Selling a property guide - Sarah Waddington Property

Listing your property with Sarah Waddington Property

When we meet you to list and photograph your property, we ask that you have ready photocopies of the following documents, which are required:

Nota Simple for the property
Energy Certificate for the property. (According to the Royal Decree 235/2013 on 5th April, the property owner must have and Energy Certificate corresponding to the property to be sold. This is also required for the property to be advertised for letting. The lack of or falsification of said certificate can lead to slight, serious and very serious infringements resulting in fines ranging from 300 to 6000 euros.)
Latest receipts for IBI (council tax), rubbish collection and community fees if applicable
First Occupation License / Antiquity Certificate / AFO

To make sure we take the best photos of your property and this way raise the most interest, we have some suggestions how to prepare your property. This is not obligatory, but improves your property portfolio:

Make sure that the house is as clean and tidy as possible both inside and out with a few personal items as possible in sight.
Put the blinds up and draw open the curtains.
If the property has a swimming pool, make sure it is clean and the pump is not on. If you have sun loungers or garden furniture mattresses/cushions make a big difference.
Remove vehicles from directly in front of the house.
Make sure all the light bulbs are working.
Dress the beds with attractive bedspreads and maybe some cushions. Remove personal items.
Remove personal items from the bathroom like shower gel, shaving equipment (could be kept in a box) and display nice towels.
In the kitchen make sure there are as few items as possible on the work surfaces.
In the lounge, remove as many personal items as possible, photos etc. If not possible we can always blur the faces when editing photos. Some cushions on the sofas make the lounge look comfortable. A clean fireplace looks very nice.
We recommend that you set the dining table with nice plates, cutlery, glasses and serviettes, even some candles, a bottle of wine, some citrus fruits or flowers.
Decide whether you want to sell your property furnished, semi or completely empty. make inventory and decide what you want to take and what can be left at the house

We recommend that when we bring a prospective buyer to view your property, that your property resembles the listing photographs and any improvements will also increase the quality of “the first impression”.

When an offer is made on your property

Congratulations!!

Take into consideration that most buyers will be using a lawyer for their purchase, so if you are not fluent in Spanish and are not familiar with the Spanish property law, we highly recommend that you take on the services of a lawyer to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Usually, a reservation deposit of 3,000€ to 6,000€, (relative to the size of the property) is taken to remove the property from the market, and a reservation contract is signed. This amount is usually kept by either the agency or the lawyer in a client’s account. The reservation contract states when the 10% payment will be made and the signing of the deeds. The reservation period varies and can be flexible according to seller and buyer’s circumstances. It is set by mutual agreement, but usually a couple of weeks is enough for the buyer’s lawyer to check the property.

When the 10% is paid, an Arras contract is drawn up outlining the terms and conditions of the sale and when the tittle deeds will be signed at the Notary.

The buyer is responsible for the cost of his lawyer, the Notary charges and the Property registration. This usually is about 12 – 15% of the asking price.

The seller is responsible for the Plus Valia tax, which is payable at the Town hall, and the Capital gains tax, which is a percentage of the amount of money earned on the sale of the property.