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When you are thinking about selling your property on the Costa del Sol, the first step isn't necessarily putting it on the market. It's understanding what it's realistically worth, how best to present it, what selling is likely to involve and whether now is the right time for you to sell.
We've been helping people buy and sell homes for nearly 50 years, including more than 25 years here on the Costa del Sol. Our job is to give you straightforward advice, help you make the decisions that are right for you and, when you're ready, market your property properly and find a buyer.
A realistic asking price matters. We will give you our opinion based on the property, its location, current market conditions and comparable properties, rather than simply telling you the figure you would most like to hear.
We will also talk through the practical side of selling, including how the property should be presented, likely selling costs, how viewings will be handled and what happens when an offer is received.
Sometimes our advice may not be what you expected, but we would rather be straightforward from the beginning than create expectations which are unlikely to be met.
Before full marketing begins, we will ask you for some basic documentation relating to the property, including the Nota Simple, up-to-date IBI information, identification and NIE, details of community fees where applicable, and the Energy Performance Certificate (CEE). Other documentation may be needed later as the sale progresses.
We are always happy to arrange the CEE on your behalf. The cost is paid by the vendor, as the certificate belongs to the property owner and remains valid for future use for its statutory validity period.
We also recommend asking your lawyer at an early stage to check that the property is correctly registered and that the necessary documentation is in place. Finding and resolving a paperwork problem before a buyer has been found is generally much easier than discovering it when everybody is trying to complete a sale.
If you would prefer your property to be marketed discreetly, sometimes referred to as a “pocket listing”, we can respect that too. However, marketing ultimately means making a property visible to potential buyers, so the more restrictions placed on that exposure, the more limited our opportunities to find a buyer may become.
Once your property comes to the market, we use a range of professional tools to present it clearly and reach suitable buyers:
Good marketing is not about exaggerating a property. It is about presenting it accurately and attractively so that buyers understand what is being offered before they arrange a viewing.
We normally recommend that owners are not present during viewings. It allows buyers to look around at their own pace, talk openly about the property and start to imagine themselves living there without feeling that they are guests in somebody else's home.
It also avoids an owner inadvertently saying something that may be misunderstood or trying to establish a relationship with a buyer when sometimes personalities simply do not click. We will conduct the viewing, answer the buyer's questions and give you feedback afterwards.
Our website is available in six languages and we use major international property portals to reach buyers looking for homes on the Costa del Sol.
We also have relationships with agencies and introducers in other countries and work with a broad network of Costa del Sol estate agents through established multi-listing platforms including ReSales Online and InfoCasa. Many of these agencies specialise in buyers from particular countries or markets, giving your property exposure to buyers we may not reach directly.
We believe cooperation makes sense. The objective is to find the right buyer and achieve a satisfactory sale, not to prevent another agent from introducing somebody who may want to buy your property.
When an offer is received, we will discuss it with you and give you our view, but the decision whether to accept, reject or negotiate will always be yours. Price is important, but it is not the only consideration. We will also look at the buyer's position, any conditions attached to the offer and how likely they appear to be to proceed.
We will also consider what has been happening since the property came to the market: how many viewings it has attracted, the feedback from those viewings and whether the asking price is generating plenty of interest or very little.
Sometimes a slightly lower but more secure offer may be worth considering. Our job is to give you the information and advice we can and help you make the decision that is right for you.
If furnishings or other contents form part of the agreement, it is important to be clear about what has actually been included in the sale. Once the terms have been agreed, we can prepare an inventory on the vendor's behalf if requested, so that both buyer and seller know what forms part of the agreement.
We will keep you informed about enquiries, viewings, feedback and offers, and we will tell you if we think something needs to change.
Property sales do not always proceed exactly as expected. Buyers change their minds, circumstances change and occasionally things go wrong. When that happens, we believe the important thing is to communicate clearly, deal with the situation and keep you informed.
Once a sale has been agreed, the lawyers will deal with the legal and administrative work leading up to completion. At the notary, the final documentation is checked and the sale is formally completed. The agreed purchase money is paid, normally by bank transfer or banker's draft, as arranged beforehand with the lawyers, and the keys are handed over. The notary's role is to ensure that the transaction is carried out correctly and that the parties understand what they are signing.
There can sometimes be more waiting around on completion day than anybody expects, but your lawyer will guide you through the process.
Utilities, community charges, council taxes and other property-related accounts also need to be dealt with correctly when ownership changes. This is one of the reasons we recommend that sellers, as well as buyers, have their own lawyer.
They can check that payments are up to date and help ensure that changes of ownership and responsibility are properly recorded, reducing the possibility of problems arising later.
We don't believe in making promises simply to win an instruction. We will give you our view of the value of your property, explain how we think it should be marketed and be clear about our fees and what you can expect from us. If we think something needs to change along the way, we'll tell you and explain why.
Our selling agreement is non-exclusive, there is no fixed time commitment, and we only earn our fee when your property sells. Our commitment is to help and advise you when selling your Costa del Sol property. If you're not sure where to start, you can take the first step by talking with us.
If you would like to discuss your situation, call us on (0034) 952 90 52 00, WhatsApp us, email info@michael-moon.com or use the contact form below.
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Selling a property naturally raises questions. We've brought together answers to many of the questions sellers regularly ask us.
