How to sell your property in Lanzarote

If you are looking to sell your property in Lanzarote, you need to find a good trustworthy agency in the area. Lanzarote Agents will do a free valuation, based on the current market at the time the valuation takes place.

If you are starting to think about the optimal price for your property, you should consider a fair market value which will enable the sale to take places within a reasonable time period as well as the lowest amount you are prepared to accept in order to have a the possibility to negotiate which in most cases will be part of the sale.

Although tt shouldn’t need saying, prepare your property thoroughly, BEFORE you even start to move on to the next steps. It doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune, but make it look as good as you can before talking to Estate Agents. At the very least it should be clean and tidy away so all the potential clients can easily see themselves living in your house and to be able to maximize to have your sales price.

Once the property is ready, and you’ve decided on what you feel is the correct selling price based on your research, it’s time to select some agents to work with you.

Estate agents

Agents here work differently to those in many other countries. They charge a relatively high rate of commission, and few seek “exclusive” terms. The norm here is that people put their properties on the books of many agents, hoping one will find them a buyer. Although the island is small, you will find that most agents specialise in particular areas – they will have properties everywhere, but their focus will generally be on one town, so spend some time working out which ones are the best for your area. In Playa Blanca, Lanzarote Agents should be your agency of choice for many reasons:

Experience

We are one of the most experienced estate agencies selling high-end properties! We sell many properties in the area to a high price.

We speak your language

We are multilingual and will attend you in your mother tongue, whether this is English, Spanish, German, French and Italian.

Wide reach

Your property will have presence in the internet in all the mayor national and international property portals but also a space in our window in the main street in Playa Blanca.

Clients waiting

We are established agents and we have a massive data base of potential clients for your house – many of the houses will be sold before going on the public market since we already have a list of clients lined up looking for this type or property or area due to many years of collecting valuable and qualified leads and efficient customer relationship management.

Advertising power

We advertise in all the mayor property portals of Europe: Right Move, Think Spain, A place in the Sun, Kyero, Idealista, Zoopla, Pisos, etc. This allows us to help you sell your property in Lanzarote by displaying it to a large number of potential buyers.

If you have a price in mind to at which you would like to market your property and the agents considers it to be too high, this is usually because they know the market and its future developments, the demand and the requirements of current potential buyers. Our intention is to be able to sell a property in the timeframe you set but if the price is too high and the market will not perceive your property as attractive due to the fact that the price is not corresponding to the reality of the market, it can be stuck on the market for a long time. The agent will insist that your price is too high for the market, they are probably right.

Some agencies may give you a very high valuation to have your house on their books, but time will prove that they will not sell it as they weren’t realistic when they valued the house.

Once you’ve selected the ones you want to work with, get the property in the best condition possible and ready for the photo session. Lanzarote agents has an expert team of photographers that will make your property stand out in its best light and give a realistic perception of the property.

Offers

If an offer comes in below your asking price, but above your lowest price, you should consider accepting it, but always look for something in return, so everybody wins. You can negotiate on fixtures and fittings, or perhaps on the time to completion, but always get some kind of concession back for reducing the price. If the offer is below your lowest price, reject it firmly and immediately, but go back with a price you will accept.

Contracts

Until the contract “Contrato de Arras” is signed, any sale is purely notional. So push to get this first stage done as fast as possible – its easy for the buyer to pull out until they have paid 10% and the contract is signed. Employ your own lawyer or your agent to act for you and oversee this process. Don’t worry, Lanzarote Agents is known to be very efficient!

Most contracts will include a clause that you will receive the full 10% deposit if the buyer pulls out, but often you will be required to pay double that amount if you then change your mind. So don’t sign the contract until you are sure you want to sell and are in a position to complete on the date agreed.

Taxes

Plusvalia Municipal
The seller will normally be liable for the Plusvalia tax, which is a tax on the increase in land value since they bought the property.

Capital Gains Tax
The seller will also have to pay capital gains tax on any profit made on the property during the time of ownership. Mitigation is allowed for lawyer’s fees, land registry and notary fees etc.

Tax Retention
For non- residents, their lawyer will be required to retain 3% of the selling price until the seller completes a tax return and their tax liability is calculated. If the tax liability is lower than the amount retained, the difference will be refunded.

Completion

Completion here takes place at the notary and your lawyer will arrange everything for you, paying off your existing mortgage if applicable, and giving you a draft for the difference. At the notary, you’ll be expected to provide receipts showing all your bills and community fees are paid up to date, and you will hand the keys over to the new owners, so make sure the property is empty and ready for them on the big day.

After completion, your lawyer will make sure the property has been registered to the new owners in the land registry, and that the bills are transferred out of your name.