Selling an inherited home has pitfalls that do not exist in a normal sale: tax deadlines, decisions made in the heat and several owners giving their opinion at the same time. These are the mistakes when selling an inherited house Which Cost the Most Money—and How to Avoid Them.
Error 1: put it up for sale before awarding the inheritance
Without a deed of acceptance and allotment, no sale is possible.. Sign deposit “meanwhile” is to sign penalties if the procedures take longer. The correct order: award first (or at least have a closed notary date), sell later.
Error 2: deed the inheritance for a value that is too low
It is the most expensive mistake. The award value is your purchase price for personal income tax purposes.: he inherits for 90.000 € “to pay less now” and sell for 150.000 €, you will be taxed for 60.000 € profit. With the bonus of 99% of successions in the Valencian Community, adjusting the allotment value to the market is almost free and saves thousands later.
Error 3: let them pass 6 months of taxes
Inheritance and municipal capital gains have 6 months term. Going over means surcharges 1% monthly (until the 15% more interest after the year) and blocks the registration, that is to say, the sale.
Error 4: undersell in haste or conflict
“We get it out of the way and that's it.” It is the phrase that has burned the most money in inheritances. The difference between selling in a hurry and selling with a method (valuation, preparation, dissemination in several languages) It is usually two digit percentages. If the problem is disagreement between heirs, the solution is not to lower the price: It is an objective assessment that settles the discussion.
Error 5: teach it “with everything inside”
Furniture from decades, souvenirs and full closets sink the buyer's perception. Emptying and cleaning are the investment with the best return in an inherited house; We tell you how in our guide to prepare a house to sell.
Error 6: forget the second capital gain and the documentation
When you sell you will pay municipal capital gains again (only for the period from the inheritance) and you will need an energy certificate, IBI up to date and debt-free community. With a foreign buyer—the most likely in the area—any missing paper delays or kills the operation..
The antidote to all mistakes: start with the real value
Almost all of these mistakes come from not knowing how much the house is really worth.. A professional valuation with real sales in the area orders the award, align the heirs and set a defensible sales price. At Mayrasa we do it for free and without obligation, and if you decide to sell, we take care of the entire process. Better to avoid mistakes before making them.
How much do these mistakes really cost?
The title does not exaggerate: each of these failures has a price, and together they can take a huge part of the inheritance. An orientation of what is at stake:
| Error | How much can it cost you? |
|---|---|
| Undervalue the award | Between a 19% and a 28% of personal income tax on a profit that you have invented |
| Miss the deadline 6 months | Increasing surcharges up to 15% more interests, and the sale blocked |
| Underselling due to haste or conflict | Between a 10% and a 20% below the market price |
| Show it with everything inside | Weeks or months of more on sale and lower offers |
| Half-finished roles with a foreign buyer | Operation down and start again |
None of these costs are inevitable: almost all of them dodge following the correct order from the beginning.
The correct order to avoid committing any
Most mistakes come from doing things in the wrong order.. This is the sequence that avoids almost all of them:
- ask for one objective assessment before making any decision.
- Gather inheritance documentation (death, last wills, testament, scriptures).
- Sign the award deed for a market-adjusted value, not artificially low.
- Settles inheritances and municipal capital gains within the 6 months.
- Register the house in the name of the heirs in the Property Registry.
- Prepare the home: emptied, cleaning, energy certificate and up-to-date papers.
- Go to market with diffusion in several languages and a single interlocutor.
Extra errors when the buyer is foreign
On the Costa Blanca, a good part of the buyers are not Spanish, and that adds its own faults that do not appear in other areas:
- Do not prepare NIE or powers when an heir lives abroad, and stop the signature at the last moment.
- Forget retention 3% that applies to the non-resident seller and get a scare in the delivery.
- Deliver documentation without translating or apostilling, which slows down the notary and buyer.
- Advertise only in Spanish and give up the international buyer, which in many sales in the area is the majority.
Frequently asked questions
Which of all these mistakes is the most expensive??
Almost always undervalue the award. As with the bonus 99% of inheritances you barely pay when you inherit, writing for a low value saves you almost nothing now, but converts the entire difference up to the sale price into profit subject to personal income tax later.
Can an already deeded allotment value be corrected??
It's complicated and it doesn't always work out.: involves a complementary deed and re-liquidating taxes. That's why the important thing is to adjust it correctly the first time.. If you have already signed, Consult your case with an agency before selling.
Is it worth reforming to avoid underselling?
Rarely a comprehensive reform. What does pay is the emptying, a thorough cleaning, paint and fix what is visible broken. In inherited houses in the area, That basic set-up moves the final price more than any large work..
What do I do if I have already passed the deadline? 6 months?
Submit as soon as possible: surcharges grow over time, so every month counts. In some cases, a deferral or installment of payment may be requested.. What is not convenient is to let it run, because without the taxes settled you will not be able to register or sell the house.
An example of what is at stake
Imagine an inherited apartment in Torrevieja that the market pays 150.000 €. Two heirs decide to deed the award for 90.000 € “to pay less”. As in the Valencian Community, the immediate family has the bonus of 99% in successions, that immediate savings is almost zero. A year later they sell for 150.000 €: Treasury sees a capital gain of 60.000 € and claims them around 13.000 € of personal income tax. If they had awarded for the real market value, That profit—and that bill—would have been practically zero.. It's the same floor, the same sale price and a difference of thousands of euros that depends only on a figure written in the inheritance deed. That's why the first step, always, is knowing how much the house is really worth before signing anything.
