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Guide to Selling your property in the Costa del Sol

If you currently own a property in the Costa del Sol and you are looking to sell, the following guidelines will prove invaluable to you.  Whether you have an apartment, villa, townhouse or a commercial property, there are many things that you need to be aware of, many of which may be different from your home country.

Selling your property privately

The Costa del Sol is awash with countless real estate agents that are operating in an increasingly competitive market, and therefore the vast majority of individuals that are looking to sell their property in the Costa del Sol will opt to go through their local estate agent, as well, many people who own investment properties here will not be located in Spain themselves, and will also choose to appoint an estate agent to sell their property. 

There are however many individuals that opt out of this scenario and wish to sell their property privately.  The following guide should be considered before looking to sell your property privately:

  1. Be sure that you Speak Spanish – this is of paramount importance as many of the potential buyers will be Spanish speaking and/or contacting you via a Spanish Estate agent.

  2. Ensure that all of your taxes and levies have been brought up to date (in Spain, property taxes and applicable charges are tied to the property rather than the owner, and if you are looking to sell your property privately, it will fall onto your shoulders to perform all of the double-checks necessary to ensure that you have made all necessary payments).  The purchaser will be investigating this, and any discrepancies here could lead to the loss of sale.  Consulting your accountant (or Gestoria as they are referred to in Spain) and requesting an investigation and confirmation of this would be prudent.

  3. Be sure to have a good lawyer who you trust to handle all of the paperwork for you.  Consulting your lawyer throughout each step of the process will ensure that the sale is handled legally and that you are aware of all the tax implications (such as Capital Gains Tax) and commitments that you will be required to fulfil.

If you are like the vast majority of foreigners who own property in the Costa del Sol, you will likely prefer to sell your property through an estate agent.  There are many to choose from, but in general it is a good idea to seek out an estate agent that speaks your language.  It is also an excellent idea to request a list of clients that can be used as a referral, and follow-up with these individuals and discuss their experience with the estate agent in question to be sure that you feel comfortable moving forward.

Once you have selected an estate agent that you are comfortable to work with, the following steps should be taken:

  1. Decide if you wish to sell your property through one agent (exclusive) or through many – This decision is primarily based upon your location and your desire or willingness to be involved in the sales process.  If you grant one agent the exclusivity to sell your property, they will be far more motivated than if they knew they were sharing.  Obviously because they know that invariably the sales commission will be theirs.  However, when selling through multiple agencies, you also get your property out to a much larger number of potential buyers, as well, you will be required to coordinate agreements, and property visits with a number of estate agents, as opposed to only with one.

  2. Know what your property is worth – Many estate agents will be happy to arrange an evaluator to visit your property and assess the expected sale value of the property.  In many cases individuals wish to do this without the estate agent’s involvement to ensure that they have an unbiased opinion.  If you are in the area, take a time to view similar properties to your own and gauge the listing price against what you are thinking to assign as your own.  It is a safe bet to assume that there is at least a 3% commission involved for the selling agent, however in many cases; some have added as much as 10% to the cost.  Also, you may find when investigating other properties that you can find the same property listed with different agents at different prices.  This is a result of what is known as “net price” agreements.  This happens when the individual who is looking to sell their property in the Costa del Sol approaches multiple agents and tells them that they simply want to take home X amount, and they are not concerned about the estate agent commissions.  With this scenario, they will invariably inform you that you are asking too much, and try to work down your net figure as much as possible.  Once they have done this, they will mark up the property to the maximum price they BELIEVE they can sell it for, (it is not uncommon for estate agents with a large reach, and big supply of buyers to mark up prices as much as 20% in these instances).  The long and the short of it comes down to the estate agent only working for themselves, and not in your best interest.

  3. Establish your Selling Price and Agent commissions.  With the knowledge of your valuation in hand, the estate agent will be able to guide you on what price they feel you should sell your property.   The agent will also at this time specify their applicable commissions and at this point, your responsibility should be to contractually agree to all the costs involved.  If you involve your lawyer at this stage, and ensure that they review the contractual agreements, you can cover yourself from being hit with additional charges down the line from the estate agent.

  4. Involve your lawyer throughout the entire process. Consult them regularly with updates and any contractual agreements between yourself and the estate agent.

Some additional tips for selling your property in the Costa del Sol:

  • Get your main agent to put up "For Sale" signs on all sides of your property
  • Be as flexible as possible for viewings, it is a good idea to leave a copy of the keys with your main estate agent to be sure that they can take a prospective buyer whenever they are available.  An estate agent is far more likely to show a property if they have a key (than needing to go through the trouble of arranging an appointment)
  • Do any small work (such as painting, touch-ups, etc) prior to selling your house, and be sure the property is clean and presentable.  In many cases, it is the small things that really make a difference.
  • If you are selling any furniture with the property, make sure that a full inventory is completed and accurate.  Whenever possible, remove any furniture that will not be sold, as this can be misleading and cause problems with ‘letting down’ the prospective buyer.
  • Be prepared to wait.  Selling a property is not a quick process and the time required from listing to sell can range anywhere from 3 months to 2 years.
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