Marbella’s Real Estate Expert

Javier Rivas is a Certified Real Estate consultant, with a strong IT background, helping developers, homeowners, investors, and private buyers achieve their real estate goals in Marbella, Spain. He is an insider, as he grew up in Marbella, which allows him to provide this extra insight, besides the industry knowledge and expertise.  He is a member of the international Real Estate associations GIPE and CEPI. He speaks Spanish, French, English, and German.

This week I will be moving to a new place after having lived in the same house for 18 yrs. I will be blogging about how to look for a mortgage, find the right real estate agents, and what to look for in the house and in a mover. I talk to Javier Rivas an international real estate agent.

Javi please tell my global audience a little about you?

Hi, my name is Javier Rivas.  I’m half Spanish-French. I moved from Lyon to Marbella in 1981 with my parents. I left to study in Switzerland, and work in Germany, Barcelona, and Madrid. I’m a proud father of an 8 years old princess and a tennis freak.

Explain your passion for real estate and how you help people?

After having worked for more than a decade for different agencies, I decided to build my own company. In Marbella most of our clients are international. The market here is attractive to second homeowners that come to relax and enjoy the lifestyle Marbella offers. My passion grew when I noticed how agents can be helpful to clients. The clients are not locals, they don’t know much about our market or town and, therefore, there’s a huge need for the services we provide. It feels like the hospitality business, serving and making people happy.

I envy you as it is minus 15c in Toronto. Talk to me about the lifestyle in Marbella?

Marbella is the favorite destination for millions of Europeans, Middle-Easterners, and Russians. We are blessed by 6 months of summer and mild winters. We are located on the shores of the Mediterranean, one hour away from Gibraltar (UK), Africa, 40 minutes from the vibrant city of Malaga and two hours from the beautiful cities of Seville and Cordoba.

Marbella offers a perfect combination of beach, golf, excellent restaurants, attractions, and sports. I, for example, am not much into golf, but I play tennis almost every day during lunch breaks. Marbella’s infrastructure, size, and amenities allow this lifestyle. And the future looks bright for this corner of the earth. We have an important political change in the region of Andalusia that will certainly boost our market. 

Why should one buy a retirement or investment property?

Real Estate has always been the best investment. It might go down sometimes, but it always picks up at the end. That is of course if you invest wisely.  I believe it offers more security than other investment products. As a matter of fact, during the last huge crisis we have seen recently, prices in Marbella rarely dropped more than 20%.

In sun destinations like Mexico or Thailand, foreigners cannot own a property next to the beach or home. The property has to be in a trust held by the bank. Can I own a property by the beach in my own name in Spain even though I am not an EU resident?

Definitely yes, there are no limitations for owning a property in Spain, as long as you can prove that funds are legit.

I visited Spain during my honeymoon and am in love with Latin culture. Talk to me about the food, wine, and culture of your country?

I am going to come across as arrogant, but sorry, I mean it. The Spanish red wines offer the best quality price ever. I have tasted many French, Italian, American, and South African wines and nothing compared to our Ribera del Duero, also Rioja, but you need to discover other not-so-well-known “denominaciones” or wine regions, that are producing incredible wine, such as Toro, Bierzo, Ronda, Madrid and so on. You really need to try Licinia, from Madrid, it’s truly awesome.

I have no doubt that there are excellent wines around, especially if you are happy to spend 100€+, but in Spain, most wines from 10€ are usually great. I know wines at 4€ that are really good, for example, Carles, from Priorat.

That was all about wine haha. Any room for the rest? Spain has produced many celebrity chefs lately. Especially in the regions of Catalonia and Basque Country. Names like Ferran Adria, Roca brothers, Juan Mari Arzak, and Martin Berasategui, are already very popular in the industry. Even here in Marbella, we have our own hero, Dani Garcia, that has recently been awarded his third Michelin star.

About the culture, just one thing. Most Spaniards are against bullfighting. It’s a tradition but we are increasingly aware that it is a sadistic spectacle that will end sooner than later.

What should I be looking for in a retirement property in Spain?

I can talk about a retirement property in Marbella. Look for sea views, everybody wants that. It really depends also on what’s your budget. An apartment can be 400k to 60 million for a mansion.

If you can get what you like within walking distance to amenities, that’s a big plus, but it’s not easy to find. Marbella is a little LA, you can’t survive if you don’t drive. I’m a bit overstating, of course, but not much.

Why should I hire you compared to someone from Sotheby or other agencies?

I offer a different service working in a team with other agencies. Dealing with many traditional agencies can be overwhelming and dealing only with one limits your options considerably. My formula allows my clients to deal only with one contact person actually increasing options. Besides, I’m a long-established certified agent member of CEPI, the European Association of Real Estate Professionals, aiming at raising the standards of professionalism and ethics in our industry.

How important are food, family, finance, and faith in your own life?

I’m trying to look after myself, so I’m careful with food although I can’t help enjoying a good tender sirloin with a great red wine from time to time.

My family is everything to me. Since I’m a parent, my life has changed a lot, but I guess as for everybody. Money is important. I could be politically correct and say things like “as long as you do what you like, you will be happy”, or “money does not bring happiness”, but I can’t agree completely. Money provides the possibility to have a certain lifestyle. Basic needs can only be covered with money now.

Faith? I’m not a believer if that’s what you mean.

Tell me a good real estate joke?

The director of a long-established agency comes one morning to find out that both shops on both sides of his agency are now also real estate agencies. One of them has a sign saying “No commissions”. The other one has a sign saying “The best agents”. What did this director do? He changed his existing sign to one saying “Main entrance”.

Photo Credits: karl muscat Robert Kovacevic Drew Graham Vishnu Patel Vita Vilcina Ralph Kayden