How long does the whole thing take?

On a resale property, commonly one to three months from reservation to keys. On a new build it can be anything from about two months to three years, depending on how far the project has got. The legal due diligence itself is usually two to four weeks and runs alongside the NIE and the bank account.

How many times do I have to come to Spain?

Once is enough and twice is better. With a power of attorney it is possible to complete without being here at all, but seeing the locations in person changes what people choose more often than anything else in the process.

Do I have to decide during the first trip?

No. Plenty of clients work with us for months, and some change location, property type or budget entirely after seeing the coast for the first time. If nothing currently available makes enough sense, waiting is a legitimate outcome and we will say so.

Who do I actually talk to during all this?

One person, from the first call to the handover. Behind that one contact there are lawyers, banks, developers, inspectors and tradesmen, and coordinating them is the work. You do not get passed between people.

What happens after the keys?

The lawyer finishes the post-transfer admin and the annual tax obligations. We stay your contact here for management, renting, cleaning and maintenance, tradesmen, and the practical questions that come up in the first year of owning something in a country you are still learning.

About Arevont

How we work

Buying on the Costa del Sol is not difficult because any single step is unclear. It is difficult because of how many things have to be found out, verified, agreed and watched around one property, and because they do not happen one at a time. This page is the whole thing on one screen: fifteen steps in order, the six areas we coordinate in parallel, and who plays which role. For you it stays one contact.

The shape of it, in six phases

Before the fifteen steps, the six chunks they fall into. Most people want to know where the long waits are and where the decisions are, and that is easier to see here than in a numbered list.The phases are not evenly long. Preparation and the trip can take a weekend or six months, depending on you. The legal stage has a fixed shape and a fairly predictable length. The wait between the binding contract and the keys is the one that varies most, from weeks on a resale property to years on an off-plan build.

Preparation · steps 1 to 4The first call, the first selection, the tailored shortlist and video viewings. All of it before you fly.
The trip to Spain · steps 5 to 6One to three days of viewings, and the deliberate right to change your mind about location, type or budget in the middle of them.
Before you commit · steps 7 to 8Meeting an independent lawyer, optionally signing a power of attorney, and then the reservation once the right property appears.
The legal part · steps 9 to 11The legal due diligence, usually two to four weeks, with the NIE, the bank account and the admin running alongside it. Then the binding contract.
Completion · steps 12 to 14Payments and waiting, a last check of the property, and the signing at the notary.
After purchase · step 15The handover is not the end of the relationship. We stay your contact on the ground.

The phases are Samuel’s own, and the lawyer and the power of attorney sit deliberately before the reservation: a buyer can meet everyone, put the infrastructure in place, fly home without buying, and then move quickly months later.

Who does what in a purchase

Everyone involved in a Spanish purchase has a different role and a different allegiance. The second column is the one worth reading first: it is the whole lesson of this section.

Role	Who they represent	What they do
On your side
Arevont	You, and no one else.	Prepares the selection, organises the viewings and coordinates the whole process. Your main contact from the first call until long after the keys.
On the other side
The seller's agent	The seller, not you.	Organises the viewing, answers questions and represents the seller’s interests. Their job is to sell that property on the best terms for the seller.
Independent and official
Lawyer	You. They are independent of us and of the seller.	Checks ownership, charges, debts and building legality, obtains the NIE, opens the account and prepares the transfer. Do not sign anything before that check. You can bring your own lawyer.
The notary	Nobody. They are a public official.	Verifies the identity of the parties, the signing and the correctness of the public deed. In Spain the notary is not a legal adviser and does not represent either side, which is often misunderstood.
Money
Bank	Yourself.	Holds your Spanish account and, if relevant, provides the mortgage. You will need the account for utilities, water, community fees and any mortgage.
Mortgage broker	You.	Assesses your situation and puts concrete financing options in front of you. Only relevant if you are borrowing. You can also use your own mortgage broker.
Bank appraiser	The bank, not you.	Sets the value of the property for mortgage purposes. This is not a survey, it is not looking for defects, and it does not replace a technical inspection.
Technical and after purchase
Surveyor or architect	You.	Inspects the property, the structure, the roof, damp, the installations and the pool, and writes down what they found. This is the real technical check.
Property management	You.	Management, cleaning and complete short-term rental, which we do ourselves rather than through an outside firm.
Interior designer	You.	Furnishes and fits out the property, including while you are back in your home country. We connect you with a designer we work with ourselves.
Tradespeople and other contacts	You.	Alterations, repairs and the ordinary admin after the purchase. You are not left finding out for yourself who is reliable.

Only one row in this table is instructed by the other side, and it is the one most buyers arrive believing is helping them.

Fifteen steps from the first call to the keys

This is the page-level view: one or two sentences per step. Where a step has its own service page, the detail lives there. Where a new build and a resale property genuinely diverge, both are shown; where they do not, nothing is printed, because saying "the same for both" fifteen times is noise pretending to be information.

The whole process: 15 steps of 15

First call20 to 60 minutes
Not just budget and bedroom count. How often you will come, with whom, what you want to do here, whether you intend to rent it out, and what an ordinary day should look like. The more we know, the better we can search.
A first shortlistA few days
A first selection from the locations and property types we agreed on. Treat it as a working draft and as a look at what is genuinely on the market. Finding out that something you originally wanted no longer makes sense is normal, and it changes the search rather than ending it.
A shortlist built around youOnce we know what appeals to you
A few properties worth a closer look. On each one we say what works, where we see the weaknesses, and what the listing does not show. Anything you find yourself, on a portal or at another agency, you simply send to us.
Video viewingsBefore you travel
A live or filmed walk through the unit, the view, the common areas and the surroundings, showing what professional photographs do not. It lets you drop part of the shortlist before you fly.
Viewing trip1 to 3 days
We advise on the timing, collect you and run the whole viewing programme. Between properties you also see the locations, which often decide more than the property does. If you change your mind mid trip, tell us straight away and we change the programme.
New buildWe arrange the developer viewing and handle the communication for you.
ResaleWe deal with the seller’s agent and find out the things the listing does not carry.
A no-pressure decisionAt any point in the process
You do not have to buy on the first trip, or the second. We can work with you for months. If nothing currently on the market makes enough sense, we will say so. Sometimes the right answer is to buy, sometimes to change the brief, and sometimes simply to wait.
Meeting with a lawyer and power of attorneyWhenever it makes sense
If you want, we introduce you to an independent lawyer while you are here, and you can sign a power of attorney at the notary. It can be prepared long before you buy anything and it simplifies everything later. Signing from your home country is possible but usually means an apostille and a translation.
ReservationWhen you find the right property
The reservation takes the property off the market and holds it for you while the lawyer runs the due diligence. The reservation contract has to state the terms clearly and what happens to the deposit if the due diligence finds a problem.
New buildA reservation contract with the developer. The amount depends on the project.
ResaleA reservation deposit and the agreed terms. This is also where price, deadlines and any furnishings are settled.
Legal due diligenceUsually 2 to 4 weeks
The detailed check begins. An independent lawyer examines the legal state of the property and the terms of the purchase before recommending that you continue.
New buildThe developer, the land and the project, the licences and permits, the contract documentation and the relevant bank guarantees.
ResaleThe ownership register, charges and debts, the documentation, the legality of any alterations, obligations to the community and other relevant restrictions.
NIE, bank account and adminIn parallel
The NIE is the Spanish identification number you need to complete. The lawyer helps you obtain it and, where needed, the bank account and the rest of the admin. With a power of attorney most of it can be done without you travelling again.
Binding contractOnce due diligence is clear
Only now comes the contract that sets the terms for completing the transaction: deadlines, payments and the consequences if the agreement is not kept.
New buildThe developer sets the payment calendar. It can mean several payments during construction, or most of the price only on completion.
ResaleTypically an arras contract and a further deposit. The terms, including what happens on withdrawal, are in the contract itself.
Payments and waitingDepending on the type of property
From signing to handover can be weeks, or on a new build months or years. Throughout it we watch what comes next and when: payments, documents, deadlines and the communication with the lawyer, the developer or the seller. When something is needed from you, you hear it from us in advance.
New buildFurther payments follow the project’s payment calendar. We follow the build for you and send photographs and video as it goes.
ResaleAfter the relevant contract is signed you usually wait for the agreed completion date at the notary.
Final checkBefore completion
On a resale property we check the property again before signing, with you or for you, confirming it matches the agreed condition and that the inventory is still in place. On a new build the sequence depends on the developer.
The notary and the keysCompletion day
The public deed is signed at the notary, the remaining balance is paid and the property becomes yours. You do not have to be there in person if the lawyer holds the right power of attorney. We are there with you, watching the handover through to the keys.
Now it really is yoursFrom day one
The handover is usually not the end. The lawyer finishes the post-transfer admin, moves the utilities across and helps with the annual tax obligations. We stay your contact here on the ground, first about the property and later about everything else.

Every service, by the step it belongs to

Six areas that run at the same time around a purchase

These do not happen one after another, they happen at the same time, which is why the sequence above is only half of the picture. This is the half that is easy to underestimate before you start.

	Alone	With us
Search and verification	You compare listings, and the listing is written to sell.	We search across the whole market and check whether the offer matches what is actually there: availability, price, location, orientation, view, noise, walkability, nearby construction, and what the place is like out of season.
Seller's side	You settle the terms alone with the person whose job is to sell.	We deal with the developer, their sales team, the seller’s agent and the owner. Availability, terms and price, the negotiation, deadlines and the reservation, furnishings and changes, the handover.
Law and finance	You appoint the specialists and then hold the sequence together yourself.	The specialists do the expert work. We watch that it joins up: the legal check, the contracts and terms, the financing and payments, the NIE, the bank account, taxes and fees, and the signing at the notary.
Condition of the building	You decide alone whether an inspection is worth it and who to trust with it.	Where an expert check is needed we bring in the right person and coordinate it: the inspection itself, defects and snagging, documentation and claims, checking the repairs, and the check before handover.
Handover and furnishing	Signing at the notary is treated as the finish line.	Handover and the condition check, the inventory and documentation, electricity, water and internet, insurance, furnishing, repairs, access cards and keys.
After purchase	You start again from scratch every time something needs doing.	We remain your contact for management, short-term rental, cleaning, maintenance and tradesmen, deadlines and coordination with specialists, schools, doctors and local services, and the ordinary questions of life in Spain.

Straight talk

What we do not do ourselves

Arevont does not carry out legal, tax, valuation or architectural work, and a technical inspector is arranged where it is appropriate rather than on every purchase. Where an expert is needed, we bring in the right one and coordinate the process. We do not pretend the expertise is ours.We also do not control the timings. The developer sets the payment calendar, the lawyer sets the pace of the due diligence and the notary’s diary decides the completion date. What we can control is that you know what is coming and when, and that nothing waits on somebody who was never told it was their turn.And the process above is a shape, not a promise. Purchases go sideways: a vote at a community meeting, a document that does not match the building, a project that slips. Three of the four cases on the page below are exactly that, and in each one the fifteen steps stopped rather than continued.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the whole thing take?: On a resale property, commonly one to three months from reservation to keys. On a new build it can be anything from about two months to three years, depending on how far the project has got. The legal due diligence itself is usually two to four weeks and runs alongside the NIE and the bank account.
How many times do I have to come to Spain?: Once is enough and twice is better. With a power of attorney it is possible to complete without being here at all, but seeing the locations in person changes what people choose more often than anything else in the process.
Do I have to decide during the first trip?: No. Plenty of clients work with us for months, and some change location, property type or budget entirely after seeing the coast for the first time. If nothing currently available makes enough sense, waiting is a legitimate outcome and we will say so.
Who do I actually talk to during all this?: One person, from the first call to the handover. Behind that one contact there are lawyers, banks, developers, inspectors and tradesmen, and coordinating them is the work. You do not get passed between people.
What happens after the keys?: The lawyer finishes the post-transfer admin and the annual tax obligations. We stay your contact here for management, renting, cleaning and maintenance, tradesmen, and the practical questions that come up in the first year of owning something in a country you are still learning.

Not sure how far your budget really goes?

Talk it through with us