TROPICANA PROPERTIES ALMUNECAR SPAIN

Nola Lyttle spends a day with Tropicana Properties in Almuñécar to discuss how best agents can challenge the recent negative publicity about the Spanish property market.

There has been much bad press for the Spanish property market in recent weeks. Within Spain, and in the UK, the doom merchants have been hard at work predicting difficult times ahead for the country in general and for property agents in particular. At times like this it is crucial that both those selling and buying property deal with an Inmobiliaria they can trust. It is when solid experience of the Spanish housing market, and a proven track record of good client liaison, comes to the fore.

I asked Bernard Calatayud, of Almuñecar based Tropicana Properties, about how they approach their job.

"Firstly every property must be visited, photographed and discussed prior to returning to the office. We type up the details and upload them to the new look company website – http://www.spaincostatropical.com/ We download the details to Kyero, our main marketing portal, and print them for use in our client friendly files and for the window displays. We also organise press advertising.

"Secondly we evaluate volumes of response by email. Every day we also greet customers who walk in off the street to buy or to look through our properties. Crucially we spend a great deal of time ‘qualifying’ a purchaser. That way we avoid taking them on a wild goose chase to properties they either have no interest in or cannot afford. We also avoid wasting our vendors’ time with people who are not suitable buyers for their property."

Once you enter their centrally located offices in Almuñecar you are not just a name or a reference number on a sheet of paper. You are a real human being and an important client.

Bernard says: "We love the job that we do and we believe we are good at it. We take our prospective clients to visit properties all along the coast, up into the countryside and educate them as much as possible into all the vagaries of buying in Spain. Eventually, but of course not every day, we find a match and at last our hard work pays off in a ‘sale’. "

Anyone wishing to sell their Property through Tropicana Properties must supply them with all the following documents. The registered title deed or the nota simple informativa from the Land Registry Office, a copy of the Council Taxes (IBI), and details of the community charges and the full address of the property. Speak to six different people about the legal requirements of buying and selling property in Spain and you will likely get six very contradictory offers of advice. Best then to speak with the true experts.

Bernard says: "There is a law in Spain effective from 2005 which specifies that any buyer coming to a registered Estate Agency such as Tropicana Properties SL, has the right to ask for a "Documento Informativo Abreviado de la Vivienda". This is a document specifying all the particulars of a given property, similar to a ‘search’ in England.

"If there are glitches, inconsistencies or errors, this is the time to amend them with the help of our registered lawyer. We are here to help in any way we can. We ensure all paperwork is in order BEFORE we begin to sell. We would much rather spend 100% of our time knowing that the fruits of our labour will result in a sale that will not collapse. Some agents lose sight of the fact that this is, after all, the purpose of our business.

"Time and time again we discover that the Deeds of the Property are incorrect or, worse still, missing all together! This results in the collapse of the sale, disappointment for the seller, heartache for the buyer and a total waste of time for all concerned. At Tropicana Properties we avoid this at all costs"

Continuity and reliability of service are what any buyer or seller is seeking, especially in what is an increasingly competitive Spanish housing market. The very competitiveness of the property market has led to some agents falling by the wayside during the past year. What vendors and buyers need to know at times like this is that they are dealing with a firmly established operation. A company that has been around for a long time and will be working hard for many years to come. Tropicana deal with clients from all over the world and do not limit themselves to dealing with one nationality.

Now the company is stepping up its campaign to prove that the housing market in Spain is healthy and that buying or selling here does not have to be a difficult or headache inducing process.

Bernard adds: "We would like to build an even better reputation here in Almuñecar than the one we have already. One where we can guarantee that the sale price of the property is in line with the market rates and where we can have the total confidence of the buyers and sellers who will know that their valuable time is not going to be wasted".

Tropicana Properties are in the "premier league" of Inmobiliaria. Regardless of fluctuations in the property market, that fact will never change.