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