Inheritances often cause headaches. In addition to the pain of the loss of a loved one, there is a lot of paperwork and paperwork to be done. In this situation, surround yourself with a real estate professional makes things much easier. If, in your case, you have received an inherited apartment in Fuerteventura that you want to sell, we tell you how to do it in 3 steps.
Selling an inherited apartment is a fairly common operation and, in principle, the process does not differ much from that of an apartment that has not been inherited. What you must keep in mind is that there are a series of previous steps that you must take before the apartment is officially yours and you can sell it.
1- Accepting the inheritance
First of all, make sure you have the documentation you will need to start the necessary steps: death certificate, last will certificate of the deceased person and the deeds of the house you have inherited.
When a family member dies, his or her heirs are not automatically assigned. It is necessary to go before a notary to accept the inheritance and officially become an heir. So, at this point, what you must do is to go before a notary with the aforementioned documentation and accept the inheritance.
In the event that the inheritance of the house corresponds to more than one heir and one of them refuses to accept it, the rest of the heirs can go before a notary to send him/her a notification deed. Once you receive it, you have 30 calendar days to accept your share or renounce the inheritance. If you do not answer, it is considered accepted.
2- Settlement of taxes
As you could imagine, this procedure is not exempt from tax liquidation. The tax that applies in this case is the Inheritance and Donations tax. The deadline to pay it is 6 months after the death of the person leaving the inheritance.
Our advice is that you start the process as soon as possible and with the help of a real estate expert because it can get complicated and lengthen in time. In this way, it will be much faster, simpler and you will save the costs of maintaining the property until it is sold.
The amount to be paid varies according to the Autonomous Community, and depends on the amount to be inherited and the relationship with the deceased. In general, we can say that in Fuerteventura very low fees are paid, as there are bonuses of up to 100%. Generally, the closer the relationship, the less you pay.
In addition to the inheritance and gift tax, there is another tax that you will have to pay. This is the Municipal Capital Gains. It is a local tax, payable on the increase in value of the land. The Municipal Capital Gains Tax depends on each Municipality and is paid when a transfer of property occurs. We recommend that you visit this complete article on Plusvalia published in our blog to obtain complete and updated information on this tax.
3- Becoming a homeowner
Once all taxes have been paid, it is time to return to the notary.
In this case you need to sign the deed of adjudication of the inheritance. Remember that the notary will ask you to bring the deeds of the inherited property.
You will also have to change the ownership of the property in the Land Registry and put it in your name. This procedure is not mandatory, but highly recommended.
If you are the sole owner, this procedure does not have to be complicated. On the other hand, it may be extended if there is more than one heir.
And, at this point, you will have become the legal owner of the property, you will be up to date with the payment of taxes and you will be able to put the property up for sale as if it were a regular sale.
Can the property be sold without having accepted the inheritance? The answer is no. It is not possible to put the property up for sale until all the necessary formalities have been completed because the legal owner, until then, will be the deceased.
How can a real estate agency help you when selling an inherited apartment in Fuerteventura?
It is always advisable to have a real estate agency for the sale of a property, but it is especially advisable in the case of inherited properties because problems often arise and the following situations may occur:
- There are several heirs who cannot agree on the terms of the sale: A real estate professional will help all parties see the benefit of the transaction and can serve as a mediator between them.
- The heirs live in different cities, different from the city where the property is located: The real estate agency will be in charge of coordinating the process and keeping all parties informed.
- When none of the heirs is willing or able to take care of all the formalities: The real estate agent will take care of the whole process and avoid misunderstandings between the different heirs.
If you want us to help you to sell your inherited apartment in Fuerteventura and to take care of all the necessary paperwork and formalities, please contact us.
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