subject: How to Rid Yourself of Stress in Selling Your Spanish Property [print this page] Jumping in at the deep end is never anything anyone wants to do in any aspect of life, and if youve taken the decision to move homes, then this is obviously one of those. Typically compared in relation to stress levels as a wedding or death of a loved one, moving homes can be a nightmare if youre not well prepared. So what better way to start the process than a good, solid beginning? The sale of your property should be a happy or perhaps bittersweet affair, and the stress should be on anyone but yourself. Youre leaving behind cherished memories and a space you will have experienced many firsts and experiences which will never be repeated but youre also moving on to pastures new, full of excitement, and the likelihood is, too that youll be upgrading. So lets take a look at that start again, the sale. In fact, lets go right to the beginning. One of the most difficult things in Spain is pricing your property. You dont want to over-value the property, and at the same time dont want to under-sell. After all, this has been your home for the past couple of years or more, not just four walls, and youll have investing time, care, attention and money into it. Where in other countries a surveyor or local estate agent will give you the property price based on their market knowledge and experience, in Spain the owner can dictate the price. This has its advantages and disadvantages. Take for example a high rise city such as Barcelona. Such a historical city has a fabulous old city, with buildings from the turn of the century alongside ruins of the city founded as Barcino by the Romans. An apartment block may contain apartments within in different states of repair. An investor in the past can take a dilapidated apartment with out of date fittings and decoration, and invest money to create a modern apartment with all the mod-cons but with character that cannot be bought. Now this kind of apartment just four of five years ago would fetch a good price, especially if bought and sold within one year, as the tax implications are more favourable. However, the knock on effect was that other owners within the same building would then see the high prices people would pay for effectively the same square metres as their own apartment and then plump their same apartment on the real estate expecting similar results. The main problem being that the state of repair of the second apartment was way behind that of the renovated one, leading to much confusion and time wasting journeys for potential buyers who often didnt know what they were going to get upon opening a door. One way around this is to look at the current market trends. Compare your apartment or property with similar properties on the market and check the price. How long has the property been on the market? If you see a property similar to yours which has sold quickly, then youre moving on the right tracks, but only moving. Theres really only one way to assure yourself that youll be asking for the right price, and thats with a survey. Almost every property within Spain that is changing hands will require a survey from the entity that is financing the purchase, home loan or mortgage. Brand new properties will likely already have this and often banks do deals with the construction companies to take on all of the mortgages in a new block or urbanisation. Technically, any new buyer will likely have to pay for a survey known in Spanish as a tasacin in order to secure a home loan, too. Real Estate surveys are carried out by third party companies and architects, and cover a wide range of information. Details of possible structural damage may surface, the price per square metre in the particular area your property is located in, technical drawings and plans of the property will be provided to find the real living surface, communal spaces within the building or surrounding area, and many other details. A report is then complied with an estimated value of the property. Such was the demand only four of five years ago, that many people would pay well over the odds of a real value just to have their own property in places like Barcelona, San Sebastian and Bilbao in northern Spain. However, the current buyers market of 2010 means that you need to be well informed as to your price if you want a realistic time scale for your property sale and above all a stress free one!
How to Rid Yourself of Stress in Selling Your Spanish Property
