# Property Sale Advice



## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Out of the blue, an interested buyer has surfaced for my house! 

Much as this is a very pleasant development, I'm now getting very nervous about what comes next. If an offer comes, of course I'm expecting a derisory opener but will do my best to beat him up(wards).  

I'd be interested in any advice from people who know the system or have experience of selling here. As a widow and a foreigner, I feel rather vulnerable. We've all heard horror stories and they say people lose all morals at times like this. I have arranged for a local agent to guide me through the sale, if it comes off, for a fee. 

The 'buyer' is a successful businessman, one could say a 'chulo' whose confidence is getting me worried as he seems to be used to calling the shots. I understand there is a minimum amount, compared to the valor catastral, that one is expected to sell for, otherwise perhaps receiving a tax bill for a higher, presumed, selling price. In these crisis times, however, my price is getting pretty close to that value! I have been heavily advised against anything illegal. I worry about Cypress-like problems appearing overnight just as the cheque is banked - should I consider opening several accounts pronto, to benefit from banking guarantees? I'm sure there are other aspects that I haven't considered...

Any thoughts most welcome, thanks!


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Hello

I'm not sure why you've contracted an estate agent to help you, what you need is a good solicitor/lawyer/abogado to act on your behalf.

You'd help not only yourself but the potential buyer enormously if you got all your paperwork in order ready to show the potential buyer. This would be -

1/ The title deeds to the property or escritura. Check to make sure that the property is described accurately and that you are legally entitled to sell the property.

2/ Get the ayuntamiento or town hall to issue a certificate that all the tax payments such as IBI etc are all paid and up to date.

3/ Check to see how much plusvalia or local capital gains tax is liable on the property when it is sold. The seller usually pays this but sometimes the buyer will pay it. It's worth knowing what this amount is and who will pay it when you commence price negotiations.

4/ Get all your utility bills paid up to date with proof and confirm that they will be paid up to the point the property changes hands.

If you get all this information ready to show the buyer when price negotiations start, the buyer will not only be impressed by your efficiency, he will also realise you're serious about selling the property and reaching a mutual selling price.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

OK it's a while since we sold our flat, but from what I remember, we downloaded a contrato de arras from the internet, modified it until both us and the buyer were happy and we signed it. This contract included the agreed price and deadline for the transaction. The buyer had to leave an agreed amount of money and if they broke the contract they lost it, and we broke the contract we had to pay back double I think. I can't remember the details.

Yes people do lose all morals in this process, or rather they get stressed out, stop trusting each other, imagine the other party is screwing them, try to screw them back, etc, etc. I highly recommend getting a lwayer to handle this for you, and refer the buyer to them. Do not enter into any verbal agreements with the buyer.

yes the ayuntamento has a list of prices for properties and they will fine you if they think you are selling the property on the cheap. There has been more than the usual controversy over this since the crisis started, since many people genuinely buy/sell houses for prices lower than the figure on the list, and they are left with the options of either over-stating the price to the notary so it is in line with the ayunatmentos value, or they declare the true price and risk being falsely fined. Most people do the former and end up paying more tax to the ayuntamento than they should. Be prepared to grit your teeth.

Regarding the banks, I believe the bank guarantees are for €100k, so yes it could be worth holding money in more than one account. Maybe a big foreign bank like Citibank could be a good option.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I believe that you will also need a survey to obtain an energy certificate.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Thanks for the input so far. I got my energy certificate before the June 1st deadline. 

I went to talk to my local notario late this morning - he handled the will/inheritance for me a few years ago - and has proven to be a friendly advisor. I got a list from him of the documents required and have them all ready. He told me that the ref. no. on the IBI bills can be used to obtain the price that has been determined for the property value by the local government (as opposed to the valor catastral). Does anyone know if there's a site for people to check that or is it only something that the 'powers that be' can look up? As I understand it, selling under that price is what may cause problems with the authorities. I will go to the ayuntamiento on Monday to check the plusvalía; will the length of time I've owned the house bear any relation to this?

I had a long meeting with the potential purchaser this morning and will be consulting with family members over the weekend. :fingerscrossed:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Madliz said:


> Thanks for the input so far. I got my energy certificate before the June 1st deadline.
> 
> I went to talk to my local notario late this morning - he handled the will/inheritance for me a few years ago - and has proven to be a friendly advisor. I got a list from him of the documents required and have them all ready. He told me that the ref. no. on the IBI bills can be used to obtain the price that has been determined for the property value by the local government (as opposed to the valor catastral). Does anyone know if there's a site for people to check that or is it only something that the 'powers that be' can look up? As I understand it, selling under that price is what may cause problems with the authorities. I will go to the ayuntamiento on Monday to check the plusvalía; will the length of time I've owned the house bear any relation to this?
> 
> I had a long meeting with the potential purchaser this morning and will be consulting with family members over the weekend. :fingerscrossed:


Hi,
My husband handled all the paperwork when we bought our house as I was pregnant at the time and my mind was definitely not on house buying. Also, it was 20 years ago, but I just wanted to say congratulations on finding a buyer as you had said that you'd had the house on the market for a long time, and I'm sure you just want to get shot of it, and also that I think what Chopera is saying is what we did too.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Ive just sold our villa, and have been through the process. I would advise against taking on an estate agent ... you wont need him, and it will cost you dearly unless you agreed a special price with him. Engage a local solicitor at best. Dont let the buyer pay the estate agent .. payments only to the solicitor. You should get a 10% deposit now from the buyer. If he pulls out, then you keep it. If you pull out you have to pay him double the deposit


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I have not taken on an estate agent - I've done all the advertising myself but have spoken to someone in the property business with knowledge of the buying process and MAY use his services as an advisor. 

A deposit has been discussed, also a compra aplazada, fully notarised and with legal guarantees. Having never heard of such a thing before midday, I have read about it this afternoon. It appears to have been very common before hipotecas and is coming back in these current times. Since I will be downsizing, indeed renting for some time at least, it may well suit me. I would also be rid of the bills that running a large house and garden entail.

comprar casa sin hipoteca — idealista.com/news/


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Madliz said:


> I have not taken on an estate agent - I've done all the advertising myself but have spoken to someone in the property business with knowledge of the buying process and MAY use his services as an advisor.
> 
> A deposit has been discussed, also a compra aplazada, fully notarised and with legal guarantees. Having never heard of such a thing before midday, I have read about it this afternoon. It appears to have been very common before hipotecas and is coming back in these current times. Since I will be downsizing, indeed renting for some time at least, it may well suit me. I would also be rid of the bills that running a large house and garden entail.
> 
> comprar casa sin hipoteca — idealista.com/news/


Ah, thats good. Estate agent cost us a pretty penny, but at least they sold it.
If you have a solicitor or not of course is your own choice, I personally just felt happier if I know that everything is above board and recorded, and for the small cost involved it will be worth it for us


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

It's all go. Just realised it's Friday 13th, hope it doesn't all fall through!

There's a possibility that payment to my UK account will be more acceptable to my buyer and it could be a way he'll be able to pay the full amount in one go. Since it's Friday evening (naturally) and I can't see anyone now until Monday, does anyone see any disadvantages in this for me? If all is above board and declared, would any taxes liable be higher or different?


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Madliz said:


> There's a possibility that payment to my UK account will be more acceptable to my buyer and it could be a way he'll be able to pay the full amount in one go.


Just watch the € to £ exchange rates. It might be better to hold it in euros until you're ready to exchange it into sterling. Although having said that the euro is quite strong against sterling at the moment and the reports I'm reading suggest a weakening of the euro but when that's going to happen no-one knows!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Madliz said:


> It's all go. Just realised it's Friday 13th, hope it doesn't all fall through!
> 
> There's a possibility that payment to my UK account will be more acceptable to my buyer and it could be a way he'll be able to pay the full amount in one go. Since it's Friday evening (naturally) and I can't see anyone now until Monday, does anyone see any disadvantages in this for me? If all is above board and declared, would any taxes liable be higher or different?


You are going to allow someone to transfer € to £ to your bank account with no control of the rate of exchange or fees?

No .... get it paid to your Spanish bank account and use someone like HIFX to transfer it.

The feeling (by the currency experts and reports) is that the € / £ is going the wrong way for you at the moment and as
the UK economy gathers momentum (which it seems to be), it can only get worse for a while. If you dont need the money then you can leave it in a Spanish € account of course if you want to risk that, or maybe open a € account with a UK bank and transfer it over.

Therefore if you have a time scale and you are sure the sale is going through it might be a good idea to buy a forward contract with HIFX to secure the rate of exchange so you dont lose anything.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Oh, and I would add that if you don't have a deposit from the buyer then you haven't got the guarantee of a sale until you finally go to the notary and you get the dosh. It would normally be done through the solicitors and with a bank draught


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

Madliz said:


> It's all go. Just realised it's Friday 13th, hope it doesn't all fall through!
> 
> There's a possibility that payment to my UK account will be more acceptable to my buyer and it could be a way he'll be able to pay the full amount in one go. Since it's Friday evening (naturally) and I can't see anyone now until Monday, does anyone see any disadvantages in this for me? If all is above board and declared, would any taxes liable be higher or different?


Would agree 100% with Stravinsky.
I've also been watching sterling for some time and I think it's about at it's best over the last 7 months, currently £1.194 to the €
Don't let anyone paying you dictate the timing when it goes into Sterling as you could lose out a lot.
Be safe. Do what Stravinsky said about using a solicitor and get paid with bank draught, personally I wouldn't give someone buying from me my bank details if I didn't need to!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Muddy said:


> Would agree 100% with Stravinsky.
> I've also been watching sterling for some time and I think it's about at it's best over the last 7 months, currently £1.194 to the €
> Don't let anyone paying you dictate the timing when it goes into Sterling as you could lose out a lot.
> Be safe. Do what Stravinsky said about using a solicitor and get paid with bank draught, personally I wouldn't give someone buying from me my bank details if I didn't need to!


The €was around 1.15 a short while back, and has been steadily rising since. I couldn't get date confirmations for the finalisation of our sale for a few weeks, and in effect the delay cost us about £3k :-(. Thats why its better to buy forward under the present circumstances, as the better the Uk economy does, the worse it will be for someone selling euros to buy sterling


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Stravinsky said:


> ...as the better the Uk economy does...


You mean the _better they can make it look_ rather than what it actually is? Nothing has fundamentally changed with the UK economy for it to have improved. A couple of zero point x increases in GDP mean nothing. It's all smoke and mirrors again I'm afraid.

Want proof? If the UK economy really is improving, why are they continuing to steadfastly refuse to raise interest rates when they know they must?

It's not improving.

But I digress. I agree with your point re euro to sterling. Why is it strengthening? Because there's no reason for the euro to be as strong as it is. In many ways the Eurozone is in a worst mess than the UK economy is there was no logic as to why sterling lost so much against the euro. It's now just resetting.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

If I received payment in the UK I would demand sterling. If the exchange rate worsens, at least the house is sold and not, perhaps, still dropping in price. One loses money in the bank or in the bricks. 

Someone has suggested to me that many eyebrows would be raised here as to why I had received payment outside of Spain. Surely that is irrelevant, if I have done everything legally? Surely only the person who has sent the money might have something to worry about? If I get the money in the UK and transfer it over here, all declared, I don't see how that might be problematic? Why do these questions always crop up over the weekend! I have a consultation arranged with a lawyer/accountant on Monday but I just want to go over all possible questions beforehand. At the end of the day, I'm willing to go some way to secure my buyer but not too far!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Madliz said:


> If I received payment in the UK I would demand sterling. If the exchange rate worsens, at least the house is sold and not, perhaps, still dropping in price. One loses money in the bank or in the bricks.
> 
> Someone has suggested to me that many eyebrows would be raised here as to why I had received payment outside of Spain. Surely that is irrelevant, if I have done everything legally? Surely only the person who has sent the money might have something to worry about? If I get the money in the UK and transfer it over here, all declared, I don't see how that might be problematic? Why do these questions always crop up over the weekend! I have a consultation arranged with a lawyer/accountant on Monday but I just want to go over all possible questions beforehand. At the end of the day, I'm willing to go some way to secure my buyer but not too far!


Well ... that depends if you have sold the house in sterling or euros. If you have sold in € and then you are dictating the rate of exchange to make a sterling figure you require then you have to assume the buyer is going to be happy with this.

Also you must remember that before that even happens, plus valia local tax has to be deducted and if you are non resident 3% witholding tax has to be deducted. That is done at purchase and the buyer will deduct it from your sale price in Spain. The buyers solicitor will not let it happen any other way because he will be liable for the witholding if Hacienda dont get it.

You mention above about the house value dropping. If the rate of exchange changes to the worse then that indeed means in effect your house price HAS dropped. The buyer will still be expecting to pay you the € price (if thats what you sold in) less the deductions


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

If the money was eventually going to end up in a sterling anyway, then getting paid in sterling would be a good idea since you should be able to exchange without a spread and with no comission. If you are worried about currency fluctuations then you can try fixing the price in sterling now, or asking for 50% in sterling.

I doubt if you will be able to get the money paid directly into a UK bank account though, since I think both the exchange of contracts and payment has to take place in front of the notary. This can't happen if the payment takes place overseas. Normally there are respresentatives of the buyer's and seller's banks there - although that may be for when mortgages are involved only (if it's a cash payment then they might not be necessary). However you can open a sterling account with a Spanish bank and still receive the money in sterling. However you will also need to establish an exchange rate for declaring the equivalent price paid in euros to the notary.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I have received advice this morning from a professional on the costas (or territorios ocupados, as my suegro calls them) as nobody in this neck of the woods seems to have the relevant knowledge.

He opines that there would be no problem having payment go to a foreign account as long as this is declared. I have been resident in Spain for many years and everything would be fully declared. I've been to the tax office and ayuntamiento this morning also - occasionally not having a job has advantages.

As I understand it, the deposit will be paid by bank draft locally, with the remainder in sterling. I wonder how best to ascertain the rate of exchange? The prevailing bank rate on the day of transfer?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Madliz said:


> I have received advice this morning from a professional on the costas (or territorios ocupados, as my suegro calls them) as nobody in this neck of the woods seems to have the relevant knowledge.
> 
> He opines that there would be no problem having payment go to a foreign account as long as this is declared. I have been resident in Spain for many years and everything would be fully declared. I've been to the tax office and ayuntamiento this morning also - occasionally not having a job has advantages.
> 
> As I understand it, the deposit will be paid by bank draft locally, with the remainder in sterling. I wonder how best to ascertain the rate of exchange? The prevailing bank rate on the day of transfer?



Where will the Plus Valia and 3% witholding tax be taken (in euros).
The bank rate and the rate for a currency company may differ, it may only be points but with such large sums it all matters


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Regretfully I have had to turn down a good offer for my house. 

My 'buyer' wanted to rid himself of too much mattress stuffing  and I wasn't prepared to spend my future looking over my shoulder. Some people think I'm crazy, but I have no regrets, just sadness that my desire to move on has been set back for now. 

I am left with a house still for sale, but I'm free to live in my house, not a prison.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Madliz said:


> Regretfully I have had to turn down a good offer for my house.


You turned down the offer because he wanted to pay cash?


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

zenkarma said:


> You turned down the offer because he wanted to pay cash?


In this country there's cash and cash...

75% was the wrong sort.

What would you have done?


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Madliz said:


> What would you have done?


I'd have taken it and asked him to pay a bit more because of it!

It's not your problem where someone gets their money from.


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

zenkarma said:


> I'd have taken it and asked him to pay a bit more because of it! It's not your problem where someone gets their money from.


Thats true, except normally, the true price isn't declared in the escritura, and thats where the problems can start. If it is, then no problem.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I don't think the strong arm of the law would have seen it like that. If I had taken it, I would have been doing something illegal too. I saw many, many potential problems, hardly slept last month because of it. Of course I would have loved to have sold the house and moved on, especially at the price I insisted on and he agreed to, but not like that.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

As far as the price declared in the escritura, I have heard stories of sellers being pursued by Hacienda as they consider the price shown could not be true, that they must have sold for more than declared and must pay tax on the additional amount. In these times of decreasing prices, even the true selling price is being considered to fall into this category. If desperate people keep dropping the price just to sell, they face being even more out of pocket when the tax bill arrives.

Can you imagine the realities of receiving 75% of the purchase price in undeclared money? Maybe it sounds wonderful at first glance, but you can't earn interest on it, it could be stolen or get caught up in a fire, you can't easily use high denomination bills, maybe your country will withdraw from the euro or declare high notes illegal overnight. That's a lot to lose, not to mention one's freedom if caught.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

I sold my villa recently.
I was put in touch with the buyer after the event and discovered that he had actually paid €10k more than I had been told it had been sold for and that the estate agent had tried to sell the car (which was included in the price) as a separate deal. Originally I had been told that he had offered €20k under the asking price, whereas he had always offered the asking price.

It's not my problem now, as I am out of Spain, but I feel sorry for the buyer who paid €10k in cash at the time of completion. Luckily, I hadn't paid the estate agent his massive fee, so draw your own conclusions.

Buying or selling a property in Spain can be a nightmare. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is speak directly to the buyer / seller all the time. Then you know exactly what the score is, and each of you would be fully aware of any scams. Trust no one, don't use a solicitor recommended by the seller / estate agent (as my buyer did!) and NEVER get involved in cash payments in the corridor!

I was lucky. You might not be


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

All advice gratefully received. 

I tried agents, but here in Madrid they are worse than pathetic so I now I do my own ads - Fotocasa, idealista and others. Up to 5% of the price of MY house for doing sweet eff all? Forget it! This last 'buyer' found my property on Fotocasa and we dealt face-to-face all the way through. He came to visit half a dozen times, found my house the nicest of around a dozen he'd visited in the area, had thorough plans for changes inside and out that his bottomless pit would provide, but the sticking point was how he wanted to pay. Luckily, I'm not desperate to sell, but am yearning for a new life elsewhere in Spain, especially as winter is the next season...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

zenkarma said:


> It's not your problem where someone gets their money from.


No, but it becomes your problem once you accept in an illegal transaction!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Madliz said:


> Can you imagine the realities of receiving 75% of the purchase price in undeclared money? Maybe it sounds wonderful at first glance, but you can't earn interest on it, it could be stolen or get caught up in a fire, you can't easily use high denomination bills, maybe your country will withdraw from the euro or declare high notes illegal overnight. That's a lot to lose, not to mention one's freedom if caught.


That was my first thought. What do you do with that kind of money in cash? You can't put it in a bank, or invest it in any legal operation...


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> That was my first thought. What do you do with that kind of money in cash? You can't put it in a bank, or invest it in any legal operation...


You can buy another house ! 
Down here if you agreed a price with a seller & then wanted to declare the true amount the seller would pull out.:lol:


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Pesky Wesky said:


> That was my first thought. What do you do with that kind of money in cash? You can't put it in a bank, or invest it in any legal operation...


Thanks, Pesky - I was beginning to think I really was mad!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

You might be able to accept cash and declare the full amount (including the cash payment) as the sold price to hacienda. When we bought our flat the actual price we paid (we didn't use any cash) was less than hacienda's list price, so we declared the list price as the purchase price to hacienda. What to do with the cash? Spend it on a Ferrari and drive it out of the coubntry nin style :cool2:


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> You can buy another house !
> Down here if you agreed a price with a seller & then wanted to declare the true amount the seller would pull out.:lol:


That's why buyers are suffering the complementary tax now!
The true amount is a low price anyway.No need to under declare these days, and it should never have happened.
No decent solicitor now would encourage you to under declare
If the seller pulls out he would have to pay the buyer double the deposit, so it's not likely to happen.If and when I sell my house, I would make it clear that the price it's bought for is the price it's declared for.


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## rafsanjani (Oct 6, 2013)

*buying/selling*

Hi everyone, I've just been reading a few articles posted about valuations and how they relate to the taxes you eventually pay when you buy a property and was wondering if when I buy a property in spain and maybe manage to negotiate a reduction with the asking price; will the taxes i pay be based on the real value of the property or the final price I might pay, all replies gratefully received

regards, Rob


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

rafsanjani said:


> Hi everyone, I've just been reading a few articles posted about valuations and how they relate to the taxes you eventually pay when you buy a property and was wondering if when I buy a property in spain and maybe manage to negotiate a reduction with the asking price; will the taxes i pay be based on the real value of the property or the final price I might pay, all replies gratefully received
> 
> regards, Rob


:welcome:

the tax you pay would be based upon what you actually pay for the property


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> :welcome:
> 
> the tax you pay would be based upon what you actually pay for the property


Surely the tax you pay is based on what you say you paid for the property?

Many people (including us) have genuinely negotiated and paid lower prices but ended up paying more tax because the price paid was less than hacienda's list price.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> You can buy another house !
> Down here if you agreed a price with a seller & then wanted to declare the true amount the seller would pull out.:lol:


And then hacienda ask you where you got the money to buy the house.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

extranjero said:


> That's why buyers are suffering the complementary tax now!
> The true amount is a low price anyway.No need to under declare these days, and it should never have happened.
> No decent solicitor now would encourage you to under declare
> If the seller pulls out he would have to pay the buyer double the deposit, so it's not likely to happen.If and when I sell my house, I would make it clear that the price it's bought for is the price it's declared for.


This is true but unfortunately goes back to the days when everything needed to be kept away from prying eyes. 
Around here any spaniard selling will actually ring the notary & ask " what is the minimum amount of increase over purchase price you will accept "?:rofl:

As for solicitors , not many spaniards use them. I didn't either ! :shocked:

In some areas of Andalucia where they re-valued in 2007 , you have the farcical situation of properties with catastral valuations sometimes 300% more than they have actually been able to sell them at. Then along comes the Hacienda & tells the buyer they've got to pay another 10,20, 40,50k euros for " under-declaring "
One woman on another forum actually managed to appeal it & win ! 
On a local forum I use one chap who built his own house had a catastral value of 675,000€ .He sold up for health reasons & to leave less problems for his wife in the event of his death. 
He sold for 175,000€. The buyer paid tax on 675k.
Everyone knew that the 675k value was utter nonsense & even in the 'boom' time would never have sold for that, but that was the 're-rated figure'.


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## rafsanjani (Oct 6, 2013)

*taxes*

well, now i'm even more confused lol. I'm not going to get into this thing of not declaring things up front as these things tend to come back and bite you on the rear. 

I read in the forum that there is a "list" that values any property for the purpose of paying the rate of tax required for the sale of that property... is this available to the common man or is this the domain of a professional?

Forgive my ignorance but this is the first toe in the water, I will be immersing myself when I arrive there on fact finding visits.

I'm sure all these thing have been asked and answered by many forum members but as I am a newbie I ask for your patience.

Thank you again for all your help, regards, Robert


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

rafsanjani said:


> well, now i'm even more confused lol. I'm not going to get into this thing of not declaring things up front as these things tend to come back and bite you on the rear.
> 
> I read in the forum that there is a "list" that values any property for the purpose of paying the rate of tax required for the sale of that property... is this available to the common man or is this the domain of a professional?
> 
> ...


I've been interested in this EXTRA tax for a while now.
I've not purchased in Spain yet as still looking, but I did ask an agent I've been swapping emails with and I asked them to confirm what's currently happening.

I've been told that if a property is not paying IBI because a town hall hasn't set the rate yet then there will be no comebacks!
Not sure that will apply to many properties and even if it did that situation can't last forever.

I was told the solicitor can request the fiscal valuation on the property before purchase!
That's not too helpful really and could be costly I would think if you check out a lot of properties.
The agent also stated that the majority of sales are going through without additional IVA being asked for.
So I'm assuming I'll have to check each house as I go and hope the first one I want doesn't have this problem.

I did read somewhere that if you have the Catastral value of the property which is listed on the IBI receipt you can find out the tax authorities opinion online on what the value currently is! No idea how to do that tho!

Just remember it's Spain, not like buying in the UK at all, and different rules from region to region.


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## Muddy (Jan 14, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> This is true but unfortunately goes back to the days when everything needed to be kept away from prying eyes.
> Around here any spaniard selling will actually ring the notary & ask " what is the minimum amount of increase over purchase price you will accept "?:rofl:
> 
> As for solicitors , not many spaniards use them. I didn't either ! :shocked:
> ...


Hi Gus.
Funny story about people ringing the notary lol
I'm half expecting to come up against this problem as I'm looking in Andalucia as you might remember and a few properties I've short listed possibly look close to half their peak 2007 values.
Is it not possible for the seller or buyer to request a new valuation or will that just fall on deaf ears?


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