Testimonials

Please take the time to review a variety of testimonials related to the Inmonetwork.

OPP online magazine – October 16 2007
Spanish Agents and Developers form alliances to boost confidence.

With a number of agents and developers suffering from the recent negative publicity about corruption on the costas, several initiatives have emerged in recent months that are designed to increase confidence in both the market and the industry.

The Inmonetwork, a multiple listing service (MLS) with over 50 offices on the Costa del Sol, claims to have become the first such group to comply with the Decree 218 law issued by the Junta de Andalucia in 2005. The law, aimed at protecting consumer and industry alike, states that all documentation regarding a property offered for sale is checked and includes all building permits and licenses demanded by law. The Decree 218 is required to be the first step taken by any agency on the Costa del Sol when a property is being promoted.

“We have looked at and studied this Decree since March and felt that it was our duty to have all our 50 offices compliant with what the Junta were asking for,” said Ally Kerr, General manager for the Inmonetwork. “We can guarantee that when a property is being purchased from one of our member agents, the consumer can be 100% confident that the advice and information given will be accompanied with all documents issued by the local authorities.”

The Inmonetwork was formed in October 2006 and currently has 50 estate agency members from Nerja to Sotogrande, with over 5,000 properties for sale. The announcement came at the network’s inaugural conference in Marbella last week.

Strength in numbers
The impact of Astroc Mediterraneo's share price nose-dive, and the widespread media coverage which followed, has hit Spain's property industry in a number of ways. As an AIM listed company, Medsea Estates was compelled to launch an expensive PR campaign after losing a quarter of its share price overnight. It recently announced that nearly €1million of first half pre-tax profit was wiped off due to sales cancellations.

Valencia-based developer Llanera Group was forced to fight on two fronts, with the effect of the sub-prime crisis making it impossible to secure additional funds on top of substantial debt - which forced it to declare insolvency.

Against this back-drop, it has been reported that fourteen of Spain’s biggest players in the real estate industry have clubbed together to promote the industry’s interests abroad. Industry sources told OPP that companies such as Colonial, Martinsa-Fadesa, Metrovacesa and Realia have joined forces and are expected to announce the group’s activities later this year.

According to Property Finance Europe, the alliance will aim to ‘boost investor confidence’ and wants to improve communication between the Spanish sector and international analysts and investors.

In March, a new global marketing platform for residential developers was launched to promote the positive elements of the Spanish market and ‘professionalise the overseas property industry’.

Spanish commercial ‘giants’ Grupo 2002 (which has around 30 companies with interests in real estate, financial and service sectors) and ASC (a venture capital firm) became a platinum sponsor of Manchester United to promote a range of international residential projects through its subsidiary, Royal Resorts Sports & Leisure, using the football club’s global marketing platform.

First real estate organisation in southern Spain to comply with new client protection legislation.

InmoNetwork leads move towards greater transparency and responsibility in Andalusian real estate.

On the 10th October 2007, the InmoNetwork announced at its annual seminar in Marbella, that it had become the first MLS company in Andalucia to comply with the Decree 218, a law aimed at protecting national and foreign property buyers in southern Spain. Passed by the Regional Autonomous Government of Andalucia in 2005, the law is now coming into effect and will be strictly enforced. Companies not complying can expect to face increasingly strict fines and penalties.

Towards transparency and client protection in the property market
The decree basically identifies exactly what information must be taken from the “vendor” (the owner of the property) and given to the “consumer” (the potential buyer) when viewing a property.

According to Decree 218, all property agents and brokers offering a property for sale are now required by law to have a full set of relevant documentation available to buyers and inspectors alike before the property can be shown.

The law is aimed at protecting the consumer, ensuring property buyers in Spain will never again face the possibility of purchasing property that is illegal and that they could lose as a result. Central among the documentation required before a property can be offered for sale are the necessary building permits and licenses. If a property is in possession of these documents prospective buyers can be assured that it is legal.

Taking a lead in the industry
As an organisation representing 50 offices of top estate agents from Nerja to Sotogrande, the InmoNetwork is very pleased with initiatives of this kind. “The InmoNetwork was founded in October 2006 to form a collective of reputable agents who wish to work together and self-regulate in order to raise the standard of service and integrity in our sector,” says General Manager, Ally Kerr. “We don’t just provide a software for agents to view each others properties, but work within a strict code of conduct.”

“Among our members are some of the best respected real estate firms in this region, and through the organisation’s multiple listing service they collectively list some 5,000 properties in southern Spain, so it is in our interest to distance ourselves from less professional elements in the market and acquire certification that all the properties sold through agents that carry the InMo logo are 100 per cent legal.”

In order to ensure this, the organisation has implemented the procedures and training programmes recommended by a respected legal firm that was commissioned to liaise with the local government for this purpose. “It’s a project that has taken some months,” says Ally Kerr, “but now all 50 of our member offices are fully compliant with the legal requirements.”

“For buyers this means peace of mind, knowing when a property is being purchased from one of our member agents, the consumer can be 100% confident that the advice and information given will be accompanied with all documents issued by the local authorities.

We know Marbella and the Costa del Sol have not had the best of press lately as a result of a number of property scandals, which have rocked client confidence in the market. It is because of this that we welcome new customer protection measures and tighter controls of this kind – and exactly the reason why we have taken the lead in becoming the first real estate organisation in the region to be 100 per cent compliant.”