In a highly competitive market, as both a buyer and seller, you should use an agency who consistently achieves results and exceeds your service expectations. Our Marbella based team has a proven track record in obtaining the best return for our clients' properties, and our business thrives regardless of market conditions. Our knowledge of the entire Costa del Sol property market, plus our energy and enthusiasm to succeed on your behalf are our strongest qualities.
If you are considering selling your property on the Costa del Sol - we cover the entire southern coastline from Malaga City to Sotogrande, please contact us for an initial consultation and market appraisal, by phone on +34 952 812 897 or from the UK on 020 3930 9672, or via email, valuations@affinityspain.com.
Alternatively, please complete the form below and a member of the affinity team will be in touch within 1 (office) hour.
Here is a bit more information on the reservation and sale process:
For anyone asking, 'when is the best time to sell?' The simple answer is, 'when you are ready!' There are various months throughout the year when you find more visitors to the Costa del Sol, but we find the best time to place a property on the market for sale is immediately - there literally is no time like the present! Our attention to detail with all our direct listings - drone footage, 4k property videos and a guaranteed positions on YouTube, top quality property photographs, coupled with our unrivalled targeted marketing, ensures your precious property is placed in front of the right clients, leading to a speedy and hassle-free sales process. Don’t take our word for it... Check out all our impartial reviews on Feefo.com by clicking here.
The following steps outline the usual process for selling a property in Spain:
During this phase we make contact with the buyer and draw up a document to seal the agreement. For you as the vendor, this step is necessary to ensure that the buyer has shown commitment to proceed with the purchase. For the buyer it means that the property comes off the real estate market, so that it is not available to any other prospective buyer. Once an offer has been agreed it is very important that a non-refundable deposit is paid by the buyer at this point - this is usually paid to the buyer/vending agent or the buyers Lawyer.
The buyers will want to make sure that the property is free of charges, encumbrances, and any other outstanding debts, and therefore they will carry out certain searches. On the other hand, in order for us to be able to complete the sale before the notary, we will need to carry out our own searches as well - when you list a property with affinity we will request all legal documents from our vendors to ensure this searching process is carried our as quickly as possible, so please make sure you have all your property documents in place before you place your property on the market!
It is important that the buyers can start their searches as soon as possible and therefore we will need to provide:
Title deeds / Land Registry detailsProviding all the searches have concluded successfully and the buyer’s due diligence is positive, we can go to the next step in the process which is the signing of the Private Contract. The Private Contract will set a date for completion and includes the terms to protect your interest. By signing the Private Contract, you have a very secure sale, and a payment of 10% is usually made at this point by the buyer.
In some cases, where the completion stage is scheduled straight after satisfactorily conclusion of the due diligence, there is no need to sign the Private Contract, instead moving from deposit stage straight to completion.
Before the completion of the sale can take place, there are certain preparations to be carried out.
MORTGAGE CANCELLATION (Only if applicable)
If there is a mortgage in place, you would need to cancel your outstanding mortgage before completion. The cancellation would involve payment of the outstanding mortgage amount, cancellation fee, if there was any (normally 0.5 to 1% of the outstanding amount); to this we have to add the notary and registry fees so that the mortgage cancellation is registered not only at the bank but also at the Land Registry. Normally the mortgage cancellation takes place at the same time of the completion of the sale.
CERTIFICATES
Depending on your fiscal status as vendor we may need to obtain a fiscal certificate for you. Apart from this, the buyer will want to see a confirmation from the community which shows your (financial) status as community member, as these fees must be paid up to date prior to completion.
DEBTS RELATED TO THE UTILITIES OF THE PROPERTY
Payments related to water, electricity, IBI tax, Basura tax or to the property owners' association (the community) will need to be up to date when completion is signed. The purchaser could deduct the necessary amounts to pay on your behalf any of the outstanding bills, if any.
CALCULATIONS
As many payment dates (community, IBI, Basura etc) do usually not coincide with the completion date, we will carry out a calculation to determine which part of the payments made in advance should be reimbursed by the buyer. This balance will be taken into account to calculate the final amount to be received from the buyer.
On the day of the handover of the property, the Title Deeds of the property are signed into the new owner’s name. This formal act takes place before a Spanish Notary. The Spanish Notary will verify the identity of both parties, and the formal legal representation, and will check that the basic legal formalities of the Deeds are in order. The Notary will also sign the Title Deeds.
From that moment, you are no longer the property owner
The utility contracts will normally be taken over by the buyers. They should not be cancelled as the buyers may encounter problems/additional expenses to re-connect. The registrations for IBI/Basura will be cancelled automatically when the buyers complete the purchase.
We advise you to regularly check your accounts to make sure that no further amounts are direct debited. If you notice that this happens, please contact your bank and ask them to undo the payment immediately. We would appreciate if you advise us in that case as well so we can contact the buyers Lawyer. Alternatively, you can cancel your direct debits with the bank directly after the completion of the sale has taken place.
This power of attorney can be signed in Spain in front of a Spanish Notary, or at your nearest notary office in your home country, with the assistance of your Lawyer. We would always suggest that you use a local based Lawyer to handle the purchase/sale of your property, and to NEVER use a Lawyer based outside of Spain.
As you are non-residents vendors, you are obliged by Law to pay this tax at the time of the sale of your property in Spain: it is the so-called Capital Gain Tax (government tax). This tax is 19% of the profit obtained with the sale (increasing to 24% if you are based outside of the EU, for example, in the UK): 19% (or 24%) of the value on the sale deeds, less the value on the purchase deeds, plus the costs incurred with the purchase. To the resulting amount, your Lawyer will apply certain temporal coefficients depending on the time elapsed since you bought the property. This tax is paid in two stages:
1st STAGE
The purchaser is obliged by Law to withhold the 3% of the declared sale price (this will be stated in the deeds). This tax deduction is obligatory and cannot be avoided; the notary public will make sure that this 3% has been deducted. This amount is paid by the purchaser on your behalf, and therefore the buyer is responsible to make sure that this payment is made to the relevant tax authorities. This tax deduction is a payment on account of this tax.
2nd STAGE
If the tax (19% of the profit net made) turns out to be higher than the amount withheld in the 1st stage, you would need to pay the difference to the Spanish Tax Authorities. However, if the tax is lower, you can claim to be refunded the difference. In any case, you would be obliged to file this tax. The term to file this tax is four months after the sale. Your Lawyers tax department will be pleased to assist you with this tax declaration after the sale.
In order to be entitled to such refund, you must be up to date with payment of your non-residents tax, which is due once a year.
This is a local tax based upon the increase of the value of urban land, and the normal practice is for the vendor to pay. In general, this amount tends to not be very high, it depends on where the property is located, and the number of years elapsed since you became owners. Plusvalia has to be paid within the first month after the sale of a property and your Lawyer should assist you in paying this local tax. In some cases, the buyer’s representative will insist on retaining this amount and he/she will take responsibility for arranging payment of the tax. The Plus Valia amount can be calculated once we know:
1) The catastral reference (it shows on your IBI/Basura receipts).
2) The date that the property was purchased.
3) The date that the property was sold (the date that the property will be transferred to the new owner)br>
Once a buyer has been found and a price has been agreed, your Lawyer will prepare a breakdown related to the sale in which you will be able to see all related costs, fees and taxes. Legal fees for representing you in the sale of your property tend to be around 0,8% to 1% of the selling price with a minimum of 1,200 euros+IVA (VAT at 21%).
