Before your house goes on the market
Make sure that you have the right paperwork in place. Your estate agent will want to look at your escritura (title deed) although a copy will suffice at this stage. Check that it's up-to-date. Remember that if you have had any extensions built onto your house or a swimming pool added you will need to up-date the description of the property in the escritura. To do this you will need:

• the planning permission
• a copy of the building plans
• a letter from an architect stating that the work has been finished in accordance with the plans

You can then have the escritura amended at the same time as completing on the sale of your property at the notary's office. There will be a fee charged by your asesoria or lawyer. Please ask for a quote beforehand so you know how much it will cost.

Sale price
Think realistically about how much you want for your house – check out comparable properties for yourself but also take your estate agent's advice as she knows the market better than anyone. Her commission will be added to the price you want to achieve for yourself so expect her to be clear about how much this will be.

Costs
Work out what your expenses are likely to be, particularly taking into account capital gains tax (see note below). Generally you don't need to use a lawyer to deal with your sale unless it is necessary to up-date the property description in the escritura . You may of course consult an asesoria or a lawyer at any point if you feel that you would like advice.

NB The rules on capital gains tax liability are not difficult but are frequently misunderstood. For a clear explanation of how the rules apply to you, call Denise at Sunset Properties (618295063) for free and friendly advice or check out her website at www.sunsetproperties-spain.com

Presentation
We can't stress enough that good presentation of your house is vitally important. Photographs of a tidy house look so much better on the website and of course the standard needs to be maintained for each viewing. We recommend that you:

• de-clutter, putting away as many of your personal things as possible
• freshen up the walls and paintwork if they are looking a bit ‘tired'
• remember the importance of the outside space, first impressions make all the difference – clean the pool, plant flowers where possible and tidy the terraces
• ask a friend (or your friendly estate agent) to look at your house as though they were a prospective buyer and ask for their honest opinion.

Remember if you really do want to sell your house you will need to make an effort! But for the fainthearted, see also our ‘house doctor' article in this newsletter…..

Once your property is on the market
Next you'll need to cope with viewings, analyse how it's going, deal with interested buyers and finally accept an offer and sell your house! As ever, your relationship with your estate agent is crucial to achieving the best outcome for you.

Viewings
As we've mentioned above, presentation is everything so it really is worth putting in some effort to make your home look its best. In most cases your agent should be able to give you some notice before bringing prospective buyers but that may not always be possible.

Make sure that if you're going to be away from home for a while you make arrangements for a friend to look after viewings for you or leave a key with your agent – the right person might just come along while you are away!

Also talk to your agent about how the viewings will be conducted. For example who is going to take the clients round, what questions are they likely to ask and what are the good points about the house that you will want to emphasise? Having these things thought through properly helps make a good, professional impression to your prospective buyer.

Reviewing progress
Unless you're lucky enough to sell quickly then you might eventually want to think about whether there's anything you need to do to make your property more attractive to buyers, for example reducing the price. The feedback your estate agent gives you after each viewing should be a great help to you at this stage.

An offer to buy
Once you have a buyer and have agreed a price you will need to produce the following documents:

• A copy of your title deed (escritura)
• A receipt proving that your property tax (IBI) is paid up to date. If there are any community charges relating to the property then the same will apply.
• Proof of up to date payment of each of your utility bills - water, electricity and telephone.
• A copy of your personal identification i.e. your resident's card or passport.

Purchase contracts are generally prepared over the next week and usually 10% deposit will be paid within 10 days of the contract being signed. The completion date can be agreed between you and your buyer but about 6 to 8 weeks is normal.

When selling your house you do not have to have legal representation unless the title deed needs up dating or unless you want it.

The next step is the trip to the notary to complete on the sale. You will be informed of the date, place and time by your estate agent. Bring the title deed for your property and your identification. Please allow a few hours for this visit as on occasion there are delays at the notary office. During the visit the asesoria for the buyer will translate the new title deed and then you will be required to sign for the sale in front of the notary and you will receive a banker's cheque for the purchase price. Then that's it, congratulations you have sold your house.