How to get your property ready for sale?

Many vendors are often not conscious about all the preparation required to enable an efficient and professional sale process of their property. At the beginning there is the fixing of the aspired price, and at the end there is the notarization process – but many things still remain to be done between. Our team at Private Property Mallorca provides assistance and advice to property owners on the island. In any case the legal situation also has to be considered and we recommend seriously engaging a lawyer for the sale process. At first the vendor must of course define the price he wants to achieve for his property. Therefor it could be useful to order a professional valuation of the real estate by an expert. Such a valuation has a manageable cost and can be organized in general by the house bank. When the aspired price is fixed, we recommend the advice by your tax consultant, in order to determine the profit optimization. Here it must be considered that the difference between the value in the last notarial deed and the sales price is subject to a speculation tax of 19.5%. Those owners who have a residence in Spain or/and are older than 65 years are exempt from this taxation, provided that they have used the property for sale as main residence. Also the re-investment of the achieved sum of the sold property by the purchase of a new real estate can have a tax exemption as a result. It is also important to know that all invoices for modifications or renovation measures are tax-deductible. Of course, before a real estate on Majorca is offered for sale, all required papers should be available. Unfortunately we know from our experience that this is mostly not the case. Since 2014 it is mandatory that every property owner on Majorca disposes on a so-called energy certificate. This document must be presented at the latest at the notary appointment. We are happy to assist you to have this certificate issued in advance. It is also absolutely indispensable to have a valid certificate of habitability („Cédula de habitabilidad“). This document is issued after the construction acceptance and has to be renewed every 10 years. Since there are repeated problems with the certificate of habitability, essentially in the case of the sale of rural properties on Majorca, as the rural houses often present some illegally built parts, it is crucial to engage a specialized law office for this purpose. It is not possible to sale a property without this certificate. In former years the handling was often more relaxed but nowadays there are precise verifications of the real estates, in order to make impossible the sale of illegal properties. The option of a subsequent legalization of the real estate can be checked by your lawyer. Our team at Private Property Mallorca is also at your disposal to assist you in this matter with comprehensive information. Actually the whole situation in the land register should be checked meticulously in advance, before a property is put on sale. Once this verification is done, a reliable real estate broker can be engaged and the commission contract (including sales price, duration and commission amount) can be signed. Prior to the notary appointment, the vendor must present several receipts, as for example the last electricity and water invoices, waste collection charges, the receipt of the property tax (IBI) and the certificate by the owner community (in the case of a flat) which certifies that there are no outstanding payments. We gladly provide personal advice on the sale of your property on Majorca and, thanks to our strong network we are able to recommend you a lawyer and a tax consultant to attend to your concerns.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Your Private Property Mallorca Team