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SELLING YOUR PROPERTY IN SPAIN

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If you are fortunate enough to own property in Spain, you will probably be familiar with the procedures and recommendations made in our casaquest.com sections, entitled Buyers Guide, Fees and Taxes, and Legal Guide.

The information provided by these guides can be looked at from the sellers perspective. However, it is useful to consider the additional following information.

Who can lawfully sell a property in Spain?

There are three groups of people who can lawfully organise the sale of a property in Spain.

1. The legal owner of the property.
2. Someone who has been given a Power of Attorney to do so, by the owner.
3. A licensed Real Estate Agent, instructed by the owner.

The value of your property

Several factors influence the selling price of a property, they include:

• Location. An apartment with good views, in a quiet residential area, will command a higher price than an identical apartment overlooking adjacent property in a commercial neighbourhood.
• Construction. The number and type of rooms, garden, swimming pool, car parking. etc.
• Presentation. The style and standard of maintenance of the property, along with the decoration and quality of fixtures and fittings.
• Amenities. Access to shopping, transport, schools, health services etc.

It is necessary to compare your property with similar properties that have been recently sold in order to estimate its value. The price at which you advertise your property for sale is governed by all of the above factors, however, ultimately the price that you obtain for your property is the price the buyer is prepared to pay.

You will find that Estate Agents tend not to value a property for sale. They enquire about the price the seller would accept for the property. However it is possible to pay for a professional valuation.

Selling through an Estate Agent.

The work carried out by a good Estate Agent is described in the Buyers Guide. There is a financial price to pay for the agents involvement, namely the commission charged for the sale. As many agents don't value the property and instead leave the seller to determine the amount they will acept for the purchase. This agents commission is normally in the range of about 3% - 10% of the agreed return price.

Even for an average property this can be a significant amount of money. For example, an apartment for sale at an asking price of 150,000 euros, would be subject to an Agents fee of 7,500 euros at 5% commission. Most agents should include advertising costs in the fee and you can expect your property to announced in press & magazine adverts and also on the agents web site.

The arrangements made with an Estate Agent in Spain differ from those in the UK. It is important to consider the various financial options open to the Agent when selling your property and ensure that you make a written agreement confirming the details of the sale. His financial options, for selling a property for which the owner is asking 150,000 euros, are:

To advertise the property at your asking price, inclusive of commission at the agreed percentage rate. Example: Advertised price 150,000 euros = 7,500 euros (agent at 5%) + 142,500 euros (owner).
To advertise the property for the sum of your asking price plus the commission at the agreed percentage rate. Example: Advertised price 157,500 euros = 7,500 euros (agent at 5%)+ 150,000 euros (owner)
To advertise the property at any price the agent thinks he can sell it for and pay the seller his asking price. Example: Advertised price 185,000 euros = 35,000 euros (agent) + 150,000 euros (owner).

It could come as a surprise to the seller, if option 3 is exercised without the seller being aware of it! The choice for most good Estate Agents would be between options 1. and 2. As most estate estates in Spain use option 2, see above, it would be correct to assume buyers are quite prepared to pay more than what sellers are willing to accept. This results in the paradox that many properties are sold cheaply yet bought expensively.

However, most people are very happy with the results of their sale through their chosen estate agent, and continue to recommend their services, time and time again. This is no doubt due to the fact that the vast majority of estate agents take a very hands on role in the sale of the property, right down to arranging legal advice and conveyancing. This means that most sales are fast and hassle free when handled by an experienced estate agent.

Selling privately, directly from seller to buyer.

The most obvious advantage of selling your property this way is the considerable saving in Estate Agents commission fee. The fee saved by selling privately, could be used, wholly or partly, to reduce the asking price of your property when compared to an identical neighbour selling through an Agent. This would attract more potential buyers and result in a faster sale, with no loss of sales income.

If you sell privately this way, you will need to be confident that you can cope with the procedures shown in the buyers guide. In addition you may decide to seek legal advice. Selling a property involves communication. You need to let potential buyers, who are looking for a property like yours, know that it is available. Whilst you could entertain a variety of media, Casa Quest can offer a unique advertising opportunity, allowing you to advertise your property online to a wide audience across a network of web sites, contact us for further information.

Disclaimer: Casa Quest has made every effort to ensure that all the information provided is accurate. However, it is not intended to be a substitute for professional or legal advice. Regulations and laws do change and therefore Casa Quest cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by any actions, taken or not taken, as a result of using the Casa Quest website or acting on the information contained within.