Seller’s Guide

You want to sell your property in Spain? Sell with us

Your sales success is our goal! Sit back, relax and enjoy your precious time
We take over the work!

Choosing to sell a property is a journey that requires a lot of time, emotions and overcoming. Therefore, the sale of a property should be well planned and well prepared. Starting with an informative first meeting, the real estate valuation, a professionally competent marketing, the procurement of relevant documents up to the organization of the notarial contract conclusion.

We give your property LIFE!

 

Marketing

We are planning for the sales strategy, this implement and take care of the safe and quick sale of your property. If you entrust us with an exclusive contract, we will also develop a comprehensive, tailor-made marketing plan that will meet your individual requirements. We also advise you on the purchase agreement and are available for questions arising after the notarized statements for you available.

Advice

To sell a property also requires a high level of expertise in advisory activities.
We do not just want to broker your property, we also advise you on every decision

Valuation

We create a free valuation for your property
The decisive factor here is, in addition to the expertise, in particular the correct assessment of the market situation. We know through our many years of experience exactly how much your property is worth and what steps we need to take to successfully market your property. With the right price, selling your home in no time will be a success.

 

Your advantages

  • Determining the fair market price or valuation of your property
  • You will be advised by experienced real estate experts with the aim of getting the best price in the right timeframe for you.
  • You will be informed regularly and in detail about the progress of the sales process.
  • Support for applications for public office
  • Creation of high-quality exposés and sales brochures
  • We use professional digital photo equipment to make your property as well presented online as it is in reality.
  • Advertising in various regional and national print and online media
  • Our website reaches interested buyers worldwide! We spare no expense to achieve maximum reach and visibility in major search engines.
  • Your property on the Costa del Sol is advertised on carefully selected real estate portals across Europe with maximum coverage.
  • Our experience proves that sale signs are an essential part of the house sale. Sales signs always bring prospective customers.
  • Every month we send newsletters with the latest real estate information to our mailing list and potential real estate buyers from abroad.
  • Negotiation and preparation and registration of preliminary contracts
  • Collecting, checking and submission of complete documentation for the creation of the purchase agreement
  • Contact point for questions or advice even after the conclusion of the purchase contract.
  • Discrete information, correspondence and visits with interested parties
  • We put your property in scene, reduce sightseeing and accompany you to the notary contract and beyond.
  • We get a comprehensive picture of your property and tell you which sales opportunities exist based on our detailed market knowledge.
  • Collection and verification of all necessary documents for sale

 

The marketing of your property is an absolute matter of trust so we look forward to your call and are sure that you will be satisfied with our diverse and competent services! If desired, we will visit you for a personal meeting and a completely non-binding advice at your home. Of course, this is free of charge for you and obligates you to nothing.

 

Home Staging

Home staging or how to improve your property to sell it faster

Home staging or staging a house is to transform its appearance to make it attractive to potential buyers. As with any other product, the presentation that is made of it is key when selling it. This real estate practice has been carried out since the seventies in the USA. and for several decades in Sweden, the United Kingdom or France, among other countries. The Spanish real estate market has also proven the advantages of home staging and each time has a greater presence of professionals in the sector.

 

 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words

We work with companies with extensive experience in home staging that, after their performance, become success stories. We pamper our projects as if they were their own and each house is a new challenge for us.

 

In order to comply with the statutory property 218, the following documentation is required:

  • Title deed or other proof of ownership (deed of purchase, inheritance, etc.)
  • Identity document (passport and NIE)
  • Certificate of tax residence (if applicable)
  • Nota Simple (extract from the Property Register)
  • First Occupancy License or Certificate of Habitability
  • Most recent Local Council Rates (IBI) receipt
  • Community of property owners certificate
  • Certificate of outstanding debt issued by the bank (if there is a mortgage on the property)
  • Most recent utilities bills

 

In compliance with European directives on energy and environmental issues, the owners of existing homes must provide potential buyers with the property’s energy performance certificate, which must be issued by a qualified technician.
The following, among others, are excluded from this regulation’s scope of application:

a) Properties with a useful surface area below 50 m2.
b) Properties that are used for less than four months a year, or which are inhabited for a longer period of time, but whose energy consumption does not reach 25 % of what its use would normally be for a whole year.

 

 

Taxes on the sale of a property in Spain

Capital gains tax

Spanish capital gains tax is a tax on the profit made from the sale of a property in Spain. The amount that is liable to be taxed is the profit, or increased difference between what you originally brought it for and what you ended up selling it for.
The actual amount that is taxable is only the profits made from the sale of the property after you have deducted buying and selling costs. The way that you pay this tax is through your annual tax returns. When you are going to do your self-assessed Spanish tax return declarations, there is a section designated to the profit or loss of selling assets, where in the case of selling you will fill in. You will need to declare any money made from the sale that is after taking off the costs. There are some tax reductions for residents if the money gained from the sale is to go back in to another property. Depending on the price of the new property will depend on the amount of profit that is taxable through capital gains. I you where to buy a house below the value of the previous property you have just sold, then it is assumed that part of the profits you made from the sale made be re-invested in to the new property and therefore the amount of profit that is taxable is reduced. The same can be said when you purchase a property at around the same or higher price as the one you have just sold. It can be assumed that you would need to re-invest most if not all the earnings back into to property, which means that there was little profit made and therefore little to tax. This is all down to that when someone purchase a property in Spain have pay various taxes upon purchase and therefore this is also taken into consideration when doing your personal taxes.

How is the capital gains tax calculated?

The profit is the difference between the selling price and the purchase price. An inflation correction will be applied to the purchase price the inflation correction is calculated using official tables of the Spanish government. All kind of costs can be deducted: Lawyer fees, estate agent fees and the costs of remodeling or renovation.
Capital Gains Tax resident
21% on the portion between € 0 and € 6,000
25% on the portion between € 6,000 and € 24,000
27% on the portion above € 24,000
The tax is charged on the income tax. You have to pay the tax in the year in which the property is sold.

Capital Gains Tax non-resident

A non-resident pays 19% tax on the sales profit. Non-residents in Spain from outside the European Union will pay a fix 24% rate for their capital gains.
If you sell a property in Spain as a non-resident, then a standard 3% of the selling price is retained as capital gains tax. You should realize that as a non-resident, you only receive 97% of the selling price.
Because of the collapse of the Spanish housing market, fewer people will make a profit on the sale of their home. If you are eligible for a refund of overpaid capital gains tax, then you can apply at the local tax office (Delegación the hacienda) until 3 months after the transfer of the property. To apply for the refund you need to fill in the 210 form.
The Spanish tax authorities will refund the overpayment in the next financial year. Non-residents need a Spanish legal personality or Spanish legal resident to act as fiscal representative.

3% tax deduction

If the seller is not resident in Spain, the buyer has to withhold 3% of the purchase price and pay it to the tax authorities (application form 211). If this is not done the property will be considered by the tax authorities as the asset backing the capital gains tax liability of the seller. This condition is very unlikely to apply when purchasing from a developer.

Exemption from capital gains tax

In the following cases, you do not have to pay capital gains tax:

1. If you buy a new house with the proceeds of the sale. On the condition that you have lived at least three years continuously in your current home, you are a resident and your new home is your principal residence.
2. If you are resident, over 65 years and have at least three years continuously lived in your current home.

Tax evasion

In the past buyer and seller sometimes specified a lower price than had actually been agreed to. This was done to pay less capital gains tax and transfer tax. This practice is no longer that easy. The tax authorities keep records of the value of a property. Nowadays If you specify an incorrect selling price, the tax office will contact you.
After the collapse of the Spanish housing market, selling price and valuation by the Tax Office will often diverge. You can ask the local tax office how much your property is worth according to them. So you can take that into account.

Plusvalia tax

The Plusvalia, literally ‘more value’, is a municipal tax levied on the sale of a home. It is calculated on the basis of the cadastral value (Valor Catastral) of the property and is also based on the number of years the property has been in your possession. In the heyday of the Spanish housing market, the Valor Catastral was often significantly lower than the market value of the house. After the collapse of the Spanish property market, the cadastral value is often higher than the market value.
The Plusvalia is actually a tax on the value of the land on which the house stands. The municipality argues that the land value has increased because during the years a variety of infrastructure improvements has been made in the area. For example, the maintenance of existing roads, the building of new roads, construction and maintenance of the sewerage, street lighting etc. Through the Plusvalia, the seller contributes to these infrastructural improvements.
The amount of Plusvalia also depends on the cadastral value and the period in which you were the owner: the longer the period, the higher the amount of tax. The amount can really add up. It is, therefore, wise to find out beforehand how much Plusvalia you have to pay. Ask your agent or lawyer to find out. At the town hall, they can precisely calculate how much Plusvalia you have to pay. The officials calculate it on the basis of the cadastral value registry. After the collapse of the Spanish housing market, you can perhaps negotiate the lowest possible cadastral value.
When drafting the contract, you agree on who will pay the Plusvalia, the buyer or the seller. In the past, when the Spanish housing market was still booming, the buyer usually paid the tax. Today, the roles are reversed, and the seller pays the Plusvalia tax.
The Plusvalia has to be paid within 30 days after the sale of the house. You can pay at the town hall. The buyer may also require the Plusvalia to be deducted from the sale price. If the seller leaves without paying, the buyer has to pay the tax.

 

Annual additional costs when owning a holiday home in Spain

Property tax IBI (Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI)

This is the main local property tax affecting owners of properties in Spain payable yearly to the Town Hall. The amount of the tax is calculated by reference to the valor catastral (official value of the property) registered in respect of all properties in Spain. The percentage charged varies from area to area, and is roughly 0.5% to 1%.

Community Fees

Owners of property that is part of any development, building, or complex in which common zones are shared with other owners are by law obliged to be members of the community of owners, known as the Comunidad de Propietarios. This will entail paying community fees for the upkeep of the common areas, and any other services that the community vote for. The fees will vary according to the magnitude of the common areas, the costs of maintaining them, and the services that the community vote for. A budget for annual community expenses is approved by majority vote of all owners (or representatives) who are present at the annual general meeting of the Comunidad de Propietarios.

Refuse collection tax (basura)

This local tax payable by property owner and a related to rubbish collection. The amount to pay varies from area to area, and should be paid to the local Town Hall every 6 months.

Income tax

At the most basic level, Spanish tax residents are liable for to pay income tax on their worldwide income, once personal allowances have been taken into account.

However, a non-resident of Spain is only required to pay tax on any Spanish income (such as rental income from a Spanish property). The income tax for non-residents (Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes, IRNR, form 210) is charged at a fixed rate and there are no personal allowances or deductions.

Additional costs

  • Fixed connection telephone
  • Electricity
  • Gardener
  • Insurance
  • Water

The information provided in this guide is intended for informational purposes only and does not substitute legal advice. The contents herein may be subject to errors, omissions and amendments. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

Success fee

Marbella WOHNEN Immobilien is performance-oriented. And this also means: We declare our services clearly and transparently. We stand behind our services with no ifs or buts. And we believe in our success – which is why you only pay us when we have fulfilled your mandate. This is truly unique.

Attractive bonus…

You know someone who wants to sell a house, an apartment or a property?
Then recommend us. We reward your recommendation / placement in case of success with an attractive premium.
The value of the premium depends on the value of the property. For further conditions, please contact us by phone or come by.
Requirements for successful mediation include:

There is no brokerage order yet  – The object is not yet advertised – The object is not yet included in our offer file

The marketing of your property is an absolute matter of trust. 

Trust begins with a dialogue. Take the first step and

Contact us

Free Property Valuation Service

If you are thinking about selling your home and are not sure about the actual value, you should first determine the right price. We offer our clients a free property valuation service.