If you are considering selling your home in Spain there are many aspects of the selling process to take into account. Firstly you must decide if you wish to sell privately or if you are happier placing the property with an estate agent to market it for you. 

There are benefits and disadvantages to both options, many of which depend on your personal circumstances. An example would be if you are not in the country; it would therefore be difficult to arrange viewings personally and thus it would benefit you to give a set of keys to an agent to act on your behalf. However if you are able to stay either in the property, or close by, it could well be worth listing your property with an online property portal and dealing directly with potential buyers.

This option could potentially save you thousands of euros in estate agent commissions since agents can charge vendors a commission of anywhere between 2% and 15% of the purchase price. Estate agents in the Costa Tropical and the province of Granada generally charge around 5% commission. In some exceptional circumstances buyers will pay the estate agency fees and occasionally the fees are split between the buyer and the seller. It is wise to check this at the point of listing your property.

Listing Your Property with an Agent

If you decide to list your Andalucían property with one (or more) estate agents you will need to comply with the Junta de Andalucía’s regulations for selling property in this region of Spain (Decreto 218/2005), which state that to combat the problems of misrepresentation and misinformation when selling a property, any person advertising a property for sale through an estate agent must supply the following information to the agent.

Copy of passports / NIE of the owner(s), plus all contact details.

Address of the property.

Description of the property.

The price of the property, along with any buildings, garages, storerooms etc, stating definitively whether they are included in the asking price or are to be sold separately.

Details of any fees or charges pertaining to the purchase and for how long the asking price is valid.

Copy of the Escritura or a nota simple dated less than 3 months old.

The date of construction of the property.

The amount of community fees if applicable.

Copy of building regulations, plans or licenses where applicable.

Copy of IBI contribution receipt.

A statement confirming what utilities are connected, e.g. electricity, gas, telephone etc.

This information is to be supplied in a separate document that may be made available to prospective purchasers, who will sign for the receipt of the information. Failure on the part of estate agents to collect the required information from vendors can result in a fine of up to €6000 per property.

Costs

When property is sold in Spain, the vendors are liable to pay tax on the capital gains they have made based on the property's increase in value during their ownership; this applies to residents and non-residents alike. With respect to non-residents, the buyer is legally obliged to withhold 3% of the asking price, which must then be paid directly to the tax authorities. When the vendor subsequently submits his capital gains tax calculation, the 3% previously withheld is offset against the amount due, thus reducing the liability. In some instances the withheld tax equates to more than the capital gains liability resulting in the vendor receiving a rebate.

It should also be noted that vendors are taxed twice on the appreciation in capital value of their property; firstly, the previously mentioned capital gains tax and secondly, they have to pay ‘plusvalia’ to the municipal authorities.

Plusvalia is a communal tax on the appreciation in value of the land (without buildings) during the vendor’s period of ownership and is the responsibility of the vendor unless otherwise agreed between the parties. If the agreement is that the purchaser is to pay the plusvalia, this must be included within the contract.

The vendor’s solicitor usually draws up the contract of sale, whilst the buyer will engage their own legal adviser. Each party is liable for the fees charged by their legal representative.

Notary fees are also due on the completion of a sale of a property; however it is usual for these to be covered by the buyer, again unless an alternative agreement has been made and included within the contract.

Taking A Deposit

At the point of an offer on a property being accepted the buyer is expected to pay a reservation deposit to the vendor to remove the property from the market.

On signing the private contract the buyer is expected to pay a further sum, into a bonded account via the vendor’s solicitor, to bring the total deposit to around 10% of the agreed selling price.

If at any point the buyer changes his mind and decides not to proceed with the purchase he will forfeit any deposit lodged. However, if the vendor backs out, he is obliged to return to the buyer double the amount of the deposit.

Completion

Completion of the sale occurs at the Notary’s office, whereupon the final balance owing is paid and the Escritura is signed and witnessed by the relevant parties. As is usual, the vendor is advised to take note of the meter readings and contact the utilities service providers notifying them that they no longer own the property, in the event that the buyer does not action this promptly.