Property Search and Buyer Support Service

The purpose of this services is to provide an individually tailored level of support, advice and assistance to people thinking of or committed to buying a property/ies in Menorca. Specifically, it puts at their disposal detailed local knowledge of the property market here, covering vital issues such as validity of asking price, desirability of area (and any plans that could significantly change the character and marketability of an area, such as new road construction, proposed major building projects, etc.), procedures and pitfalls in property purchasing here, etc… Perhaps most importantly, we can act as the clients “eyes and ears” here, pre-screening, viewing and evaluating potential purchases without the client wasting time and money on abortive visits to see properties put forward by agents or others, as matching their requirements – only to fins they are far from suitable… a very common occurrence! At the end of the day, honest and professional though most agents are here, they only make money when they make a sale.

• Establishing a full written briefing on the requirements and parameters for the property you seek;
• Contacting the more professional and reliable estate agents to set up an on-going review of their portfolio of available properties;
• Searching the substantial unadvertised property-for-sale market, where properties are not registered with agents;
• Evaluation of properties to determine suitability against clients specified requirements;
• Viewing, on clients’ behalf, of properties considered potentially suitable;
• Provide independent and objective summary descriptions and assessments of these properties to the client, including potential rental incomes if property is to be made available for letting;
• Arrange viewings of selected shortlisted properties for clients, and if required, handle arrangements for accommodation, car hire etc. for clients viewing visit;
• Provide advice and support to clients from offer for selected property through to completion, including recommendation of offer level, introduce to suitable, high quality professionals such as an Abogado (Lawyer), Architect, Surveyor, Gestoría, etc. acting as clients Power of Attorney (if required, if clients prefers or is unable to attend at Notary for completion of sale and purchase);
• Post purchase, provide any advice and assistance required in areas such as requirements for preparing property for commercial letting, recommending (and if required by clients, purchasing from) the best retailers in terms of price/reliability/quality, for furniture, appliances, equipment, soft furnishing, etc. and best service suppliers for any improvements, maintenance or renovation works that may be needed.

In summary, we are there to support and guide our clients through every stage of what is often a complex process, with numerous potential pitfalls along the way! Just one example of this; here in Menorca, the asking price of a property as advertised by an estate agent may well not be an objective, balanced valuation arrived at by a professional, after careful evaluation of the property’s size, standard, facilities, local amenities, etc. and comparison with other similar properties in the same area… something you would probably expect in the UK. It is very possible indeed that it is simply the price the current owner has said they will accept for their property… and this is often a price that exceeds, sometimes very substantially… the true market value of the property. It is common for properties to be advertised at the inflated price demanded by the owner (maybe against the recommendation of the agent, they prefer to sell at the “right” price, rather than work on an overpriced property that may be difficult and take a long time to sell), but still advertised at the above-market price nevertheless – plus the agents fees of 4-5% added on top! Unless you really have thoroughly researched and become very familiar with what is a complex market, it is very easy to pay significantly over the top of the genuine market value of a property.

Our fees

1. Initial non-refundable fee on acceptance of assignments of 300 Euros + IVA. This includes the first 4 hours of work undertaken on the clients behalf at the rate specified in (2) below. This charge also covers our costs of postage, telephone calls, e-mail and monthly statement of account.
2. Ongoing costs based on an hourly rate charge of 25 Euros per hour + IVA, to include travel time and costs related to the viewing of properties on the clients behalf. We will provide monthly statements providing full details of work undertaken, time expended and charges in period.
3. In the event of the successful completion of the purchase of a property identified by and brought to the attention of the client by MHC, a final payment of 300 Euros + Iva will be payable by the client to MHC.