A buyer's agent works purely on behalf of the property buyer, helping to understand their requirements, shortlist properties, and arrange viewings. They may accompany you on viewings, ensure the right questions are asked of the selling agents, point out any flaws you may not have noticed, and give you a thorough “warts and all” tour of the area (not a selective tour that highlights the good and avoids the bad). They will then help you negotiate the purchase price, act as a liaison between the seller and your lawyer, and guide you through the entire purchase process, possibly offering after-sales services to help you once you move in.

This may seem familiar, as most Spanish property agents offer these services. However, the key difference is that the buyer's agent truly works for you and not the vendor. For the agent to work for you, you pay them a fee for their service. This fee is often refundable if the agent can negotiate a commission share with the selling agent, but you should assume that it will not be returned. Partly because you have no way of knowing if the buyer’s agent received a commission, and also because, if the selling agent is aware the agent representing you is receiving a fee and knows you are sold on the property, they are unlikely to give up half of their commission when they don’t have to.

Overall, the concept of a buyer's agent is valuable. If they are working directly for you, it is likely that they will save you more money than they cost. They are not motivated by the commission that the seller will pay; there are no conflicts of interest when they help you with negotiation, and they have nothing to lose by advising you to walk away from an unsuitable property because they know they are being paid regardless of whether you purchase a property. They are not incentivized to hold back information or lie to secure a sale. They may also help you avoid very expensive mistakes. If you paid someone €1000 and the information they give you results in you deciding that buying a property in Spain is not the right thing for you, then you will have saved the many thousands you would have lost had you reached that conclusion after buying a property. A selling agent is never going to help you reach that conclusion.

The downside of this model is that it is not properly regulated. While many buyer’s agents work in a legitimate and honest way, the lack of regulation is to their detriment as many others will claim to be working on behalf of the buyer while maintaining significant conflicts of interest. Let me give you an example to demonstrate this.

A few years ago, while working as an estate agent, I was offered a repossessed property to sell. This particular property was a fantastic opportunity: built around the time of the economic crash, it met modern building codes, was in a great location, and was priced well below its market value. As soon as I advertised the property, I was contacted by a potential buyer. I discussed the property with them over the phone and genuinely believed it matched their requirements both in terms of the property and the location. It would have been very hard for them to find an alternative of the same standard for the same price. The potential buyer was genuinely excited about the prospect and very friendly and forthcoming with me. However, they explained that they were working with an agent who was representing them and that they would suffer a financial penalty if that agent was not involved in the purchase. I agreed to work with that agent and share my relatively small commission with him, mainly because the buyer seemed so keen on the property that it seemed cruel to exclude her. I was then contacted by the agent and explained what the fee was and what work I would want them to undertake if I were to share the fee with them. I met the agent at the property; he couldn't speak a word of Spanish and was completely unfamiliar with the surrounding area. We came to an agreement and later I met the agent together with his clients to view the property.

At one point during the viewing, I was on the upper-level balcony of the property while the buyer's agent was on the level below. Without deliberately eavesdropping, I heard the agent telling the buyer that a cosmetic fault (the property had been closed up for a number of years and was in need of some superficial decoration) was in fact a major structural issue. This simply was not true. After the viewing, I contacted the buyer to follow up and their tone had changed completely. Their friendliness and enthusiasm had been replaced by curt responses, and they were clearly not keen to deal with me in any way.

It was obvious to me that the agent, in whom the buyers had placed their trust, was not working in their best interests. The low commission he would have received had they purchased the property was likely dwarfed by the commission from any other property he had for sale. It was in his best interests to sell them a different property. I strongly believe that, not only had he misrepresented the property, judging by the change in the client’s tone when talking to me after the viewing, he had also denigrated me.

My point in telling this story is to demonstrate that not all claiming to act as a buyer's agent are truly working in the best interests of their client.