Speculate to Accumulate

Being an Estate Agent in Spain can be a little bit different. You can be the selling agent one day and a buyer’s agent the next. You also sometimes need to “speculate to accumulate” which I would guess is an almost alien concept in many other countries.

Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago, I had a client referred to me by an eXp UK agent. The client was looking to relocate to Spain, they had already looked in the inland areas of the Costa del Sol and were now going to visiting the Costa Blanca South to do an area and amenities search.

I was more than happy to speak to the client, and we had a long and informative telephone conversation. The clients had a very good idea of what they were looking for (or so they thought) and had some very tricky requirements. A 12 year old to find an International School for, that offered the right classes and amenities. Parents that wanted to be able to carry on working from home and grandparents who were going to be joining them permanently. They told me their likes and dislikes, the quality of life they were looking for and the geographical location they would prefer. They are not yet in a position to buy but had started the process and had pretty much made the decision to re-locate to Spain. I made notes, listened and the more I heard the more I realised that they might be looking in the wrong area. I told them why I thought they should take a look elsewhere and explained my reasoning. Eventually I “persuaded” them to check out schools in the Costa Blanca North and to drive the two hours up the coast to see why I thought this area would suit them best.

After a few more calls and me explaining that until they were ready to buy it is not a good idea to visit too many properties as they might fall in love with a property that sells before they are ready to buy, we arranged to meet on the Thursday after an appointment at one of the schools. When we met one of the first questions I asked was “after your drive up here do you understand why I suggested this area? and the answer was an overwhelming yes. A good start.

So off we went to the Cumbre del Sol Residential Resort, the place that I thought “might just be for them”. They loved it, the location, the facilities, the amenities, the Lady Elisabeth International School and the whole feel of the place.

I then took them to Moraira (the nearest coastal town) to see the beaches, the town and for them to get the feel of the area. They fell in love with it straight away. So much so that they booked a visit to the school on Cumbre del Sol for the next day. After their tour of the school on Friday, which both parents and child really liked we visited Javea (the next nearest coastal town) and again it exceeded expectations to the extent that they said that they had found the location of their new home. To round things off I went and met them again Saturday to show them a Villa which would fit their requirements and that seemed to seal the deal. The 12 year old loved everything, the parents loved everything, and they were all sure that the grandparents would too.

Now over the three days I had driven around 400 Km and spent a lot of time with these nice people. No chance of a sale and no guarantees, but by the end of their visit they all agreed they had found where they want to re-locate to, a school that fits all their requirements and an agent that they want to work with when they are ready to move in the next few months. I could not have achieved that on a viewing visit, and I would not have had time to explain as much or to have found them a school in the right area.

Speculate to Accumulate!