Selling a home normally brings profit, but it also implies a series of expenses. According to the experts at HelpMyCash.com, a website dedicated to financial and real estate comparison, these expenses generally represent between 5% and 15% of the price of the property.
Thus, an owner who transfers his home for 300,000 euros, could spend between 15,000 and 45,000 euros in an estimated way. And although this is only an approximation —the expenses depend, among other things, on the autonomous community where the property is located and the profits obtained with the operation—, the difference between the two amounts is very relevant. For what is this? Because, in the first case, you save on two main concepts: real estate commission and personal income tax.
According to research carried out by HelpMyCash, the most common real estate commission in Spain ranges between 4% and 5% plus VAT on the price of the home. Going back to the example, an owner who sells his house for 300,000 euros, could pay between 14,500 and 18,150 euros (VAT included) only in agency fees. And although the comparator specialists advise always weighing the relationship between price and quality, when it comes to fees, there are cheaper alternatives: online real estate.
Their fees for a home of less than 400,000 euros range between 3,000 and 4,500 euros (VAT included), which represents savings of between 68% and 75%. Although it should be clarified that they do not include all the necessary procedures for the sale: the owner must mainly take care of the visits. Thus, online agencies are an option to consider for any owner who wants to sell their apartment and is willing to participate in the sale.
Another of the most important expenses in a sale refers to personal income tax. This must be settled in the income statement for the year following the sale and depends mainly on the profits that the owner obtains from the operation. There are, however, some specific situations that exempt the seller from paying personal income tax. Which are?
According to HelpMyCash specialists, the most common exemption is for reinvestment in a primary residence. To qualify, the owner must use the money from the sale to buy a new home. In addition, he has to meet a series of requirements, such as that the home he sells is the usual one -for which he must have resided in it for a period of at least three years-; that the new property is also your habitual residence —for which you must inhabit it effectively and permanently within a maximum period of twelve months from the purchase— and, finally, no more than two years can elapse between the purchase and the sale or vice versa.
In the event that the owner is over 65 years of age, he may also be exempt from paying personal income tax, provided that the property he is selling is his habitual residence. You would also avoid paying this tax if you sell a second residence and use the proceeds to establish a life annuity, provided that a series of additional requirements are met, such as that the rent is contracted within a maximum period of six months from the sale or that the frequency of rent is less than or equal to one year.
The IRPF and the real estate commission are, without a doubt, the most important expenses. But there are other smaller ones that can also be reduced and added together they make a difference. For HelpMyCash experts, some examples are the IBI or the cancellation of the mortgage.
Regarding the real estate tax, the law establishes that it must be paid by the person who owned the home on January 1 of the year of sale; that is, the seller. However, in practice it can be negotiated so that the buyer pays the proportional part of the time during which he will own the property.
Regarding the registration cancellation of the mortgage, that is, the process of removing the burden from the Property Registry in order to be able to sell the home, the owner can save a considerable amount if he cancels the mortgage with an independent agent, instead of to leave everything in the hands of the buyer's bank.
