We told a buyer NOT to buy this €680k Chamberí flat. Here's why.

The flat was beautiful. €680,000 in Chamberí, renovated, light, exactly what our client wanted. Our fee, agreed upfront, was payable on purchase.

We told him not to buy it.

Red flag 1: the price vs the street

Comparable escrituras on the street: €590,000–€615,000. The asking price was ~12% above reality. In a negotiation we'd have had room, but the seller wouldn't move. Some sellers would rather wait two years than accept the street price. That's their right. It's not our client's problem to fund.

Red flag 2: the nota simple

The property registry extract showed an unregistered extension [verify: use the real finding] - square meters the seller was charging for but didn't legally own. The bank would have valued it lower; the mortgage would have shrunk; our client would have covered the gap in cash. Nobody had mentioned it. Not the listing. Not the seller's agent.

Red flag 3: the community

Pending building assessments (derramas) for façade work, not disclosed in the listing. Another €9,000 waiting in the hallway, so to speak.

Why we're telling you this

In Spain, the listing agent is paid by the seller. Ask yourself: in that deal, who was checking these things for the buyer? Nobody - until us.

We lost a fee that month. We kept something worth more: a client who then bought the right flat three months later, and has sent us four referrals since.

The test for any advisor

Ask them: «Have you ever told a client not to buy?» If the answer is no, they don't work for buyers. They work for transactions.