Hi everyone, I’ve been a longtime lurker on this forum. Now that I’ve finally settled the sale of my house in China, a huge weight is off my shoulders, and I wanted to share my experience with selling a property back home to move to Spain. I’ve noticed many discussions here are about buying property, but few are about selling, so I hope my story can start a conversation and help others by sharing my experiences and the pitfalls I encountered.
My family chose the non-lucrative visa path, primarily for our children’s education and a better living environment. The biggest hurdle was what to do with our property in China. Initially, we were very hesitant. After all, it was an asset we’d worked hard for years to acquire, located in a good area. We considered keeping it for rental income, as a safety net in case we didn’t adapt to life here. However, after doing the math, we realized the rental yield in China isn’t particularly high. After deducting maintenance and management costs, the return is quite limited. More importantly, the non-lucrative visa has significant financial requirements. Liquidating the property into cash gives us much more flexibility here, whether for daily living or small investments. Plus, the hassle of managing a property remotely and dealing with taxes in two countries seemed overwhelming. In the end, we made the tough decision to sell!
The Selling Process and Timeline
Once the decision was made, things got moving, but the actual process was more complicated than we’d imagined. My biggest piece of advice is: plan well in advance
! The entire process, from listing the property to receiving the final payment, took us nearly 8 months. Don’t wait until your visa is about to be approved to start selling. You’ll be in a very passive position, and you’ll have little negotiating power when buyers try to lowball you.
Key Stages:
- Market Research and Pricing: Don’t just rely on your agent. Do your own research on multiple platforms to see the transaction prices of similar properties in your complex. Be realistic with your pricing; aiming for a sky-high price is impractical. A reasonable price is key to a quick sale.
- Hiring an Agent: It’s worth finding a reliable, large agency. Although their commission isn’t cheap, they have more resources and are familiar with the process, which saves a lot of trouble, especially for people like us who are preparing to move abroad and don’t have much time to handle things ourselves, unlike those who are already looking into buying a property in Madrid
.
- Contract Details: Make sure all terms, such as the payment schedule, property transfer date, and vacating requirements (including deregistering your household record, or hukou), are clearly stipulated in the contract. We specified clear deadlines for installment payments, which prevented disputes later on.
- Taxes: Property transaction taxes are a major expense, mainly consisting of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax. It’s best to get clear information on this beforehand. We were fortunate enough to meet the “Man Wu Wei Yi” criteria (the property being our only residence and owned for over five years), which saved us a substantial amount in personal income tax. If you don’t meet these conditions, be sure to factor this cost into your calculations.
Getting the funds transferred to Spain was another major challenge. As many know, China has annual foreign exchange quotas, making it nearly impossible to transfer a large sum at once. We used a combination of ‘smurfing’ (making many small transfers over time) and help from relatives. The whole process took several months and was quite stressful and not without risk. I later heard that some friends who bought Spanish properties used financial institutions in Hong Kong for currency exchange and as an investment intermediary. This method is more compliant but comes with higher fees. You should research the options based on your own capital amount and risk tolerance.
Here is a simple table summarizing the pros and cons of selling versus keeping the property, for your reference. There’s no right or wrong answer; it all depends on your family’s needs and plans.
| Consideration | Selling Property in China | Keeping Property in China |
|---|
| Capital Liquidity | High, funds available for life, property purchase, or investment in Spain | Low, capital is tied up in real estate |
| Management Costs | Low, no further worries after the one-time sale | High, requires remote management, rent collection, and maintenance |
| Exchange Rate Risk | Relatively low | High, RMB-denominated asset is exposed to currency fluctuations |
| Psychological Factor | Point of no return, encourages more focus on life in Spain | A fallback option, but may lead to less commitment |
| Tax Issues | Simpler, clear tax situation after the sale | Complex, potential for double taxation filings involving [property taxes in Spain] and China |
Selling your home to immigrate is a major family decision that requires thorough communication and a clear understanding of the pros and cons. I hope my humble experience can offer some guidance to those who are on or about to embark on this journey. Feel free to join the discussion and share your own insights!
