Sell your property on the Costa del Sol, be prepared.
This might sound strange, you have decided to sell your property on the Costa del Sol for one reason or another, you have done the staging, priced it correctly, marketed it well and you get visitors and now you have come to a verbal agreement with a buyer. Great, what could you still do wrong? Several things, but take care of what you can do as a seller, get al your paperwork in order.
If you have an agreement with a potential buyer you usually draft up a reservation contract so the property is taken off-market and you get an amount to make sure that the buyer is serious. To be able to draw up a reservation contract you need paperwork. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary but enough to show the potential buyer that the basic paperwork is in order. Only based on this a buyer will transfer a reservation deposit. Would you pay a deposit to a seller saying, no problem, we can get this paper, we can do this, this can be arranged by a lawyer in no time? Thanks, but you probably would not.
Apart from the property itself what else is included in the price?
If an apartment, is the underground garage parking space with storage included? If it is a detached property, where are the borders with the neighboring properties?
What are the running costs of the property?
For a buyer it is not only important to know what the purchase price will be also the running costs are important. What do you have to pay to the community of owners, what is included and what not, sometime you get a discount of you pay for the year in advance. Local property tax, garbage tax, etc.
Who is the seller?
Can you demonstrate you are the seller, you need proper identification for that. If you have power of attorney because you act in behalf of the owner make sure it is correct and you can demonstrate it. Just because you say you can, doesn’t mean that a potential buyer will pay a deposit, they will want proof. Is the property in a company, make sure that you have the paperwork that shows that you are the owner of that company or you can act in behalf of that company. Leave no doubt for a potential buyer that they are dealing with the right person.
When preparing to sell your property on the Costa del Sol this is the paperwork you should have:
Nota simple
Title deed
First occupancy license
Pasport or other legal identification
If applicable the power of attorney
NIE numbers (Spanish fiscal number)
IBI (local property tax)
Basura (local garbage tax)
Energy certificate
Invoices of water, electra, gas.
Community fees
Signed sales agreement with your estate agent
Last minutes of the community of owners meeting
If you want to sell your property on the Costa del Sol most of these documents have to be shown to a potential buyer by law. Apart from the legal obligations, if you come from a different country and are not familiar with the way how a property is bought in Spain would it not give you confidence that all the paperwork that is necessary and obligatory is ready? It would not be the first deal to go sour because the necessary paperwork could not be handend over in time. If it takes you over a week to get a copy of your own pasport or a copy of a power of attorney or something similar do you think somebody will give you a deposit? They will move on the next property. Wouldn’t you?
So get your paperwork in order and don’t let that be a reason why a potential buyer walks away. Contact us if you have a property you would like to sell.