Lost deposits
Both buyers and sellers in Tenerife need to take particular care about choosing Estate Agents in this uncertain climate.
As many will know, Estate Agency in Spain is a completely unregulated industry, and this attracted all sorts of people to set up shop during the recent property boom. More regulations apply to someone who sells beans in a market than to those who sell property.
Even then, from time to time, an Estate Agent would ‘disappear’, and with them went hundreds of thousands of Euros of deposits that they were holding in their ‘client accounts’.
Consumer watchdogs are now warning that this problem is becoming ever more frequent. Now that the days of ‘easy money’ are past, more and more Estate Agents are closing their doors… and their bank accounts.
There is only one way to ensure that your deposit is safe in an Estate Agent’s bank account. The agent you choose MUST be covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance, which guarantees and underwrites client deposits. If you are thinking of buying or selling a property in today’s market, only use an Estate Agent displaying their insurance. This advice is obviously just common sense, but for some, the excitement of purchasing in a foreign country and the sunshine can make them throw all caution to the wind. Make sure that you are not one of those.
