Comprehensive List of costs associated with selling a Spanish property through an Estate Agent

It very much depends on the estate agent you use and the lawyer with regards to what they charge. I have seen agents charge between 3-5% of the sale price and others that just charge a flat fee like you describe. The only sure way to know of fees is to contact the relevant parties direct and ask.

Have you thought about selling the property privately yourself? That would save you some money. Obviously, a lawyer to handle the sale is essential and is normally a couple of grand but again, it depends on who you use. If there has been any profit made on the sale you will most probably have to pay tax on the profit too.

You could even advertise it on here or the other talkquesada forum.

I know someone who is looking for a place here so maybe if you PM me a few details and your asking price, i can pass it on if it's something of interest.

Agents fees vary mainly between 3%-5% but a few are higher for a wider spread in the international portals. You can advertise privately as an alternative. If your property will appeal more to international buyers then it is worth using an agent that advertises to the international market (which isn't cheap to do, hence higher fees).

Your solicitors will be able to advise you about your tax situation as that will depend on if you have made a profit, whether you are selling your only home or a second home, how long you have owned it and a few other things. There will also likely be a small amount retained for a time after the sale to ensure all outstanding utilities etch have been paid.

Talk to your fiscal/legal rep first so you know those costs.

Sold June estate agents fee was 4%, non negotiable.

Hi Derek

I used www.spanishpropertyteam.com and can only give you the list from my experience and as private I will send it to you via the private message system.

They charge 3% for selling a property.  Not sure if you are buying also as there will be fees and retentions related to that.  I will go through this in my private message.

Gilly

Hi Davebev, thanks for taking the time and effort to respond to my message, it is very much appreciated. this will help me a lot to start the  process of selling the property. wishing you a very happy new year, i hope it is a good one for you.

kind regards

Derek

Good luck Derek. Thank you for the message.  Happy new year.

Thank you both. Wishing you all the best.

regards

Derek

Hi Relyat, thanks for taking the time to reply to my message, very helpful. Much appreciated.

Derek

Hi Derek,

Estate agents charge varying amounts depending on the type of service they are going to provide or that you require. As one part of our company is an imobilaria I can only speak from our experience and that we have found in the market.

The costs bare no relation to anything most of the time in the industry. As direct sales are unregulated, in the most part, agents will charge whatever the market will take as a general rule. Most agents will charge close to or near whatever the biggest agent in the area charges or just under to try and win the business. It is normally an average of 2-3% but can be a flat fee for property under a certain value or if the agency is set up with flat fees across the board. 

It may also depend on what paperwork they are required to get to sell your property. Some agents collect no documentation and then hope the sale completes and the solicitors get everything in place at the Notary. These tend to be lower fees as they do less and you end up paying your lawyer to get the certs anyway, but not always. Others will charge separately for making sure you have the correct certificates in place, such as the electrical certs etc and others will make it part of the costs you pay as a package.

There are exceptions with some who charge no fees to sellers or who charge much higher rates, normally on larger value property. There are various reasons for this from higher market houses generally being harder to sell or because your house may give good advertising and therefor be free. For each it is different.

The key thing though is that it doesn't matter what the commission is if they cant sell your house. Contrary to popular belief it does cost money to sell houses and it isn't cheap when you look at the costs for portals and staff to manage enquiries. If an agent is charging 1% or less this may seem like a great deal until you realise there is only one person and a dog in the office managing any enquiries and your property may only be on free to access sites if any. The agent charging 5% may have you on every premium site with featured adds and a full staff dealing with lots of enquiries who's job it is to sell your house.

In short you pay for what you get as long as you know what you're getting. Unfortunately as most of the market is unregulated and still a little like the wild west in places, even some of the companies who sell houses and are very good sometimes change commissions depending on the property. An agent near us recently put a property on the market and changed their commission from 4% to 0.5%, why?

Because it was on a  main road and could be seen from the AP7. They could put huge advertising banners on it for free until it sells, in a prime location where hundreds see it everyday.  This property has been overpriced and is not advertised on the web in the normal way the agent normally sells property but for the next six months while the owners are tied into the contract of sale they get free advertising before telling the owners to drop the price through lack of interest. In real terms the equivalent of 1000 euros a month free advertising. Perfect marketing and all because the sellers went with cheap and were convinced their house is worth more than the market. (not a criticism of the agent just an example of how lack of knowledge can be a detriment to sellers)

At the end of the day pay what you think is fair and negotiate. Agents want your property so just because they say its X ask why. Make sure they are providing you with a service and not just wanting to put a board out. If you think they have priced the property correctly (ask more than one) and are happy they will do their best for you use them. If not don't.

The last thing I will say is whomever you choose big or small the idea is for them to sell the property for you. If you think you can sell the house using just a board then get a board and do it. Get a good lawyer to do the paperwork and don't pay a penny. It can be done and the Spanish have been doing it for years. The costs are in the advertising and staffing not the board.