Selling a Property in Spain

When you decide to sell your property and possibly buy another one, the most important thing to start with is the valuation of your property; this will give you an idea about your budget.

We offer a free and non binding valuation of your property, and also advice you with all the economical aspects of selling and buying where we focus on the following important points:

1. Price

2. Tax consequences (see below)

3. Information about Plus Valía (see below)

4. Information about expected sales time

5. Should you buy or sell first

When you want to sell

We can offer you to ways of selling your property

1. Sole commission contract

2. Normal commission contract

Generally we recommend our Sole commission contract; this is the most effective way to achieve a sale.

This gives us the possibility to prepare your property before offering it for sale, so all relevant information on the property is present.

The main advantage with the sole commission contract is that your property is offered for sale through our collaborating network, where many agents of different nationality will have the property for sale which gives a very effective sale. Furthermore we make a very purposeful marketing of the property in magazines and new papers, on the internet, in our own property magazine “Tu Casa” and in our centrally located windows displays. We also keep you updated with the market situation.

We also offer you the possibility of having our “for sale” sign located on your property.

We are always present when a client visits your property, whether it is our client or a client presented to us by any of our collaborators.

We handle all the negotiation until a sale has been achieved. You are not left alone with several agents which only interest is to sell your property as soon as possible before another agents sells is. The result of this is often that you as seller are confronted with an offer on your property that you do not deserve, but feel pushed to accept.

Own Buyer

In connection to our sole commission contract we offer our sellers, that if they come up with their own buyer; we take car of the paperwork as in a normal sale – including negotiation – but for the half of our normal commission.

As we often talk about trade of large values, it is important how you approach the sale, and who you choose to do the work for you. We think that our concept is good and with our more than 25 years of experience, we can offer you a serious and efficient sales work.

We also make normal commission contracts, but as mentioned above we don’t think this is the most efficient way to achieve a sale.

The sale

When we reach an agreement of the sale, we will present you with a signed offer. If you accept this offer, we will prepare the sales contract in Spanish; often we will also have an English translation, to give you the security of knowing what you are signing.

After the sale

• We are present at the notary to help ensure that all documents are signed and payments made correctly.

• We make sure that change of the new owner is made on rates etc. so you don’t get charged for bills that don’t belong to you.

• We prepare final reimbursement and make sure that amount is settled

• We help with the depositing of the capital gains tax in connection with your sale, and also with the following up on the settlement of the amount due.

We are, in short to say, by your side all the way to ensure that everything runs as planed.

Plus valía and capital gains tax – new rules for non residents

With the huge rise in prices on property we have experienced on the Costa del Sol, a property gains tax is often released in a sale. The rules are many, but we try to make a calculation for each Individual case. But we would like to point out some of the more simple rules.

Plus Valía is municipal tax on property sales, which is paid to the municipality where the property is located, the amount to pay varies upon the location of the property and how long you have been the registered owner (when plus valía was paid last). It is the seller whom according to the law has to pay the Plus Valía and we aim to inform you of the amount due prior to the sale.

Property gains tax is a personal gains tax paid when a property is sold and is calculated from the sales price (noted in the title deed) of the property ÷ the purchase price (noted in the title deed). Substantiated expenses when the property was bought and expenses for refurbishing/maintenance of the property and sales expenses can also be deducted.
          If you have owned the property for more than 10 years counted from before 1996, the gain on the sale of the property is free of property gains tax, or partly free of property gains tax, depending on the amount of years you have owned the property before that date.
          There are also special rules for people above 65 years of age and for people that are residents. If residents reinvest the money obtained form a sale within the sales year + 12 months, they can avoid paying capital gains tax – provided it has been their primary home for more than 3 years. Confused? ASK US!

If you are non-resident in Spain, the buyer of the property is obliged to withhold and pay to the tax authority 3% of the purchase price. These 3% are part of the total liquidation of the property gains tax according to the above mentioned.
          Is the property gain less than 3% the tax office refunds the difference once finished with the liquidation, to your bank account or to your fiscal advisor.
          Apart form the gain on the property, the tax office also checks that you made you yearly income declarations, if not, that will be part of the final liquidation.
The tax percentage of the property gain is 18%.

You are always welcome to contact us to get an actual calculation on your tax situation in the event of a sale.