Sellers Guide

Our tips, tools and guidance on how to sell your house quickly at the best possible price.

Contents

  1. Agent or private sale
  2. The right price
  3. Important paperwork
  4. Best way to present your property
  5. Viewings
  6. Offers and Closing
  7. Costs when selling for the owner

1. Agent or private sale

Are you thinking about selling your house yourself, without an agent? At first this may seem a good idea as you are saving on the agency fee. But take the following into account:

A professional real estate agent spends every day working on selling properties in your area. He knows the exact mar-ket conditions and offers top service and presentation. He protects you from unserious offers and controls the view-ings. He knows about all the legal aspects. He is unbiased towards the buyers and will always try and achieve the best possible price for you.

A good real estate agent will offer you a valuation, a professional photographic report, layout drafting, video, prepara-tion of a comprehensive property report, presentation of your property on different national and international internet sites, advice on legal and financial aspects, pre-selection and filtering of prospective buyers and he will negotiate the best possible price for you.

As a private person you will sell a house once or twice in your life. Mostly it will be your most important and most precious possession, so why not leave the sale to an expert?

2. The right price

The right selling price is absolutely crucial for a successful sale. It can't be too low so that you are overwhelmed with buyers and then find yourself selling at a loss. It can't be too high either so that prospective buyers are not deterred. It is a decisive factor to go on the market with the correct price from the beginning!

On no account should you calculate: my purchase price plus what I have invested = selling price.

The price of your property is the one that a potential buyer is prepared to pay. Clients nowadays have a good overview of prices through the internet and they will focus on the most attractive offers. When the price is too high your proper-ty will become a "slow seller" and your only option will be to keep reducing your price. In the end you will sell for less than would have been possible if you had had the right selling price in the first place.

We prepare a professional valuation for your property and through prior consultation with you we will find you the correct selling price.

3. Important Paperwork

To sell you property in Spain you will need the following documents:

  • Your property deed (Escritura)
  • Your NIE Number (Tax ID number for foreigners)
  • The certificate of occupancy and Energy Performance Certificate
  • Receipts of your latest property tax payment
  • Receipt of your latest payment for community fees (apartment owners) and for the appointment with the notary a certificate from the administrator showing that all expenses have been covered

4. Best way to present your property

Three factors are decisive when it comes to successfully selling your property: The price, the advertising and the con-dition. The only one you can actively influence is the latter, the condition of your property. Below a few tips on home staging (this expression comes from America and it describes the “setting the scene” in a property in preparation for a sale.):

  • Make small repairs
  • Give the walls a coat of paint and repair possible cracks
  • Change broken lightbulbs
  • Check window and door handles and repair any that may be loose
  • Clean the Windows and floors. Tidy up – clear away clutter
  • If you have pets (though we love animals dearly) you should remove any traces of them; some buyers are allergic to pet hairs and may sub-consciously reject a household with animals from the beginning
  • Remove personal photographs and pictures
  • Spread out lighting into every room and switch them on whenever there is a viewing
  • Make sure the house is aired thoroughly before every viewing and make some coffee, this will create a pleasant and homely smell
  • Buy fresh flowers

We will gladly provide you with a professional home staging at a preferential price.

5. Viewings

Prepare you property using the advice above. Relax. Let your agent take over. He has experience and knows which points the buyers are interested in. Potential buyers like to view properties attentively and without distractions.

6. Offers and closing

Do you have one or more offers on your property? Congratulations!

Discuss the pros and cons of the offer with your agent (amount, conditions, timeframe etc.)

Your agent should let you know about any costs involved in the transaction. In order for you to be able to evaluate you offers, we have listed an overview of the costs you may have to take on as a seller below:

7. Costs when selling for the proprietor

The costs listed below refer to Spain:

  • Plusvalia, municipal capital gains tax: this tax is calculated on the basis of the cadastral value of your property and on the number of years you have been a proprietor. It varies according to the area. We will gladly calculate this amount for you.
  • Personal income tax: if you are a tax resident in Spain, the tax on your profit will be between 19,5 and 23,5%. If you are not a tax resident in Spain, 3% of the selling price will be retained and remitted as prepayment to the tax office. When submitting your tax return in Spain you will either have part of it returned or you may need to pay an additional amount. We will gladly put you in contact with an English/German speaking tax ad-visor.
  • If you have a mortgage on your property you will need to have it removed from the land register at the notary so that the new owner can be entered debt free. Normally this will have a cost of around 1000 euros. You should also take into account the bank charges for the early cancellation of the mortgage.

At realestate-dreams we aim to make your property sale a positive and stress free experience