WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DOES AN AGENT NEED IN SPAIN?

A Well, during winter we spend as much time as possible skiing in the Sierra Nevada. We bought a small apartment a few years ago and it has proved to be one of the best lifestyle investments ever!

Q I bet… so what sort of changes have you really noticed over the last 20 years here?

A The biggest change is the growth of the international community. When I started most clients were Spanish or British, but in the last 15 years the Scandinavian population has exploded. We are also now also seeing more central and eastern Europeans, especially from the Baltic countries.

Q What are the main frustrations of living and working here?

A I guess I eventually got used to the famous red tape and ‘buro-crazy’ , but one thing still very frustrating is the length of time it takes to get building licences approved. And the lack of professionalism we still encounter in the industry is staggering.

Q How would you attempt to improve the situation?

THE SOLUTION

Some regions in Spain now require a licence for agents to work.

It began with Catalunya which led the way in imposing requirements in 2010 and this summer Valencia followed suit, with one in Andalucia in the pipeline and expected to soon be passed.

It means that agents have to register in a central registry and each must have an approved training diploma, liability insurance of €600.000 or more and proper premises that clients can physically visit.

In Valencia, agents can work without offices but only if they have liability insurance of over €1 million.

The course for a diploma has questions on real estate law, contracts, and procedures, etc, etc, and each approved course consists of a minimum of 200 taught hours.

I was recently at an API association of real estate conference in Barcelona where the boss of the Catalan Registry underlined the benefits the system has for clients.

Fundamentally, both buyers and sellers have the reassurance they are getting advice from a qualified professional, who also has insurance to cover any mistakes, as well as protect the clients’ deposits!

I really welcome this development as it is something the StartGroup has been preparing for for the last decade.

We are already registered in Catalunya with the API ANAI licence, and we were the first agency globally to get the AIPP international training certificate for all our staff in 2020.

We are also active in the national real estate association GIPE, where we are working on a voluntary basis to help bring in the coming changes in Andalucia.

Membership in GIPE gets the agents access to legal advice, courses and networking within the community of estate agents.

A Through my work in a variety of professional associations we are trying to bring about change. I am currently renewing one of the oldest real estate associations in Spain, called GIPE. As part of a new board I am making its headquarters an attractive meeting place where professionals can get legal advice, training and work together to achieve higher standards for the industry. A focus on happy clients is one of my passions and is what motivates me more than anything.

Christofer Fogelberg has been an agent since 2001 and a member of the API, GIPE and AIPP associations. StartGroup has offices in Calahonda, La Cala and Benalmadena and the team are all fully-trained and speak 10 languages.