Please find below legal advice to take into account at the time of selling your property in Spain:
Settle on the right price. It is possible that when you wish to sell your Spanish property, you might have difficulty determining the price you wish to sell it. There are specialized professionals in the real estate market, which depending on various factors, such as the area, number of rooms, traffic, green areas, charges on the property, can assist you in establishing an appropriate price for your property. Please take into account that if you finally agree to hire the services of this type of professional, you must pay some percentage of your profits for their management, which can range up to 5% of the value of the property.
Visits to the property in Spain. Once you have agreed upon the price for which you want to sell your property, you will have to prepare your home for the visits by future potential buyers. You should always take into account whether you want to sell your property fully or partially furnished or sell it without any of the furniture.
Documentation of the Spanish property. After having agreed upon the sale price with the purchaser, the sale of the property must be free of all liens and encumbrances and up to date on the taxes and supplies that the property has contracted. Normally, the documents requested by the buyer of your property are the following:
1- Copy of your previous property title deed
2- A “nota simple” issued by the Land Registry, informing the buyer about any liens and encumbrances that appear at the registry
3- Energy Performance certificate
4- Certificate from the community of owners where the property is located confirming that the ordinary and extraordinary instalments on the property are up-to-date based on the date of that the sale title deed will be granted
5- Accreditation that is up-to-date based on the IBI receipts duly paid for the property
6- Although it is not compulsory, the buyer may also request a copy of the License of First Occupation, to prove that the property or complex (building, villas…) was built in accordance with the Building License granted by the Town Hall and the execution project of the Architect
7- It is possible that based on the age of the property or because it was never issued by the corresponding authority, the License of First Occupation is not available. In these circumstances, the purchasing party may request a Certificate be issued by the corresponding City Council that confirms that there is no procedure to restore the disturbed urban order.
Cancellation of mortgage. If your property has a mortgage pending cancellation at the Land Registry, this will have to be cancelled prior to the sale of the property. This cancellation supposes an appearance in the notary’s office of the attorney of the banking entity or the lender that granted the mortgage loan and a signed Cancellation Mortgage Deed. This means that you have to settle in advance to the act of granting the deed of mortgage cancellation, the outstanding amount of the mortgage loan. It is common that this deed of Cancellation Mortgage Deed is signed on the same day that the Sale Title Deed is signed in a previous notarial protocol number. In these cases, previously, you will have arranged with your bank the appearance of an attorney to sign the cancellation deed.
Expenses. Normally for the sale of their property, the expenses and taxes will be borne by the purchaser with the exception of the municipal Plusvalia tax, which will be assumed by the vendor.
Non-resident vendors without permanent establishment. In cases where the vendor is a non-resident property owner in Spain, the buying party will withhold from the final price of the sale 3%, which corresponds to the capital gains tax of non-residents, which will be compensated for excess or defect in the tax that is filled in by the non-resident.
The vendor may find that the above is more complex than they first might have thought when they put the property up for sale. Therefore, it is advisable to contact the right professionals to help you to avoid surprises in the future.
We invite you to contact Welex so that we can advise you on all the procedures you will need when you sell your property.
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