If you’re preparing to sell your property, it’s important to be aware of the following things ahead of time.

•  You need to provide your buyers’ solicitor with up-to-date Habitation and Energy Certificates. If you have a septic tank over a certain age, this may need replacing in order to get a Habitation Certificate.
• If the property has had any alterations or extensions e.g., a swimming pool, garage or additional bedrooms, these will need to be registered before completion, or on the day of completion. A suitable expert like an Architect will need to authorise the necessary Certificates and get the extensions/alterations registered on the deeds. You will have to pay the Architect’s fee, Notary, Land Registry and 1.5% tax of the valuation of the new build to the Government.
• The Tax office will retain 3% of the sale price if you are a non-fiscal resident in Spain. This money can be claimed back if you have not made a gain on the property and you have paid your non-resident taxes for the last four years.
• Plusvalia tax. This tax is similar to Capital Gains Tax. It is required to be paid by the sellers to the local town hall or tax collection office (Suma). The value of this tax depends on how many years you have owned the property and the valuation of the council tax.
• If the property has a mortgage, it will need to be cancelled either prior to completion or on the day of completion. We can arrange this for you. If it is to be cancelled on the day of completion, the amount that you owe to the bank will be deducted from the banker’s draft that you will receive. You will also have Notary and Land Registry fees for the Cancellation Deeds. Sometimes, when buyers are purchasing with a mortgage, you will have no option other than to allow the buyer’s bank to deal with the cancelation of your mortgage.
• If you live in a property that is part of a community, you will need to obtain a Community Certificate showing that you are up to date with all of the Community fees.
• It can be beneficial to sign a Power of Attorney (either in Spain or the UK). The Power of Attorney gives your solicitor authority to act for you in connection with the property sale. This saves both time and money. A Power of Attorney made outside Spain will require a visit to a Public Notary to have the document certified and Apostilled. The local Notary’s costs will be settled by you directly.

Our service for your property sale includes.

• Drafting of the purchase contract between the buyer and you as the seller
• Completing on the sale of your property at the Notary
• Cancelling all direct debits connected to the property. Utilities and metre readings must be up to date until the day of completion. If you don’t have the utilities up to date or connected, the buyers’ solicitor will retain funds to re-connect all the utilities or to pay off any debts.
• Claiming back the 3% non-resident retention. (See point 3 above). This money can be claimed back from the Tax Office if you have paid your last four years non-resident taxes and you haven’t made a profit on the property. We will check this for you and let you know if you need to pay Capital Gains Tax.

Documents needed to proceed.

If you choose Sun Lawyers to represent you on your property sale, we would need the following documents in order to proceed:

• Purchase Deeds
• Utility Bills (water, electricity, gas)
• Most recent Council Tax and Rubbish collection Tax bill and proof of payment
• Habitation, Energy and Community Certificates
• Copies of passports and NIEs.

Contact us.

We have a competitive fee structure, please contact us so we can provide you with a tailored quotation.

Sun Lawyers has been helping people to buy and sell property in Spain for nearly 40 years. Our English-speaking team is on hand with a professional and hassle-free sales service. Email admin@sun-lawyers.com with the location of the property and we will connect you with the nearest office that can help.