fees for selling property

Does anyone know if the fees for selling are the same as for purchasing, as we paid about 10,000 euros altogether for solicitors etc and wondered if it will be the same to sell.

Also is there any information we can access regarding inheritance tax, if a partner dies, or when children inherit, as we have heard many stories and some are quite worrying, our Son wouldn't know where to begin.

Joan1  

Hi Joan,

Sorry to hear you paid 10,000 euros in commissions and fees etc to purchase your property.  Good news is hopefully you wont have to worry about the commissions again as the buyer normally pays it, but you need to confirm and agree this with your agent.

Regarding inheritence tax issues, my advice is to find a 'professional body' who has an established long standing office in your local area who deals in these affairs.  Don't foget to ask what all the fees are up front.

Good luck

Best regards 

 Dear Joan:

Solicitors fees for buying and selling have traditionally be at 1%. But you can ask for an hourly rate or even try to obtain cheparer rates these days of financial difficulty.

Best,

Maria

Dear Joan

Forget the 1% + VAT fee especially if you have a high value property. In my opinion legal fees in Spain are far too high and I would love to see fees in general debated more.

I would suggest  emailing a few reputable firms and asking for a fixed fee quote and then check/clarify carefully what's included and what extras there might be on top. Give the firms as much information as possible such as location of property and whether there is a mortgage on the property and also if it is your intention to be here for completion or whether they will also need to draft a power of attorney for execution overseas etc. Also check what happens as regards fees if the sale does not proceed to completion. I would avoid hourly work on a routine conveyancing matters as any lawyer worth his salt will know exactly what's involved! Generally there is far less work for a solicitor on a sale compared to a purchase especially if your property is all legal/registered etc.

The most difficult area these days is dealing with the non-resident CGT retention which may well necessitate filing outstanding non-resident income tax returns and also numerous meetings with the Spanish tax authorities before the refund is issued. You need to clarify what tax work is included in any fee quoted. These days it seems to take 6+ months to get a CGT refund but you might be lucky and get it in 3 mths?

The other area to watch is the fee your bank will charge for receiving/clearing sales proceeds and also remitting sales proceeds overseas. Your own bank might well charge you for clearing the draft (cheque bancario) and also a % (generally 0.5%) for remitting funds overseas. A reputable firm will be able to do all this for you which could save you a small fortune in bank fees. Whatever about legal fees bank fees could well leave you speechless! Again you can negotiate with banks but they will want a generous %. The way around this is to use your solicitor's client account because they will have negotiated min/max fees and will be able to receive and remit funds back to UK for about EUR80 in total.

Without knowing all the facts you should not pay any more than EUR2,000 which should include VAT and also fees for non-resident income tax and capital gains tax. If it's the case you have not been submitting non-resident income tax returns then you might be quoted a couple of hundred EURO more.

Whilst the points made here about inheritance tax, CGT and bank charges are relevant, I would think the bulk of the "fees" for purchasing referred to were probably transfer tax, notary fees, and lawyers so-called conveyancing (registry checks etc.), none of which apply to the seller. The only tax applicable to the seller is Plus Valia, which is usually fairly low. Estate agent fees for selling a property need to be considered, which are typically 5%, although whether this is paid by the buyer or seller is a bit of glass half empty / half full argument. As for inheritance tax, it's such a complicated issue and depends even on what part of Spain you are in, the only advice for your son when and if such a time comes, would be to get proper legal help.

I would get an exact quote for all the fees not an example as although i expected and costed lawyers fees of 1% some have a minimum amount they charge of €1,800 euros? Dont know if that is normal?or the normal minimum amount?

In fairness there has to be minimum fees. For example if you are buying  property in the countryside for EUR20k then you will not get a lawyer to do that for ony 1% + VAT. Minimum fees tend to be around EUR1,500 + VAT but you do have to check very carefully what's included. Definitely as Manyarna says get a detailed written quote as I have heard of cases where lawyers said one thing and then denied ever saying it and charged an arm and a leg!

Also as regards your earlier question regarding inheritance you should prepare a Spanish will. If preparing a Spanish will do not appoint an executor (albacea) as it can complicate matters and also it's not necessary in Spain.  Providing you at least have a valid will in UK or Ireland dealing with your worldwide assets then you are ok even if you don't have a Spanish will.  Inheritance is a complex area and you need to consider areas such as nationality, domicile and residence and also possibly inheritance tax or capital acquisitions tax for the beneficiary.

A good solicitor experienced in probate will be able to sit down with you and do the sums and also generally explain UK or Irish probate law. If your affairs are complex then your solicitor might need to liaise with you solicitor or accountant in your home country. Sometimes the problem the beneficiary faces is how to pay the inheritance tax if there is no money in the estate.

But there is plently on information on spanish inheritance on the internet.