Just a word of warning to any of your readers who may be selling property...
I went to a large sea front agents in Fuengirola(name removed) who promise to tell you if its a lemon etc.. and asked the pleasant receptionist what the selling commisions were,she replied that she did not know so i asked if any of the 10 or so important looking people who were milling about the office knew,to which she replied that only the valuers knew this and they were all out but she would get one to ring me.
About a week later i got a phone call from the all knowing valuer and she made an appointment to view my house informing me that the commision under 300,000 euros was 7.5%,not informing me that above 300,000 its 5%.
She duly arrived only 30 minutes late took a few pictures then we sat down and the con begins....
She gave me a couple of print outs showing me similar property they have in the area,including another townhouse in my block which was priced at 280,000 euros 20% less than i was expecting to put mine up at.Then she explained that if i wished to put my house at a higher price than this they wouldn't accept it as it would be a waste of there time showing people around my overpriced house and as she was on commision only,she would not really try to sell it.If how ever i put it on the market at the lower price and offered her an 'incentive' which apparently is agents speak for about 4000 euros,she would try harder to sell my house.I insisted that if they wanted to sell my house it would be at the higher price,she said she would talk to her boss but it was unlikely but would ring me a week later to let me know if the big boss would allow me to sell my house through them earning them nearly 30,000 euros commision.
Oh well,anyway the next day after being unable to find the neighbours 280,000 house on their website I went to their office and said i wanted to buy it,when a very nice man with a big smile on his face said that it sounded cheap and typed in the reference code.....about 8 times.Unable to find it on their database he went to talk to someone else and returned to tell me it had just been sold.
Now I have lived in my block of 6 townhouses for 5 years and none of these houses have been sold in 5 years so the moral is watch out for 'valuers' under valueing your property to make a quick sale.
edit
name of estate agent edited out
Fiona ht mod
Gillian
These type of Estate Agents are worldwide. I had exactly the same thing happen when we sold our house in yUK recently, If we had took the estate agents valuation we would be short 25,000 Sterling. We dug our heels in with them and got OUR full asking price.
These type of Estate Agents are worldwide. I had exactly the same thing happen when we sold our house in yUK recently, If we had took the estate agents valuation we would be short 25,000 Sterling. We dug our heels in with them and got OUR full asking price.
it happens to buyers as well.we get talked into buying more expensive property,anyone buying property abroad,please ask for advise off people who have done it first,it could save you thousands.i think people on here have got a tale or two to tell.
Interesting reading gillian 
So far in my experience, that type of selling 
hasn't hit Lanzarote yet. Here the commission for selling the house is 5% normally (3% if you give someone exclusivity). The difference seems to be whether you use an English or Spanish Estate Agent. The spanish ask what you want for your house, and then they add their commission on when they speak to prospective buyers. The English ask what you want, and then take their 5% if they sell it. This caused much confusion for me when my house was advertised, at several difference prices, until I realised what was going on!!!! The estate agents valuation is irrelevant anyway, I have found, it's the banks valuers that are the important people here 
So far in my experience, that type of selling hasn't hit Lanzarote yet. Here the commission for selling the house is 5% normally (3% if you give someone exclusivity). The difference seems to be whether you use an English or Spanish Estate Agent. The spanish ask what you want for your house, and then they add their commission on when they speak to prospective buyers. The English ask what you want, and then take their 5% if they sell it. This caused much confusion for me when my house was advertised, at several difference prices, until I realised what was going on!!!! The estate agents valuation is irrelevant anyway, I have found, it's the banks valuers that are the important people here
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