What does it take to Sell Your Property?

You are looking to sell your property in Spain. Either you have a good idea of its value or you should request a free valuation from your agent. After discussing the property value and the local real estate market conditions with your agent, you will be required to mandate your agent to market your property. Discuss with your agent which marketing tools are suitable for the sale of your property as your property can be advertised through a range of specialised marketing methods some at a cost (see our marketing section).

The first piece of paperwork required is a listing contract between yourselves and the real estate agency. This document is a contract that defines the terms and conditions of the sale of your property. The other paperwork required by law are as follow: a recent deeds extract of the property (Nota Simple), a copy of the last Property Tax (IBI: Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles), a copy of the last Garbage Tax (Basura), a copy of the last community fee receipt for the property (Gastos de comunidad), the copy of the property supplies latest receipts, the Energy Certificate of the property (Certificado de Eficiencia Energética) and your Foreign Identification Number (NIE: Numero de requested by the buyer’s lawyer.

Following a viewing of your property you have an interested buyer and received an offer for your property that you are about to accept. Make sure that besides the selling price you are happy with the other conditions such as the time scale to completion. It is recommendable that the buyer transposes his offer in writing, defines a maximum completion date and commits financially to take the property off the market. At that point you should be able to get hold of the required documentation for the lawyers to draft a contract and to proceed with the legal searches.

At the notary appointment, the new Title Deeds (Escritura de Compra-Venta) are signed, keys and bank draft cheques exchanged. If there is an existing mortgage on the property it gets cancelled at the same time.

What are the vendor's costs when selling a property in Costa del Sol? The vendor is responsible for the costs of his legal representative. All cost and taxes of the purchase are supported by the buyer except the tax on the urban land increase in value (Plusvalia) and the Capital Gain Tax that are paid by the vendor. The commission defined in the listing contract and payable to the agent for the sale of the property is paid from the proceeds of the sale at the time of the signature of the Title Deeds.