Selling Property

[steveinbsas]

We have a good accountant (we think) who also has our power of attorney for selling. The accountant has paid our taxes so knows our property well. What does the accountant do in regards to selling?

The accountant should be able to get the certificado de no retencion. I believe that only a certified (or licensed) account can do this for you...not the escribano or a lawyer.

You say the accountant paid your taxes. Do you have the receipts for ARBA payments and the bienes personales taxes for all of the years you owned the apartment? The bienes personales tax applies if the value of the apartment was in excess of $305,000 pesos (since 2009). Prior to 2009 the tax applied to properites with a value of about $100K pesos or more.

Did you ever rent the apartment when you were not in Argentina?

If you rented it, did you report the income and pay the appropriate taxes?

Even if you did not rent the apartment and you let friends stay there, AFIP will look at the electric bills and assume you rented it unless the usage dropped to near zero whenever you were out of the country.

Has your accountant asked you for the electric bills?

Has your accountant asked you for copies of all pages of your passport (to show when you were in Argentina)?

If I was dealing with an accountant who doesn't know how to get the certificado de no retencion I would (at the least) question his expertise, and wonder about his credentials, especially if I had given him "power of attorney" to sell any property I owned.

If he has power of attorney to sell your apartment does that mean he also will receive (and have control of) the proceeds of the sale and/or that you won't be present for the escritura?

You indicated that you "think" you have a good accountant. Do you also "think" he is a good enough person to send the money to you if you aren't present for the escritura?

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Here is what a real estate professional I have dealt with in the past said about Certificado del Non Retencion:

When selling as a foreign citizen there is a requirement though to obtain a Certificado de Non Retencion and pay all your property taxes and rental income taxes...(which) is high for non residents and is 27% of all declared rental incomes . The tax liability can be minimized with a good accountant.

You will require a excellent accountant to obtain this Certificado del Non retencion. Please be very aware that there are many sharks out there who will charge a arm and a leg for this tramite and will delay it on purpose to obtain more monies from the unsuspecting.

This tramite should not take more than 8 weeks maximum with the right guidance of a professional.

For more information use the advance search. Enter Certificado del Non Retencion in the find words box. Search in content and display the results as posts.

Suerte.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

Even if you did not rent the apartment and you let friends stay there, AFIP will look at the electric bills and assume you rented it unless the usage dropped to near zero whenever you were out of the country.

Has your accountant asked you for the electric bills?

Has your accountant asked you for copies of all pages of your passport (to show when you were in Argentina)?

If I was dealing with an accountant who doesn't know how to get the certificado de no retencion I would (at the least) question his expertise, and wonder about his credentials, especially if I had given him "power of attorney" to sell any property I owned.

If he has power of attorney to sell your apartment does that mean he also will receive (and have control of) the proceeds of the sale and/or that you won't be present for the escritura?

You indicated that you "think" you have a good accountant. Do you also "think" he is a good enough person to send the money to you if you aren't present for the escritura?

Suerte.

This is correct and I will make it even more clear for you. If you are selling as a non-resident you are obligated to pay rental income taxes on the property for any time you were physically out of the country and your electric bill was lower than the AFIP monthly cut-off. This is a presumed income tax. In other words it doesn't matter if you actually rented the property or not. There is a legal presumption that you rented it and there is a standardized formula for figuring the "rental" that you received. A good agent has established relationships at AFIP and can fight to get these lowered for you. If you don't pay this income tax AFIP will not issue the certificate of sale and you will not be able to consummate the sale of your property. If that happens the failure is your fault and the agreement of sale that you signed for the property can entitle the buyer to receive a sizable monetary penalty from you in the way of damages. At the very least you will be in a lawsuit even if you are able to claim force majeure.

Also, you say you have a buyer. I hope that is correct. In my time here I have had no less than 20 clients tell me that a friend, extended family member, a neighbor, etc is going to buy their property. How many times have I seen a property sold like that? Zero. Everyone here wants to be a buyer and will tell you so. For me they are only a buyer if they have the demonstrated financial resources to purchase the property, put down good faith cash, and have signed an agreement of sale.

I wish you luck (and I am not being sarcastic). I hope it all goes smoothly for you.

GS

 

[steveinbsas]

If you are selling as a non-resident you are obligated to pay rental income taxes on the property for any time you were physically out of the country and your electric bill was lower than the AFIP monthly cut-off.

Shouldn't this sentence include the word "higher" as shown in red below?

If you are selling as a non-resident you are obligated to pay rental income taxes on the property for any time you were physically out of the country and your electric bill was higher than the AFIP monthly cut-off.

If you don't pay this income tax AFIP will not issue the certificate of sale and you will not be able to consummate the sale of your property. If that happens the failure is your fault and the agreement of sale that you signed for the property can entitle the buyer to receive a sizable monetary penalty from you in the way of damages. At the very least you will be in a lawsuit even if you are able to claim force majeure.

Isn't this "monetary penalty" double the amount of money received at the boleto (which is usually a third of the selling price)?

Frankly, I would not sleep well at night knowing an accountant who I think is good and has power of attorney to sell (including accept funds at the boleto) my property to other portenos (possibly friends or cronies) has told me that he can't get the certificado de no retencion.

It sounds like a disaster just waiting to happen...and I wouldn't want any part of it.

It would still be necessary to pay the accountant to get the certificate of non-retention in addition to any sellers commission charged by a professional real estate agent. It's amazing what some people are willing to risk to "save" paying a professional the relatively small commission that might prevent such a disaster (and usually would).

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

You are correct on all points, sir! Thanks for the clarification.

If one is very knowledgeable of the system then FSBO is a viable option here. However, there are a lot of crooked and/or inept agents who can also create a disaster for you.

If you are a babe in the woods here then you should find someone who is competent and you trust.