Selling Spanish House
Discussion
A friend of mine is finally selling a spanish villa he bought on a whim a few years ago and really isn't savvy when it comes to money. I don't know much about selling foreign property or the process and was hoping that some on here might know more.
He will receive a Euro bankers draft and has been advised to use currently direct by the agents in order to convert and transfer to a UK bank.
Does anyone have any advice or better options?
He will receive a Euro bankers draft and has been advised to use currently direct by the agents in order to convert and transfer to a UK bank.
Does anyone have any advice or better options?
Can’t add much. There will be a percentage of the selling price retained by the tax authorities to cover any outstanding taxes. You may have both capital gains tax and non residents income tax (IRNR) to pay. There might be nothing, but a retention will still be made. The retention can take years to get back. If your friend is not planning to turn up in person to sign the deed of sale when it goes through, he’ll need to grant someone who will be there a power of attorney. That’ll have to be done through a Spanish Notary Public I’d have thought.
In terms of remitting to the UK, does your friend not have a bank account? If he doesn’t I don’t know how he’d be paying his ongoing property expenses like the Spanish equivalent of Council Tax which are normally paid by direct debit. If he has an account, the proceeds could be credited to there, and an international payment made to the UK.
Selling property in Spain is a bit of a ball ache, especially if you aren’t resident. In my (limited) experience.
In terms of remitting to the UK, does your friend not have a bank account? If he doesn’t I don’t know how he’d be paying his ongoing property expenses like the Spanish equivalent of Council Tax which are normally paid by direct debit. If he has an account, the proceeds could be credited to there, and an international payment made to the UK.
Selling property in Spain is a bit of a ball ache, especially if you aren’t resident. In my (limited) experience.
cashmax said:
He is on route to Spain to sign the documents. I don't think he had a Spanish account, the property was rented via a management company that I assume took care of the local charges.
I was just wondering if the recommended procedure for the funds was the best option.
One of the odd things about the Spanish system is that you have to receive a cheque for the sale. This is photocopied and gets added to the pile of bumph that is the documentation for the sale and purchase. For some unfathomable reason they can’t just do a bank transfer. The problem your friend will have is that without a bank account in euros where does he get to deposit it? The agents can’t bank it because the draft is a/c payee only. This is a really long way of saying he’s going to have to take the agents advice on this. Twice, because there will be a retention to pay in at some point in the future.I was just wondering if the recommended procedure for the funds was the best option.
We used currencies direct when we sold. The rep meets you at the notary, takes you to a bank and you pay it into their account, then they transfer to your uk account at a decent exchange rate. The bank confirm its currencies direct and not some random account!
In spain even if you have a spanish bank account your bank will charge a percentage fee for paying in the cheque. Then another percentage fee for tranaferring it. Currencies direct are cheaper, there is a small risk they could go bust in the few hours they have your money, miniscule risk in my opinion!
You don't need a solicitor to sell but the notary will retian a percentage of the sale price for tax. You then need a gestoria or solicitor to claim it back if no or less tax to pay than the amount witheld.
Usually you estate agent sorts out what cheques the buyers solicitor arrives at the notary with and they get handed across the table. We asked them to sort their fee out this way so we didn't incur more bank charges, plus they know they will get paid!
In spain even if you have a spanish bank account your bank will charge a percentage fee for paying in the cheque. Then another percentage fee for tranaferring it. Currencies direct are cheaper, there is a small risk they could go bust in the few hours they have your money, miniscule risk in my opinion!
You don't need a solicitor to sell but the notary will retian a percentage of the sale price for tax. You then need a gestoria or solicitor to claim it back if no or less tax to pay than the amount witheld.
Usually you estate agent sorts out what cheques the buyers solicitor arrives at the notary with and they get handed across the table. We asked them to sort their fee out this way so we didn't incur more bank charges, plus they know they will get paid!
cashmax said:
A friend of mine is finally selling a spanish villa he bought on a whim a few years ago and really isn't savvy when it comes to money. I don't know much about selling foreign property or the process and was hoping that some on here might know more.
He will receive a Euro bankers draft and has been advised to use currently direct by the agents in order to convert and transfer to a UK bank.
Does anyone have any advice or better options?
If your friend is selling to a Uk buyer, the net amount can be paid from UK to UK bank accounts. After taxes and fees have been paid in Spain.He will receive a Euro bankers draft and has been advised to use currently direct by the agents in order to convert and transfer to a UK bank.
Does anyone have any advice or better options?
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