate both. While a property finder acts as a buyer’s agent, a real estate agent is the seller’s agent.
How to find a real estate agent abroad?
Here is a directory of contacts per country, pointing to dedicated articles:
| Find a real estate agent abroad |
| Croatia |
| Dubai (UAE) |
| France |
| Portugal |
| Spain |
| Turkey |
| Montenegro |
What are the differences?
Property finder
- Exclusively defend the interest of the buyer (not the seller!)
- Doesn’t have a list of properties to sell (no selling mandate)
- Advises the buyer on where to buy
- Negotiates the price down on behalf of the buyer
- Visits the properties for the buyer, and can send videos of the visits to the buyer
- Can make an offer on behalf of the buyer
- Can recommend a banker, lawyer, tax advisor
Obviously a property finder doesn’t come free of charge. For example, my property finder’s fees last time were 3% of the purchase price , with a minimum fee of € 4,000 (excluding VAT).
What’s the best for me?
It depends on your personal situation! Personally, the first time I bought a property abroad was with a real estate agent, and the second time with a property finder.
So the three biggest factors to consider are:
- Knowledge of the real estate market in which you plan to buy
- Time at your disposal to do searches by yourself
- Distance between your home and the city where you plan to buy