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Top Tips For Selling Your Spanish Property

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Cancasa


For all foreign homeowners with property in Spain, there comes a time when you might want to sell.
The apartment or villa may be too small or large, or you might be interested in returning to your land of origin.

For people looking to sell a villa or apartment, the procedure will be more complicated than the buying process.  While there are many individuals and families looking to buy property in Spain, finding a buyer may not be too challenging.  

Advertising Your Home
If you choose to market it without professional help, you might find it relatively simple. 
It's recommended that you use original images taken by yourself, or hire a photographer for a small fee to get the best photos of your property.

Be Realistic With Price & Completion Time
Completion time for a property sale can take approximately two months on average from accepting an offer to handing over the keys to the new owner.  Of course, this is unless the buyer is willing to make a cash payment for the property.

It is also important that you understand the real estate market value and realistically price your property. 
If you overestimate the value of your property, you may find yourself waiting a long time to sell it. (Some have been known to wait years due to unreasonable pricing).  Market value can be identified by researching the sales of comparable properties in your neighbourhood or by asking a real estate agent for property valuation.

Considering The Fees And Capital Gains Taxes
Capital gains tax is not always applicable to a property sale, but non-resident vendors tend to be subject to a notary of three percent withholding tax.  This is often unknown by sellers and kept 'under wraps' until the final process is completed, which can cause anxiety among some sellers and real estate agents.  The good news is that sellers can reclaim the figure by hiring a tax representative operating within Spain.

Buyers Requesting Furniture As Part Of The Sale
The majority of buyers investing in a foreign property tend to search for properties including most of the fixtures or furniture is seen in the advertisement when viewing the apartment or house.  Taking this into account; it is expected that offers will be received based on the inclusion of furniture, beds, and kitchen equipment as part of the sales deal.

The Bank Fees Can Be Expensive
When it comes to relocating from Spain to Norway, Britain, or other countries that do not utilise the Euro, then the bank fees can be quite expensive.  If you need the Spanish bank to pay a banker's draft into your UK bank account, this can easily result in a fee of a few hundred Euros.

If you require Spanish banks to exchange the Euro into Pounds, this will work out to be approximately one percent of the full value.  If the figure to be moved ranges from hundreds to thousands of Euro, then this can easily be noted as a sizeable amount of money.

Understanding How Real Estate Agency Fees Work
Before hiring a real estate agent, it's a good idea to discuss the estate agent's fees to ensure you understand the entire fee structure before proceeding.  For example, will the fees be included in the overall cost of the property, or is the commission paid at a set amount after the sale?  Understanding the fees will ensure a smooth sales process.


Dressing Up The Property
Nobody likes a disorganised, dirty looking property, and making it feel like a nice home brings you one step closer to a sale. Someone I know swears by the scent of the interior and because the person interested in buying his property was male, he bought the best candles for men in a variety of flavours and distributed them around the rooms prior to the viewing and he said it made a big difference to the place.

 

Wrapping It Up
After speaking with a few established agents, we found that a lot of people trying to sell their property are not aware of the proper procedure so it's important that thorough research is done before initiating any sale so that you avoid potential pitfalls.
The language barrier poses its own problems so make sure you fully understand everything before putting pen to paper on any agreement.

 

 

Posted by

Peter Spain

After following the property sector for several years especially in Spain, I came to understand the cycles and all the attendant peaks and troughs that come with it.
I now focus my efforts on helping established local agents with their online presence and visibility. Several Spanish agencies are benefitting from the attention to detail and meticulous research that I provide which forms part of the marketing strategy I offer.

 

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