How to sell your property on Costa Brava with immo365 ?

The Costa Brava in Spain is a highly touristy area with an impressive variety of accommodation. Selling your property on this paradise coast has many advantages, but also some requirements. While it is tempting to sell directly between buyer and seller, this procedure hides many risks. For a secure and reliable sales procedure, it is best to use an estate agent.

The advantages of entrusting your sales project on the Costa Brava to an estate agency

To sell your property (house, flat, villa, etc.) on the Costa Brava, you have two options. You can go through an estate agent or you can make a direct transaction with the buyer. The latter method seems to be faster, but has huge grey areas.

The risks of selling between individuals

Selling between private individuals is often not advisable, because you do not really know the person you want to do business with. It may be a malicious person who plans to take advantage of legal loopholes to enter into a fraudulent contract. Similarly, it may be someone who has no intention of buying your property, but will try to use a visit to come back and rob you.

In some cases, you may come across honest buyers who do not speak the same language as you. So you understand that the transaction may be complicated. Even if you use a translator, there will still be misunderstandings. You should therefore be very careful when buying from one person to another, especially when estimating the surface area and other administrative details.

Without a competent expert who is familiar with the various legal aspects of a sale in Spain, it is possible that your sale will never be completed, or that you will be in danger of being prosecuted under the law. By using an agency worthy of the name, you simplify your life and ensure that the transaction takes place in compliance with the regulations in force.

The advantages of an estate agency

First of all, it is important to know that you should not entrust your property sale project to any agency. The agency must have a good understanding of the Spanish property market and the various administrative procedures involved in selling property.

What's more, it should have a rich address book acquired over the years and a solid and serious reputation. When all these conditions are met, you can be reassured that you are entrusting your home to a team you can trust. Depending on the type of property and your requirements, the agency will establish a personalised sales procedure.

Thanks to its expertise and the know-how of its team of experts, an agency will save you time and money. The agency is involved in all stages of the process, from putting the property up for sale to signing the contract. You are therefore guaranteed to sell your property on the Costa Brava quickly, at a good price and to serious buyers.

The housing valuation process

Before putting a property up for sale, it is essential to carry out an estimate. This is also known as a property valuation and will help you to determine the best selling price for your property. A property valuation can be carried out by an innovative real estate agent or a notary.

Of course, it is possible to have your property valued yourself, but it is wiser to entrust this operation to professionals. Indeed, the valuation of a property takes into account several elements such as the surface area of the property, the number of rooms, its exposure, its location and its proximity to transport and shops. The neighbourhood in which the property is located and the demand for this type of housing are also parameters that can influence the valuation of the property.

In general, this assessment takes a few days. This procedure is of great importance for the sale, taxation and crediting of the property. The results of this valuation concern three parties: the seller, the buyer and the bank. If your property is located in a building, the characteristics of the building are also taken into account in the valuation.

In this respect, your home on the Costa Brava will be worth more if the building has green space, a lift or a caretaker. Furthermore, if your property has a converted attic or a large terrace, it will also be worth more. The same will be true if it also has a fireplace or benefits from optimal sunlight.

La Tasacion

The tasacion is nothing more than the evaluation of a house in Spanish real estate jargon. In order to carry it out, an expert (the tasador) will inspect the house from top to bottom, making precise checks. The aim is to assess the location and characteristics of the property, its state of conservation and the size of the rooms. To do this, he carries out measurements and checks.

It will also consider the different types of facilities within the dwelling and their standards, as well as the finishes. The distribution of living spaces is also an essential factor in the evaluation of a dwelling. It is not a question of having a large internal area, but of being able to use it properly.

Before making his analysis, he should also take into account the current trend in the local market. To do this, the surveyor selects six dwellings with similar characteristics to the one he is inspecting. This is called a "comparative valuation". It is the pooling of all this information that provides information on the market value of a property.

This report is valid for six months. It is sometimes advisable to ask for two reports from two different experts. This will help you to better determine the price for the sale of your property and thus make a very good deal. It will also allow the buyer to benefit from a credit according to the estimate obtained.

Comparative estimation

It consists of evaluating the value of a property by following the average price per m². This comparison is usually made within the same geographical area. Also, it concerns the same types of housing or those with very similar characteristics. The idea is to establish a selling price by taking into account the costs of the competition for the same type of housing.

This comparison will enable you to establish an average selling price in line with the local market. Of course, the price per m² alone is not enough to make the comparison. All the other characteristics of the property (materials and year of construction, number of rooms, location, environment, annexes, etc.) must be identified in order to determine the value of each property.

The benefits of housing valuation

Apart from establishing the best selling price for your property, you will have more information about the property you wish to sell. This includes the actual total surface area, the surface area of the rooms, the condition of the property and data on the market situation. It is also proof for the buyer that the property is worth its price and that it is a serious sale.

The different types of mandates: Single, Exclusive and Multi-Exclusive (Type CBRAI)

A real estate sales mandate is an act through which the seller (the principal) authorises a third party (the agent) to carry out the sale of his or her home on his or her behalf. The principal may be a natural or legal person who owns the property for sale.

The agent may be a lawyer, a notary or an estate agent. To conclude the collaboration, the signing of the sales mandate between the principal and the agent is compulsory. In addition, there are several types of sales mandates in Spain.

The simple mandate

This is the least effective selling mandate, but the easiest for the seller. It consists of putting the property up for sale with several estate agents. The agency that makes the sale receives the commission. Unfortunately, for this type of contract, estate agents tend not to put too much effort into finding potential buyers. This is not the best solution if you want to sell your property quickly.

The exclusive mandate

This contract considerably reduces the time needed to sell the property. The seller entrusts the entire sales process to a single estate agent. As a result, both the potential buyers and the seller only have to deal with one contact person. This promotes publicity and facilitates communication and contacts.

In addition to the exclusive mandate, there are also co-exclusive and semi-exclusive mandates. The former is similar to the simple mandate, but here several agents can be involved before a transaction is concluded. The semi-exclusive mandate is similar to the exclusive mandate, but the seller has the right to find his own buyers.

The CBRAI multi-exclusive mandate

Here too, several estate agencies are involved in the sale, but it is not a competition. In fact, CBRAI (Costa Brava Real Estate Association) is an association of several real estate agencies that work together. This association has set up the MLS (Multiple Listing Services) system, which is a sales management method.

All the offers for sale on the Costa Brava are listed on this page, making it accessible to a multitude of potential buyers. Furthermore, since the offers are all on one page, the sales process is accelerated and publicity is improved.

Thus, when an agent has an exclusive contract, he or she is entitled to insert the principal's property into the system. This encourages other agents to also carry out sales procedures. When a contract is finalised, the commissions are divided between the agencies.

Property publications

The first step in the process of selling a home is to gather the necessary documents for the sale. These will be provided by a specialised estate agent. After that, you have to evaluate the property even if it is a question of estimating the value of a second home on the Costa Brava by an expert.

The next step is to take photos of the property and publish them on the internet. This will reach more people and increase your chances of selling the property faster. In addition to photos, there are also videos, 3D tours and images taken by drones. All these visual contents will be published on the real estate agency's website, on social networks and on real estate web portals.

However, not everything is in Spanish. To be sure to reach a larger audience, the use of several languages is therefore essential. Moreover, with the quality of the images and the descriptions that accompany it, you will not have any trouble finding the future owner of your home.

Visits

This is the first step in the purchase of a property. A visit to the property is essential for the buyer, as it allows him or her to find out whether the property meets his or her expectations. When you entrust your property to an estate agent, it is the latter who takes care of the visit. The agency sets up a programme with the potential buyers and collects their impressions.

Beforehand, if any work is needed to improve the general condition of the property, it should be carried out. In addition, the agents know exactly what to say and what to show to enhance the property to visitors. If they are convinced, they will make an offer. However, it can happen that there are many visits, but offers that are too low or no offers at all. In this case, there is a problem to be solved. It may be that the price is too high or that there is a defect in the property. The estate agent will be able to advise you on this.

The offer and the booking

In a sale, it is common for the buyer to negotiate the initial price of the property they wish to purchase. When both parties reach an agreement, they sign a private contract (Arras). This contract mentions the price, the contact details of each party, the description of the property and the deadline for the official registration with the notary.

The Arras is not signed at the notary's office. This contract is usually requested by the notary on the day of the sale. In addition, the buyer will have to pay a deposit representing 10% of the sale price of the property (this is known as a reservation). It is only on this condition that the contract will be validated after signature by both parties.

If the buyer withdraws, he loses the deposit paid. However, if the seller withdraws, he will have to pay double the amount paid to the buyer as compensation. However, sometimes the offer is accompanied by suspensive conditions, in which case a different procedure applies.

The sale

The process of selling your property ends, of course, with the actual sale. This must be done in the presence of a notary, in whose presence both parties sign the deed of sale (Escritura). The notary will take care of the property surveys, the identification of any debts or seizures and the payment of taxes. Finally, the notary certifies the payment and attends the handover of the keys on the day of signing.

This concludes the process of selling your property in Spain, a process that is made much easier with the right estate agency specialising in the Costa Brava.