Before you hire a buyer's agent in Málaga, ask who they work for, how they are paid, what they are qualified to do and what happens when a property is wrong for you.
Before you hire a buyer's agent in Málaga, ask who they work for, how they are paid, what they are qualified to do and what happens when a property is wrong for you. The title "buyer's agent" is not regulated in the way the licence of a real estate agent is, so the answers matter more than the label. This guide gives you ten questions, the answer a good adviser gives, and the answer that should end the conversation.
In Spain, most agents you meet during a property search are paid by the seller or the developer. The listing, the viewing and the negotiation all run through someone whose income depends on the sale closing. A buyer's agent exists to flip that structure: one party at the table is working for you.
But anyone can print "buyer's agent" on a business card. Some sellers' agents use the term loosely. Some one-person operations have no formal training and no legal support. For a purchase of several hundred thousand euros or more, the difference between a real adviser and a label is expensive. We cover the basics of the role in our guide on what a buyer's agent does, so this page skips that and goes straight to how you choose.
Ask this directly, and ask whether the adviser has ever acted for both sides of the same transaction.
A good answer: they work for you only, they have never represented buyer and seller in the same deal, and they say it in writing in the engagement agreement.
A red flag: an answer that starts with "it depends", or a long explanation about how they "balance" both parties. You cannot balance two sides of a negotiation. You can only represent one.
Ask for the qualification, the body that issued it and the way you can verify it.
A good answer: a named qualification, the school or body behind it and a clear explanation of what the licence allows. At Aluma, Thomas te Raaij is a formally licensed real estate agent (FEI Business School) with a Bachelor in Real Estate (Fontys, Eindhoven).
A red flag: "I have been in the business for ten years" with nothing you can check.
Ask for the fee structure before anything else is discussed, and ask for it in writing.
A good answer: a fixed fee or a clearly defined percentage, quoted excluding IVA, agreed before work starts, with a description of what it covers. At Aluma the fee is a fixed amount, agreed before we begin. Our packages (Essentials, Complete, Premium) are listed with their scope on the services page.
A red flag: a vague "we will see", a fee that appears only at the signing stage, or the claim that the service is free. Someone is always paid. The question is whether you know who and how much. Our guide on agent commissions in Spain explains the usual structure.
This question surprises people, and it is the most useful one on the list.
A good answer: a direct yes or no, with the detail. If the answer is yes, ask how it is disclosed to you and whether it changes anything about the advice. An adviser who is paid by you and also by a developer has an incentive on one particular side of every comparison.
A red flag: reluctance, or "that does not matter, you are not paying for it". It matters because it shapes which properties you are shown.
Aluma is not connected to any developer, sales office or listing platform, and never acts for buyer and seller in the same transaction. We put our fee structure in writing before we begin.
You can hire a lawyer and search online. A good adviser can say what they add.
A good answer: market knowledge that is not on a portal (price per area, what is overpriced and why), negotiation based on comparable sales, access to off-market properties, coordination between lawyer, notary, bank and gestor, and being the single contact who knows your whole file.
A red flag: an answer that is only about viewings and driving you around.
Spain is not one market. The regio Málaga alone covers the city, the western coast, the Axarquía and the inland villages, and each behaves differently.
A good answer: a clear working area, with examples of recent deals and local detail you can test. Aluma works from Mijas to Motril, in Málaga city, and inland to Granada and Córdoba.
A red flag: "all of Spain", or a long list of regions with nothing specific about any of them.
Part of the market never gets listed publicly.
A good answer: a described network, with a named structure. Aluma is a member of Baerz & Co Luxury Homes International, which gives access to off-market properties.
A red flag: "we have exclusive access to everything", with no explanation of how.
This is where purchases go wrong, especially with older properties and rural land.
A good answer: a process. Nota simple from the land registry, cadastre check, licences and planning status, debts and charges, community fees, and a lawyer who works for you. The adviser coordinates it, the lawyer signs off on the legal part. We explain the full picture in our guide to buying property in Spain as a foreigner.
A red flag: "the seller's lawyer will take care of it". The seller's lawyer works for the seller.
Ask what the adviser does when a property does not fit, and whether it changes the fee.
A good answer: they tell you so, even if it means no deal. In our own words: if a property is not right for you, we say so.
A red flag: pressure to move quickly on a particular property, or a fee that is tied to the deal closing in a way that rewards any deal over the right one.
Buying is not the end. Utilities, a gestor for tax filings, insurance, community registration, and often the NIE and a bank account before that.
A good answer: a clear description of what is included and for how long. Our Premium package includes a gestor, utilities set-up, relocation support and 12 months of aftercare. If you do not yet have a NIE number, see our NIE guide for how long it takes and what it needs.
A red flag: "we hand you over to someone else", with no named person.
Take it to two or three candidates and compare the answers side by side, in writing. The best adviser for you is rarely the one with the nicest website. It is the one whose answers are specific, who is comfortable being asked, and who tells you something you did not want to hear.
Aluma is the independent boutique buyer's advisor in the regio Málaga. Thomas te Raaij is the only adviser, which means you deal with the same person from first call to key handover, in Dutch, English or Spanish. He lives and works in Málaga, is a formally licensed real estate agent, holds a Bachelor in Real Estate from Fontys in Eindhoven, and has a portfolio of more than 90 properties. Aluma is a member of Baerz & Co Luxury Homes International. The fee is fixed, agreed before we begin and quoted excluding IVA. Book a call, ask us all ten, and compare.
An adviser who represents the buyer in a property purchase, from search and negotiation to coordination of the legal and notary steps. The legal and tax checks are carried out by a lawyer working for you.
For a purchase of this size, a formally qualified adviser with verifiable credentials is the safer choice. Ask for the qualification and check it.
A lawyer handles the legal side. A buyer's agent handles the market side: finding, comparing and negotiating, and coordinating the whole process. The two do different jobs.
It varies by adviser and by scope. Ask for the fee in writing, excluding IVA, before any work begins. Aluma's packages are listed on our services page.
Some can, through professional networks. Ask how, and with whom. Aluma works through its membership of Baerz & Co.
Yes. It should state who the adviser works for, the fee, what it covers and what happens if you do not buy.
Book a call. Ask anything. We will answer in writing if you want it.