Selling a property in Spain
If you want to sell your house, you can contact us or fill in our SALES FORM on our website including all the details of the property and then we will contact you so we can have a look at the house, take photographs and meet you in person to discuss about the selling terms and conditions. We will also advice you about the real market situation and give you an approximate idea of an evaluation of your property according to our experience and the price of the properties in the area we have previously researched so you have more chances to sell.
After our advice on a realistic price then you can make your final decision about the sales price and we will advertise it on our website and inform any potential clients who might be interested in a property like yours, in that area and for that budget. Together we can make up an action plan and discuss what should be included in the sale and go through all the paperwork to see they are all in order concerning taxes, fees, etc.
If you do not live in Spain, it is important to provide us with a copy of the property key or have the contact details of somebody living permanently in Spain (a friend, relative….) so we can visit the property any time when we have potential clients interested in viewing your house. We also offer our clients our key-holding and maintenance service.
If we finally find a buyer for your property then the following steps will be taken:
- Seller and buyer should sign a private purchase-sale contract with all the agreements about the price, completion date, etc… and at the signing of that contract we usually require the buyer a deposit of 3,000-5,000€ to hold the property until completion and take it off the market. It is quite usual to make stage payments until completion as the buyer may need to arrange a mortgage in the meantime. If the buyer for any reason (not your fault) does not complete the purchase then he will lose this deposit.
- When the buyer and the seller are ready to complete the sale, then both parties will go to the Notary’s office to sign the official title deeds. If there are any outstanding payments then they will all have to be paid to the seller before signing the deeds. Sometimes the buyer or the seller or even both cannot travel all the way to Spain that day to sign the deeds so they can give power of attorney to a solicitor or the estate agent to sign on their behalf. After signing the deeds before the Notary then the property will be officially transferred to the buyer and he will become the new owner of your property.
Costs when selling a property in Spain
- Plusvalia (Local capital gains tax)
The local capital gains tax (Plusvalía in Spanish) is a local/municipal tax that only applies to the increase in value of the land upon which urban properties are built, and that is levied at the time of transfer of such properties. It is calculated on the basis of the valor catastral (an administrative value that is usually lower than the market value) of the property. The resulting amount to be paid will depend on how long the seller has owned the property: the longer the seller has owned the property, the higher the amount of tax will be.
- Capital gains tax
In order to comply with EU non-discrimination regulations, capital gains tax rates for both residents and non residents have been equalised from 1st January 2007 onwards. 21 % tax is payable on the capital gain.
For properties purchased after 1986, 3% of the declared sales price is withheld from the seller at the point of sale. This is paid by the purchaser by submitting form 211, within one month of the sale.
The balance of tax payable / reclaimable is settled by the seller on submitting form 212, within a further two months.
- Local property tax- Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI)
This is an annual tax based on the Cadastral Value of the property. The rate varies according to the local authority. The seller will have to pay this bill for the whole year before signing the transfer title deeds.
- Other bills
Also before selling you will have to make sure that all the utility bills for the property, such as electricity, water, telephone bills and also your community fees, if any, are paid up and you do not have any debts on the property as the buyer or his solicitor will check all this before completing and you will be liable for any outstanding payments on the property before signing the deeds.
We work with the best solicitors in the area so we will make sure are clients are in the best hands when they buy or sell their properties.
