Buying property in Spain, step by step

Why: A home, a holiday place and an investment lead to three different properties. Without deciding, you compare things that are not comparable.

How: Write one sentence: "I am buying because ___ and I will be there ___ weeks a year." If it is for yield, calculate it after management, taxes and empty months — not from the advertised nightly rate.

Why: Additional costs run to 8–15 % of the price. Miss them and you run out of money at the worst possible moment — between the deposit and the signing.

How: Price + tax or VAT + notary and registry + lawyer + translations and valuation + a reserve for furnishing. That number is your budget.

Why: This is the single largest item in the budget, and one question decides it: is this the first sale from a developer, or a further transfer?

How: A resale means regional transfer tax ITP. A new build from a developer means 10 % VAT plus regional AJD. In the Valencian Community ITP is 9 % (since 1 June 2026; 11 % above €1m) and AJD 1.4 %; in the Region of Murcia ITP is 7.75 % and AJD 1.5 %.

Why: Spain does not condition property purchases on nationality or official permission. As an EU citizen you are in the same position as a Spaniard.

How: No cap on the number of properties or the area, no reciprocity requirement. The only real condition is practical: without a NIE you cannot complete the purchase.

Why: Buying abroad takes months and most of the delay is outside your control. Anyone who books flights on an agent's promise ends up buying under pressure.

How: Budget time for: the tax number, your lawyer's checks, any permission, the notary appointment, registration. Then add a month of slack.

Why: Organic Law 1/2025 abolished it with effect from 3 April 2025. In the consolidated text of Law 14/2013, articles 63 to 67 — the entire investor visa and residence regime — now read "(Sin contenido)", without content.

How: Permits already granted remain valid; new ones are not issued for a purchase, whatever the amount. As an EU citizen you do not need a residence visa anyway — for stays over three months you register on the EU citizens' register. Anyone still offering residency for a €500,000 purchase is working from a text older than April 2025.

Why: Sellers take seriously the buyer who can evidence the money. And a mortgage for a non-resident works differently than at home.

How: Either proof of funds or a pre-approval. For a non-resident mortgage expect a higher deposit and the bank insisting on its own valuation.

Why: The bank and the notary are obliged to ask. Without documents the transaction stops exactly when it should be completing.

How: Statements, sale contracts, tax returns, a deed of gift. Have it ready and translated in advance, not on request.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: On a sum this size the exchange rate decides more than the discount you negotiated. And a bank's rate is usually well off the market.

How: Compare your bank against a specialist broker for large transfers. Decide whether to convert at once or in tranches. Do not leave it to the signing day.

Why: Property is handed over empty and often not in the condition shown in the photos. Without a reserve you will own a bargain with nothing to sleep on.

How: Furnishing, small repairs, the first annual charges, the trip to the handover. Keep more for an older property; a new build needs less, but rarely includes a kitchen.

Why: Without the foreigner's identification number the notary cannot name you in the deed, you cannot open an account and you cannot pay the tax. It is the first official step.

How: Form EX-15, in person at an immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or police station in Spain, or through a Spanish consulate. You submit your passport and must state the reason — for a purchase that is usually the reservation contract. The decision is due within five days; the bottleneck is the appointment, not the decision.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: Deposits, utility direct debits, taxes and service charges all run through it. Without one, paying is slower and more expensive.

How: Ask whether an account is a condition of the transfer or merely practical. Expect to open it in person and to evidence the source of funds.

Why: Most purchases abroad take two or three trips. A power of attorney is how you turn that into one.

How: It must be notarised and, for use abroad, usually apostilled and translated. Define precisely what the attorney may sign — never "anything".

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: A lawyer offered by the seller, the developer or the agent protects their interest. That is not a suspicion — it is their job.

How: Choose an independent lawyer licensed in that country, speaking a language you understand, paid by you. It is the best-spent line in the whole budget.

Why: You cannot decide between twenty properties. You can between three.

How: Pick three to five and write down, for each, what is worse about it than the others. If you cannot write that, you do not know it yet.

Why: A seaside resort in August and in January are two different places. One has shops and a doctor, the other has shuttered windows.

How: Find out what operates year-round: shop, doctor, transport, internet. Ask how many flats in the building are lived in all year.

Why: Damp, noise, a view of a wall and the state of the common parts do not show up in the evening or in a hurry.

How: Go in daylight, ideally twice and at different times. Open the windows, run the water, check corners and ceilings. Photograph every defect.

Why: A roof or a lift is repaired at the owners' joint expense, and the bill tends to arrive shortly after you buy.

How: Roof, façade, lift, pipework, pool and its plant. Ask what repairs the owners' association has planned and how they are being funded.

Why: A holiday property is paid for all year and used for a few weeks. This number matters more than the price.

How: Service charges, local property tax, waste, water and electricity even when empty, insurance, management. Add it up and divide by the weeks you will actually be there.

Why: It is the extract from the Spanish land registry (Registro de la Propiedad) and the only way to establish who the registered owner is and what is charged against the property.

How: It shows the property, the holders of the registered rights, and their extent and limitations. It costs €9.02 plus VAT per property under the official scale and can be ordered online. Have it reissued IMMEDIATELY before signing — a mortgage can be registered at any time.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: A mortgage and an easement both pass with the property. And the nota simple is informative only — for a disputed property ask for a certificación signed by the registrar.

How: Where a mortgage exists, the contract must state clearly who removes it and out of which money — ideally out of the purchase price at the notary.

Why: Extensions, extra floors and pools built without permission are common in Andalusia and inland. And the Coastal Law (Ley de Costas) defines a public-domain strip by the sea where a building stands on state land under a concession.

How: Compare the actual state against the nota simple and the cadastral description. For a front-line property, the coastal strip is the first thing your lawyer should check.

Why: Arrears owed to the owners' association (comunidad de propietarios) pass to the new owner within the limits set by law. You would be paying someone else's debt.

How: A certificate of no arrears from the administrator is a standard document and the seller is obliged to obtain it. Add proof that the municipal IBI tax is paid.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: A foreigner who does not know the local market is the easiest target for an inflated price. In some countries a valuation for foreign buyers is mandatory anyway.

How: Instruct a valuer paid by you. Where the valuation is required by law, READ IT — it is the only independent number in the whole transaction.

Why: On an off-plan property you are not buying a flat, you are buying a promise. That promise is worth exactly as much as whoever made it.

How: How many projects they have completed and how late. Is the project registered with the regulator? Do payments go to a protected account or straight to the company? Ask for documents.

Why: An offer backed by documented defects and comparables lands better than asking for a discount "because I am paying cash".

How: Use what phase 4 found: a missing completion certificate, a planned building repair, comparable properties. And know the number you will not go above.

Why: This is the first time you send money. Reservation contracts are short and look harmless — and they decide whether you lose that money.

How: It must be clear who the seller is, exactly what you are buying, for how much, by when, and what happens if either side pulls out. Sign after your lawyer has read it.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: The most common are arras penitenciales under article 1454 of the Civil Code: the buyer withdraws by forfeiting the deposit, the seller by returning it doubled. Other types give no right to withdraw at all.

How: The contract must say plainly which type it is. If it does not, do not sign — the word arras alone does not tell you.

Why: The contract is drafted by the other side and written in their favour. That is not fraud, it is normal — which is why you need your own person.

How: Have it explained sentence by sentence, ideally with a translation. Insist on understanding: what happens on delay, who pays what, and how defects are handled.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: The contract should protect you too. A condition means that if something falls through, the money comes back instead of a dispute starting.

How: Typically: mortgage approval, permission granted, a charge removed, the completion certificate produced. Give each one a deadline and a consequence.

Why: Construction delay is the rule, not the exception. Without a penalty in the contract, a completion date is just a wish.

How: Completion date, penalty for delay, a right to withdraw after a set period, who pays for design changes, and how handover works. Tie instalments to construction progress, not to the calendar.

Why: This is the moment where everything can be lost. Money sent to the wrong account does not come back.

How: Verify the account number through a channel other than email — by phone, to a number you already trust. Prefer escrow or a client account over paying the seller directly.

Why: Where the seller does not live in Spain, you as the buyer must withhold 3 % of the price and pay it to the tax authority against their tax. If you do not, the property you are buying is itself liable for that amount.

How: It is paid on form Modelo 211 within one month of the transfer, and you give the seller a copy so they can offset it. Get written confirmation from your gestoría that they will handle it.

Why: A missed deadline means penalties and a blocked registration. The gestoría normally handles it, but the responsibility is yours.

How: Watch the tax base: it is not necessarily what you pay. The base is the cadastral reference value (valor de referencia), and if the agreed price is higher, the higher figure applies. Buying "on paper below value" therefore does not reduce the tax.

Why: Signing is not enough. Until you are registered your protection against third parties is limited — and the property can be charged or sold again.

How: Find out who files the application and within what deadline, and get the confirmation of registration. Do not assume it happens by itself.

We deliberately don't collect this one: it carries personal data of both parties or a national ID number. Ticking it off with a note is enough.

Why: While they are in the seller's name you are paying their direct debits and inheriting their arrears.

How: Electricity, water, gas, internet, waste. Record the meter readings at handover and have both parties sign them.

Why: Between handover and taking out a policy the property is yours and uninsured. In some places specific cover is required by law.

How: Buildings and contents cover; in coastal and seismic areas check what is and is not covered. Check what the association's policy already covers.

Why: Spain taxes a non-resident owner on imputed income — the fiction that the property yields something, even when it stands empty and only you use it for holidays. It surprises almost everyone.

How: The base is 1.1 % of the cadastral value for properties in municipalities where that value was revised from 2012 onwards, otherwise 2 %. The rate is 19 % for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and 24 % for everyone else. The tax accrues on 31 December. Add the municipal IBI and the comunidad charges.

Why: Short-term letting is usually regulated — licences, registration, caps. Fines are steep and neighbours complain readily.

How: Check whether a licence is required and whether the building's rules permit letting at all. Sort out remote management, income tax and changeover cleaning.

Why: You will come back to these papers for years — for repairs, for inheritance and above all when you sell.

How: Purchase contract, proof of tax paid, confirmation of registration, handover protocol, power of attorney, valuation, correspondence. Keep it digitally and on paper.