A buyer's agent is not just a different kind of estate agent, it is a strategically different job with different responsibilities. In this 7 minute insight I focus on some of the background issues we cover before our clients step inside a property. Our investigative work ensures we uncover and flag up everything that could negatively impact a property - nothing is hidden. We disclose road noise, electricity pylons, mobile phone masts, even an abattoir!

A case study on the Costa del Sol explaining how estate agents hide road noise - Saturday and Sunday viewings work well. I know, I did it when I was an estate agent.

A case study in legal defects in Tarifa, on the Costa de La Luz in Andalucía.

Even though our clients pay our fee we normally expect to save more than that - we are great negotiators and we can also introduce our clients to private sellers. And then there's the time saving. As your property detectives we do the due diligence and legwork in advance for you, so you don't have to.

Property hunting can be stressful even searching close to home but trying to buy somewhere you don’t know very well, perhaps abroad in a different legal system and language, it’s even worse, and this is where a buying agent can make a real difference to the property buying experience. Getting the right location for you should always be the first step. What you will never get from an estate agent is a recommendation for any location other than the one where their office is located. That’s fine, it’s not their job, but we can suggest locations because buying agents don’t have fixed locations, we work across regions.

Our clients tell us our advice about locations is something they really value and, for some, it opened their eyes to locations they hadn’t considered until we suggested them. Don’t go to an estate agent for balanced, impartial and independent advice about different locations; that is not their function but it is what our business is based on. In this insight, listen to a location case study for one family, comparing Marbella and Nerja on the Costa del Sol in Andalucía. They thought they wanted Marbella but I found them a better fit for their requirements.

Get the location right first, then move on to specific properties. The Property Finders operate in Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca and Andalucía, where we focus on the prime coastal and inland locations - Málaga, Marbella, Estepona, Benahavís, La Herradura, the Costa del Sol.