For British, Irish and other foreign homeowners in Spain, there may come a time when you consider selling. The villa or apartment you have may simply be too big, too small, or you may simply want to return to your homeland.
For those looking to sell their property, they may find it more difficult then buy it. There are several families and individuals looking to purchase property in Spain, so finding a buyer may not be the hardest part of all.
- Advertising your home:
If you choose to market it yourself, use images such as those from a repository of images and deal with the legal requirements, may be the route you are taking to sell.
Even if you leave most of the hard work to the professionals, there are a number of ways you can speed up the process.
Be realistic about the price & completion time
Unfortunately, selling a house in Spain is not easy. Completion time can take up to two months, on average, since you accept an offer. That is unless the buyer is willing to pay in cash.
Knowing the right price is important. If you overestimate the value of your property, you may be waiting a long time to sell that home. You can search for sales of comparable properties in the area in order to help you, or ask an agent to provide a valuation.
There will be fees and capital gains taxes
Capital gain tax may not be applicable, but non-resident sellers will likely be subjected to a notary of 3% withholding tax. This can often go unnoticed to the seller until the final process, which can cause anxiety among some.
The good news is that you can claim this figure by employing a Spanish tax representative.
Many buyers want furnishings as part of the deal
Many buyers want a property which includes many of the furniture they see in the advert or when touring the property. Be expected to receive offers which are based on including your furniture, beds, and kitchen appliances as part of the deal.
Bank fees can be expensive
When it comes to those moving from Spain back to Britain, Norway, or somewhere which does not use the Euro, then fees can be high. If you need to have your Spanish bank pay a banker’s draft into your UK account, this warrants a fee of up to a few hundred Euro.
Then you will need the Spanish bank to exchange the Euros in Pounds, which will work out at around 1% of the total value. If the figure to be transferred is into the hundreds of thousands, this represents a considerable amount of money.
Understand how real estate agency fees work
Discuss how the real estate agent will take their fees, and what they are, exactly. Understanding the real estate agency's fees and everything else you are liable to pay will help smoothen the sales process considerably.
Credits: theolivepress.es