It is relatively common for someone who has just inherited a house and wants to sell it quickly to offer it at a slightly lower price than the market average.
In Spain, this happens mainly because when you inherit a house, you need to pay a capital gains tax to the city council of the property’s location. This tax is calculated using the year you acquired the property as base, so each year the tax authority applies the rate that accumulates until you sell the property. This means that you will pay less if you sell the property in December than if you sell it in January of the next year.
What is a Common Problem When Buying Property from an Heir?
As you know, inheritances are sadly likely to generate problems among heirs. From time to time, an heir selling a property has to face claims from other heirs because they believe they have rights to that property.
As a buyer, in principle the Spanish laws support you. If you buy something in good faith, you should not face problems like this. This safety comes from the registration of the property under your name in the Properties Register. It is called principio de fe pública registral (principle of attestation). However, in cases related with probate, the registration does not guarantee anything until two years have passed. This is so important, that many banks may reject you for a mortgage to buy that property if they notice this issue might happen.
Therefore, it is very important for you to ask the notary that will attest the property exchange if you have the protection of this principio de fe pública registral.
Notice that the seller can be as innocent as the buyer. Sometimes, an heir appears that no one knew existed.
There is no complete certainty when you buy a property from an heir. A good indicator is when the seller is a forced heir, a son of the grantor.
On the contrary, when you buy the property from a family member like a cousin or a nephew of the grantor, you may face the unexpected appearance of a child that nobody knew.
If you are experiencing any kind of trouble with probate in Spain, please contact us and we will be very happy to assist you to solve everything.