SELLING A PROPERTY
Learn about the property selling process in Estepona.
1. CHOOSING A REAL ESTATE AGENT
Selling a property in Estepona involves selecting a real estate agent, a decision that significantly impacts the success of your sale. At LUCKY SOL, we understand local market trends, pricing strategies, and buyer behavior, helping you to price your property competitively and attract serious buyers. We have the necessary tools and networks for effective marketing, ensuring your property reaches the right audience. With our negotiation skills, we aim to secure the best possible price and terms for you. We focus on providing personalized service, understanding your unique goals, and supporting you from the initial consultation to the closing.
2. LISTING AGREEMENT
Choosing the right Listing Agreement, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, is an important decision for you as a seller. An exclusive contract assigns the selling rights to one agent or agency, which streamlines the process by facilitating easier scheduling of property viewings and ensuring more focused effort, along with consistent communication and a united marketing strategy. However, this might limit your property’s exposure, depending on which agent or agency you choose.
A non-exclusive contract allows several agents or agencies to market your property, potentially increasing visibility. But this can result in challenges like inconsistent pricing, duplicated listing, and difficulties in managing the whole process.
You will need to have important documents related to your property ready (which we can help you get). These include:
1. Nota Simple
2. The Escritura (title deed)
3. Water & electricity bill
4. Community fee receipt
5. IBI tax receipt
6. Garbage tax receipt
7. Mandatory energy certificate
3. VALUATION & PRICING STRATEGY
Setting the right price for your property is essential for a successful sale, and at LUCKY SOL, we’re committed to guiding you through this process. The ideal price takes into account the property’s location, size, and condition, as well as current market trends and prices of similar properties in your area. We are experienced in assessing these factors to determine a competitive price that reflects the true value of your property. We continuously monitor the market and adjust pricing when necessary, ensuring your property is positioned effectively to attract buyers.
4. PREPARING FOR A SALE
Selling a property involves more than just putting it on the market. It’s about careful preparation, including staging, repairs, and enhancements, all of which play a significant role in the selling process. Staging, which involves arranging furniture and decor, highlights your property’s best features. Addressing repairs and maintenance demonstrates that it’s well-cared-for. Enhancing “curb appeal” creates a strong first impression and decluttering makes the space inviting. Utilizing professional photography ensures your property is showcased in the best light, attracting more interest. Understanding your target audience during all of this is very important. At LUCKY SOL, we are here to assist you every step of the way.
5. MARKETING & ADVERTISING
In the competitive Estepona real estate market, effective marketing and advertising are vital for a successful sale. It begins with understanding your target audience – be it local families, international investors, or vacation home seekers – and adjusting your marketing strategy accordingly. High-quality photography, videography, and aerial drone footage are crucial in showcasing your property’s best aspects, while virtual tours offer an immersive viewing experience for both local and distant buyers.
We excel in creating customized marketing plans that spotlight your property’s standout features. We utilize social media and online platforms effectively to boost visibility and attract the right audience.
6. PROPERTY VIEWINGS
After attracting potential buyers with our effective marketing tools, property viewings are a crucial next step, giving buyers a chance to personally experience your property with our assistance. Ensuring the property is well-prepared, clean, and staged is crucial to making a great and lasting impression.
We gather feedback from each viewing, providing you with valuable insights and perspectives from potential buyers. We also make sure to keep in touch with potential buyers and agents to maintain their interest. By working with us you can be confident that property showings are managed effectively. This not only positively influences how your property is perceived but also enhances the likelihood of a successful sale. We ensure regular communication, providing you with feedback from buyers after each viewing to keep you informed and involved in the selling process.
7. RECEIVING & NEGOTIATING OFFERS
Receiving and negotiating offers is a very important part of selling your property. Once your property is up for sale and buyers have visited it, you’ll start getting offers. These offers might be different in how much they’re willing to pay, what they’re asking for, and when they want to close the deal. It’s really important to look at each offer carefully. Think about how much they’re offering, if the buyer has the money ready, and if there are any special conditions, like needing a mortgage or an inspection. Sometimes, you’ll need to talk about the offer and change some aspects, like the price or the closing date. If an offer is almost right but not quite, you can make a counteroffer with the changes you want. When an offer is just right, you can agree to it officially. This leads to signing a Reservation Contract and then a Purchase Contract, which gets things moving towards finishing the sale. Watch out for things like very low offers or buyers who don’t have their financing sorted out yet. Our team is here to help you in evaluating the offers and negotiating effectively. We’ll guide you through any challenges and make sure that you’re on the right path towards a successful sale. This stage of selling requires you to have a clear understanding of your goals, be prepared to negotiate and consider each offer.
8. RESERVATION CONTRACT & DUE DILLIGENCE
This contract reserves the property for the buyer and takes it off the market while legal checks are carried out. The buyer is required to pay a non-refundable deposit, typically between €6,000 and €10,000, which shows their seriousness. This deposit is later deducted from the final sale price. If the buyer withdraws from the deal, they lose the deposit, while if you as a seller back out, you must return the deposit twice.
As a seller, you’ll need to provide several documents, and we can help you get them. These documents are mentioned in point 2.
During this process, the buyer’s lawyer will carry out due diligence to ensure the property has all valid licenses, is debt-free, and other necessary paperwork is in order.
9. PURCHASE CONTRACT
About two weeks following the reservation contract, the next step is to sign the purchase contract:
Private Purchase Contract (Contrato privado de Compraventa): This contract can’t be terminated as easily. If one party fails to meet their obligations, the other can legally enforce the contract. If the seller backs out, they must pay double the deposit to the buyer. If the buyer backs out, they lose their 10-30% deposit. We call it PPC.
10. TITLE DEED
The signing of the title deed is the final moment in the sale process, scheduled at a time agreed upon by both buyer and seller. Before the final signature, there’s often a last check of the property. This is usually done by the agents, the buyer, and sometimes the lawyers, to make sure there are no new problems. The signing of title deed, which happens in front of a Spanish Notary, is the official completion of the sale. The content of the deed includes everything about the property: its full details, the agreed price, how the payment will be made, when the buyer will take over, any maintenance issues, the property’s exact condition, and any situations where you (the seller) might still be responsible. Once it is signed, you or your lawyer will hand over the keys to the buyer in exchange for a check for the remaining payment. From the moment you step out of the notary’s office, the property is officially sold to a new owner.
11. DECLARING THE SALE
When selling property in Spain, there are specific tax considerations. The selling price can reduced by costs such as sales expenses, renovations, the original buying price and costs, and any improvements made. The resulting profit is subject to capital gains tax, which is 19% for non-residents within the EU/EEA, varies between 19% – 23% for Spanish residents, and is 24% for non-residents outside of the EU/EEA. Additionally, there’s a crucial step called Retention Tax for non-residents. In this process, the buyer withholds 3% of the sale price and pays it to the Spanish tax office, not as an additional cost but as a form of security. This ensures that non-residents settle any outstanding tax liabilities in Spain. If your taxes are up-to-date, you can reclaim this amount, usually within months, but it can take up to a year.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for any questions or concerns. We’d be delighter to become your partner and ensure a smooth process for you.
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+34 665 333 999
You can expect a reply within 24 hours. We will be happy to prepare a no-obligation personalized portfolio of properties for you or answer any of your questions.
