Higher-value villas and apartments across the Costa del Sol. My approach is the same at every price point: proper research on the property and its area, a straight assessment of what it is genuinely worth, and careful negotiation on your behalf.
That paragraph is the whole of the buyer-side role. This guide sets out what each part of it means on a Spanish purchase, why the role has two names, how it differs from the agent who is selling the property, and what to ask before you instruct anyone, me included.
Two names, one role
In the UK the trade term is buying agent. In the United States, Australia and much of the rest of the English-speaking world it is buyer’s agent. Both describe the same thing: an agent instructed by the buyer, working on the buyer’s side of a purchase. Nothing about the work changes with the name.
What the role involves
- Research. The property and its area, before you travel. What a square metre costs in that town against the rest of the coast, what the building and the community are like out of season, and how the asking price sits against the 2026 figures I keep on the areas pages.
- Viewing. I walk the property, film what the listing photos leave out, and video-call you through it, so you commit to a viewing trip only when there is something worth flying for.
- Assessment. A straight view of what the property is genuinely worth, and a plain answer when a price is wrong.
- Negotiation. The offer, the terms and the conditions, made on your behalf, in Spanish, with the research behind it.
- The steps to the keys. The NIE, your own independent lawyer, the reserva, the arras contract and the signing before the notary. I set the order out in the Spanish buying process in plain English. I drive, I translate, and I ask the questions that matter, and I stay in the room for all of it.
How that differs from the estate agent
The estate agent on a listing is instructed by the seller. Their job is to market the seller’s property and to sell it, and a good one does that job properly. Their instruction runs to the seller, so their view is of that one property, and the question of whether it is the right one for you is not theirs to answer.
The buyer-side role starts before there is a property. It compares. It looks at the towns and districts against your budget rather than at one listing, and it can say no and keep searching. When the offer goes in, it goes in from your side of the table.
Selling is part of what I do as well, on the seller’s instruction, and the same method applies the other way round. The point is not which side an agent is on. It is that you know which side the person advising you is on, on this purchase.
What to ask a buying agent before you instruct them
- Who instructs you on this purchase? The answer should be simple.
- Which stretch of the coast do you work, and how often are you there? I have worked with clients from Estepona to Nerja, and I am based in Málaga.
- How do you assess what a property is worth? Ask to see the working, not the adjectives.
- Will you tell me when the answer is no?
- Who is the lawyer? Your own independent abogado, not the seller’s, and the agent is never a substitute for one.
- How many clients do you take on at a time? I keep to one.
My own answers are on the about page and the buying service page.
Where to start
If you are working out whether you need someone on the buyer’s side at all, the first call is the place to find out. Thirty minutes, and a straight answer either way. Book a call, tell me the town and the budget, and I will tell you what I would do with them.
Common questions
Is a buying agent the same as a buyer’s agent?
What does a buyer’s agent do on a Spanish purchase?
How is a buying agent different from an estate agent?
Can a buyer’s agent help if I am not in Spain?
Do I still need my own lawyer if I use a buying agent?
What this relates to
