Guides

How to buy a property on the Costa del Sol

Written by Samuel Špreňar, buyer adviser on the Costa del SolUpdated 2026-08

In 30 seconds

You choose from a first selection, view the best on one trip, and reserve. Your lawyer checks the property, gets your NIE and prepares the contracts. You sign the deed at the notary and receive the keys. You pay us nothing for any of it.

1
The first call, and a first selection to react to
2
The viewing trip: one to three days on the coast
3
Your lawyer, the power of attorney, and the reservation
4
The legal check, the NIE and the binding contract
5
The deed at the notary, and the keys
6
The year after: the bills, the taxes, and the management

On top of the price9 to 13 %Resale to new build. The money section shows every line.

Reservation to keys, resale1 to 3 monthsThe legal check is what sets that pace.

New build to keys2 months to 3 yearsKey-ready is the short end. Off-plan runs to its completion date.

What the buyer pays us0 €There is no fee, no retainer, and no payment when you buy.

The purchase, end to end

How long does it take to buy a property on the Costa del Sol?

From reservation to keys, a resale usually takes one to three months, and a new build takes two months to three years. What comes before the reservation is the search, and that part is yours: it takes days for some buyers and months for others. With a new build, you also wait for the building rather than only for paperwork.Your own part is small, and how small depends on you: a few calls for some buyers and many more for others, at least one trip to the coast, and a few signatures. If you use a power of attorney, signing it is one of those signatures.The timeline below shows the full process. The next section shows the same process step by step. Each step links to the page with more details.

PreparationSteps 1 to 4
You have a call about how you want to use the property. We then send a first selection to discuss. After your reaction we make a second selection, and we check the things a listing never shows. For the properties that seriously interest you we arrange filmed or live tours.
Your time
From days to weeks, depending on you. Some buyers need a few calls, others need many more.
The tripSteps 5 and 6
You spend one to three days on the coast. You see five to eight properties a day. We show you the areas between the viewings. You then decide. There is no deadline.
Your time
Some clients decide on the spot. Some take months and come back two or three times before they are sure.
Before you commitSteps 7 and 8
We can recommend an independent lawyer, or you bring your own. You sign a power of attorney if you want the paperwork handled without flying back. You then reserve the property.
Your time
You can meet the lawyer in person or on a video call. The reservation itself can be signed from home.
The legal partSteps 9 to 11
Your lawyer checks the property and applies for your NIE. The NIE is the Spanish identification number for foreigners. A Spanish bank account can be opened before or after the purchase, so it does not have to exist before you buy. Your lawyer and the developer also have to check where your money came from. You then sign the binding contract. For a new build, this is a payment plan with the developer. For a resale, this is arras. Arras is a binding deposit contract.
Your time
This is where most of your own time goes. You collect and send the documents that show where your money came from.
CompletionSteps 12 to 14
You pay according to the schedule. On a new build the finished property is inspected and every defect and unfinished item goes on a list. That list is called the snagging list. Many developers only do the snagging after the title deed is signed, so it does not always happen before the notary. The deed is signed at the notary and you receive the keys.
Your time
One appointment at the notary. You attend it, or your lawyer attends for you under the power of attorney. The selling side is represented too, the notary conducts the signing, and we are usually there as well.
After the purchaseSteps 15
Your lawyer puts the utilities and the insurance in place and handles your tax obligations, including the annual property tax. If you want somebody to look after the property while you are not there, we do property management and rentals ourselves.
Your time
Very little. Your lawyer arranges most of it, and we remain your contact.

One thing outside the list decides your own calendar, and it depends on what you buy rather than on the process: a resale is measured in months and a new build can be measured in years. Both figures are at the top of this page and in the comparison further down.

What happens, in order, from the first call to the keys

The first call is about how you will use the property. The last step is the deed at the notary and the keys. In between: four steps of searching, two on the coast, two before you commit, three for the legal part, three to completion, and one for the year after.

The whole process, 15 steps

Preparation
The first call20 to 60 minutesWe talk about how you plan to use the property and what you plan for the future around it. The budget matters and is the second question, because a number alone does not tell us which streets to consider. On the same call we explain how the whole purchase works and answer every question you have.Property search What buying costs
The first selection, and the call after itHours to daysWe search the whole market, not only our own stock, because agents on this coast share their listings and the price is the same with every agent. The selection is there for discussion: six properties or twenty, depending on what you asked for. A call after it lets you react and tells us what to change.Property search Bait listings
The second selection, and what a listing never showsDaysThe second selection is narrower, and it is where we check what a listing never shows: the orientation, the real noise, the exact location, and the urbanisation and its surroundings. We also confirm that it is still for sale and what the real price is today. Most of the first list disappears here, and a property you found yourself on a portal gets the same check.Listing verification Flood zones
Filmed or live tours, before you book a flightWithin daysWhen a property from the second selection seriously interests you, we drive to it. You get the view, the noise, the real walk to the beach, and the state of the building. You get a live call or a filmed tour that you can watch twice, so you do not spend a trip on something a camera could have ruled out.Video viewings Damp and build quality
The trip
The viewing trip, five to eight properties a day1 to 3 daysFor one to three days you follow a complete programme that we arrange. You travel in our car, or in your own if you would rather. The programme includes the areas between the viewings, so you understand where each property is and not only what it looks like inside. The plan changes during the day when something rules itself out, which it usually does.Viewing trips Noise
The decision, with nothing attached to itWeeks to monthsDeciding quickly is not the mistake, and plenty of buyers decide on the spot when the right property is in front of them. The mistake is deciding under pressure, because a flight home on Sunday is not a reason to choose a property. Taking months is equally normal, coming back for a second visit is normal, and sometimes the honest answer is that this is not the year.Common buyer mistakes
Before you commit
Your own lawyer, and a power of attorney if you want oneOne meeting, usually onlineWe can recommend an independent lawyer, or you bring your own. Either way the lawyer is paid by you and works for you, not for the seller or the developer. The firm we work with charges about 1 % of the price, VAT included. The power of attorney is the other decision here, and it is not only about the signing: it lets your lawyer apply for your NIE and open your bank account, which are the two jobs that are genuinely awkward to do yourself from abroad. The power of attorney our recommended lawyer prepares usually names several people from their office, assistants included, so somebody is always available when a signature is needed. Lawyers here carry professional insurance, and none of them acts without your confirmation first.Legal check coordination Power of attorney
The reservation, and the conditions that get your money backDaysA reservation removes the property from the market for a short period, and you pay an amount that is small compared with the purchase price. It is the only payment in the whole process outside the guarantee system. Before the money moves, the contract states exactly which findings return the money to you. On a resale those findings are what the legal check turns up: a debt, a charge, an unregistered change, or a licence that does not exist.Negotiation Reservation agreement
The legal part
The legal check is the part you are paying for2 to 4 weeksThe legal check covers ownership, charges and debts, whether the building matches its documents, the community rules, and whether the property can be rented to tourists at all. The notary does not do this work, and this is where a purchase can be stopped.Legal check coordination What the lawyer checks
NIE, the bank account and the rest of the paperworkAt the same time, mostly by power of attorneyYour lawyer applies for your NIE, and this runs at the same time as the legal check rather than after it. NIE is the Spanish identification number for a foreigner. You cannot buy a property, pay a tax or sign at the notary without one. A Spanish bank account can be arranged before or after the purchase, so it does not have to exist before you buy.NIE and paperwork Spanish bank account
The binding contract, and the two forms it can takeWeeks after the reservationFor a new build, this is a developer contract with a payment plan. A bank guarantee in your name must cover every payment you make before the building is finished. For a resale, this is arras, the private deposit contract. It is usually 10 to 20 % of the price. It includes a penalty for the side that withdraws.Legal check coordination Purchase contract
Completion
Payments, and the waiting period that is not always explainedMonths to years on a new buildFor a new build this is the longest part, and the payment calendar is genuinely split by developer. Some take only the contract payment and then the balance at completion. Others want one or two payments in between. Monthly payments exist but are rare. Your lawyer makes sure each payment goes out on time and into the right account. A bank compliance hold can take days, and a missed notary appointment can cost weeks.Completion coordination Bank guarantees
The snagging list, and what the developer must fixBefore or after the deedSnagging is the inspection of a finished new build for defects and unfinished work. Every item is written down and photographed, and the list goes to the developer to fix. We do not do the inspection ourselves: we arrange an external inspection company that carries professional liability for its report. The inspection is optional, and many developers only run their own snagging process after the title deed is signed, so it does not always happen before you pay the balance. On a resale there is no snagging list: instead we come with you to the final walk-through before the deed, to check the state of the property and that the inventory matches.New build handover check Technical inspection
The notary, the balance and the keysOne signatureThe notary confirms the identity and the legal capacity of both sides. He requests his own registry extract to confirm the seller really owns the property. He drafts the public deed, reads it aloud before anyone signs, and files it with the land registry the same day. What he does not do is judge whether the property is a good idea, or check the community debt and the licences. That is why steps 9 to 13 exist.Completion coordination The notary
After the purchase
The year after, which people often do not planOngoingYour lawyer puts the utilities and the insurance into your name and handles the tax side: the annual property tax, the other ownership taxes, and the non-resident return. If you want somebody to look after the property while you are away, we do property management and short-term rentals ourselves rather than handing you to a third party. This is the point where owning a property abroad becomes simple, or creates work you did not plan for.Aftercare Property management Annual costs

Both your lawyer and the developer have to check where your money came from. This is an anti-money-laundering rule and it applies to every buyer. You show how you got the money: pay slips for a salary, a shareholders resolution for dividends, an inheritance document, or the deed if you sold a property.The lawyer we recommend presents those documents properly and arranges any translation that is needed. Ordinary documents like a pay slip or a shareholders resolution do not need a sworn translation. Developers usually ask for the original language plus a copy in English or Spanish.The work does not stop at the notary. The bills, the insurance and the tax filings continue every year, and the tax side of that is your lawyer rather than us. What is left is somebody to look after the property while you are away, and that part we do ourselves.

Aftercare Property management

The document list is the part that costs you real time, and it is where most delays start. Your lawyer presents the documents and arranges any translation they need. We tell you which documents each side will ask for, and we follow up on anything missing so the file keeps moving.

Which documents does each side have to provide?

The paperwork comes in two parts, and both run at the same time. The first part is about you: your passport, your NIE, the power of attorney if you use one, and the documents that show where your money came from. The second part is the three contracts: the reservation, then the private purchase contract, then the deed at the notary. Your lawyer reads or prepares almost all of it. You personally sign the power of attorney and the contracts, and if you prefer, the lawyer can sign the contracts for you under the power of attorney.

NIE, the number you cannot buy without

NIE is the Spanish identification number for a foreigner, and you cannot buy a property, pay a tax or sign at the notary without one. What you get is not a card: it is a single sheet stating the number, your name exactly as it appears in your passport, and the office that issued it. The number never expires. Almost everything administrative in Spain then runs on it. The purchase tax filing, the annual property tax and the non-resident return. The bank account, the electricity and water contracts, the community of owners and the insurance. And any rental contract you sign. Every named owner needs their own. In practice your lawyer applies for it under the power of attorney, while the legal check runs. Doing it yourself means an appointment, the right form, the right fee code and the right supporting documents. Either way the wait is measured in weeks rather than days.

The government fee9,84 €You only pay this yourself if you apply yourself. Usually your lawyer handles it as part of their own fee. (Policia Nacional)

The real waitWeeks, not daysWhich is why it runs alongside the legal check rather than after it.

How long the number lastsIt never expiresOne sheet of paper, not a card, and not photo identification.

NIE

A Spanish bank account

You can open it before or after the purchase, and your lawyer arranges it under the power of attorney if you would rather not sit in a branch. The bank has to establish two things and nothing else matters much: who you are, and where your money comes from. The purchase money itself usually does not pass through your own account at all. On a resale it goes through the client account of your lawyer, and on a new build into the protected account of the developer. What the account is really for is the ten years afterwards, and here is the part that surprises most foreign buyers: in Spain the recurring bills are collected from the account by direct debit rather than paid by you each month. The electricity, the water, the community fee, the insurance and the property tax all arrive as deductions, so the account is what the Spanish system expects to collect from.

When you can open itBefore or after the purchaseThe purchase money usually does not pass through it at all.

Until the account is usable1 to 5 days

How Spanish bills get paidBy direct debit, not by youThe electricity, the water, the community fee, the insurance and the property tax are collected from the account.

Spanish bank account

The power of attorney

It lets your lawyer apply for your NIE, open your bank account and sign at the notary while you are at home. That is what turns a purchase into one trip instead of three. It commits you to no purchase and you can cancel it at any time before it is used. It has to name the acts it is for, because wording drafted for one step is refused for another. If you sign it outside Spain it needs an apostille, which is the international certification stamp that makes a document legally valid in another country. The power of attorney our recommended lawyer prepares usually names several people from their office, assistants included, so somebody is always available when a signature is needed at short notice. Two things worth knowing before you worry about handing over authority: lawyers here carry professional insurance, and none of them acts on it without confirming with you first.

Where you can sign itThree routes

If you sign it outside SpainApostille and translation

You can cancel itAt any timeLeft unused and uncancelled, it stays usable by whoever holds it.

Power of attorney

The words, in the order you meet them

Spanish purchase words are defined rather than translated, one reliable sentence each. The ten below are the ones a buyer meets first. The full glossary orders every term by when in the purchase you meet it. It also flags the words that look like a Czech word and mean something different, because those are the ones that cost money. A Spanish notary checks far less than a Czech buyer assumes. A nota simple is informative rather than proof of perfect title. And a Spanish deposit is earnest money with a penalty attached, rather than a part payment you can cancel and lose nothing.

nota simpleA nota simple is the plain extract from the Spanish land registry showing who owns a property and what is registered against it, and it is the first document your lawyer reads before you pay anything.
arrasThe contrato de arras is the private purchase contract signed between buyer and seller after the legal check. It is the first document that legally binds both sides, and it sets what cancelling costs. No notary is involved in it.
gestoríaA gestoría is a Spanish paperwork agency that files things with the state on your behalf, and there is no single Czech word for it.
completionCompletion is the day the balance is paid, the deed is signed and the property becomes yours, and on a new build it is a date that can move.
licencia de primera ocupaciónThe licencia de primera ocupación is the first-occupation licence a new build needs before it can legally be lived in and connected to the supplies.
snaggingSnagging is the inspection of a finished new build for defects and unfinished work, listed and handed to the developer to put right.
Seguro DecenalSeguro Decenal is the compulsory ten-year insurance covering structural defects in a new building.
IBIIBI is the annual Spanish property tax, paid to the town hall by whoever owns the property.
Modelo 210Modelo 210 is the Spanish tax form a non-resident owner files, and it is due even when the property is never rented out.
plusvalíaPlusvalía is the municipal tax on the increase in the land value of a property, and it is a cost for the seller rather than the buyer.

Glossary

Completion day itself is short, and the work that makes it short happens before it. Your lawyer times the payments and confirms the documents are complete; we keep the two sides moving to the same date, and we are usually at the notary with you.

What does walking away cost at each stage?

Spain gives you no cooling off period, so a change of mind costs exactly what the document you have already signed says it costs. There are four positions to be in and they are not equal.

Before you sign anything: Nothing at allNo contract exists and you have paid nobody. Taking months, or deciding this is not the year, costs you nothing.
After the reservation: 6 000 to 11 000 €You lose the deposit unless the contract says a finding gives it back. No law says what that contract must contain, so its wording is the whole of your protection.
After the arras contract: The whole depositThat deposit is usually 10 to 20 % of the price. Under arras penitenciales, a seller who withdraws returns the deposit doubled and a buyer who withdraws loses it. That is the type that lets either side cancel for a price fixed in advance.
After the deed is signed: You own itThere is no withdrawal after completion. What remains is a claim: a hidden defects claim on a resale, or a warranty claim on a new build.
If a new build fails to deliver: The money back, plus statutory interestClaimed from the bank or insurer that issued the guarantee, with no court at all. The interest runs from the date of each payment to the delivery date that was promised. The claim has to be made inside the deadline written into the guarantee itself.
If the other side is at fault on a resale: A formal demand, then a court routeThere is no guarantee behind a resale deposit, so the route is the one below.

The reservation contract is worth reading more carefully than its size suggests: it is the cheapest place in the whole purchase to still be wrong.

Reservation agreement Purchase contract Getting the reservation deposit back

The reservation contract

It takes the property off the market for a few weeks while the legal check runs, and it is the first money you send. No Spanish law says what a reservation contract has to contain. That single fact is the whole point of reading it, because whatever protection you have is what somebody wrote into it. Four clauses decide the answer.

The propertyBy full address or catastral reference, never the apartment we saw on Tuesday.
The amount, and the account it goes toBest case: the client account of your own lawyer. If it goes to the seller, the agency or the developer, which is common, the name on the account must match exactly the party named in the contract. Stop at a private account of a stranger, a request for cash, or a company account in a country with nothing to do with the sale.
An expiry dateWithout one, reserved can drift on with nobody sure whether it still counts.
The findings that return your moneyOn a resale these are what the legal check turns up: a debt, a charge, an unregistered change, or a licence that does not exist.

What the deposit buys youA few weeks off the marketOr around 1 % of the price on a more expensive property.

What protects itOnly the wordingSee what protects your money

Reservation agreement

The arras contract, and its three types

This is the first contract that legally binds both sides, and it is private: buyer and seller sign it between themselves, weeks before anyone goes near a notary. On a resale it is a contrato de arras and the deposit is typically 10 to 20 % of the price. Spanish law recognises three types and the cost of cancelling differs under each, so the contract has to name which one it is; if it is silent, the reading that follows is the one that does not let you walk away for the price of the deposit. On a new build the document is usually just called the private purchase contract, the Civil Code arras rules normally do not apply to it unless the contract expressly invokes them, and the commitment is larger: expect 20 to 40 % of the price to be paid before the keys exist. On that path the money also moves before the contract is signed. That is the part buyers are least ready for, so read the callout in the new build section before you send anything.

Types of arras in the law3Penitenciales, confirmatorias, penales. Only one lets you leave for the price of the deposit. (BOE)

A new build, before the keys exist20 to 40 %Of the price, in cash. A mortgage rarely reaches these payments.

Purchase contract

Getting a deposit back that is owed

Being entitled to your money and collecting it are two different jobs. A guaranteed new-build payment is claimed straight from the bank or the insurer that issued the guarantee, with no court involved. Anything else starts with a formal demand, sent by burofax, which is a certified letter service used in Spain because it produces proof of what was demanded and when. That proof matters: a personal claim expires after five years, and only a formal demand stops that clock and restarts it. An email or a phone call does neither, however clearly it was written. After the demand comes the court route that fits the amount. If the other side is formally insolvent, the ordinary route stops applying and it becomes a claim inside the insolvency instead.

Time limit on the claim5 yearsFrom the day it could first be demanded. (BOE)

What a burofax doesIt restarts the clock

Where the faster court route ends15 000 €(BOE)

For an undisputed debtNo upper limit

Getting the reservation deposit back

The cheapest place in the whole purchase to still be wrong is before the money moves. Your lawyer reviews the reservation contract and carries the responsibility for it; we go through it with you as well and push for the refund conditions to be written in before you sign.

What happens at the notary, and what do you take away from it?

Completion is one appointment, and by the time you reach it every decision has already been made. What happens there is a check of identity, a reading of the deed, a payment and a filing. What you take away from it is a registered title, a set of keys and, on a new build, a list of things the developer still has to put right.

The notary, and what he does not do

The Spanish notary witnesses the signing and turns the sale into a public deed, and does not check whether the property is a good idea. What he does do on the day is precise. He confirms the identity and the legal capacity of both sides against passport and NIE. He requests his own registry extract, to confirm the seller really owns the property and that the charges you checked are still the only ones. He drafts the deed and reads it aloud before anyone signs. He records the price as stated. And he files the deed with the land registry the same day, electronically. The appointment itself is short. What he does not touch is the community debt, the licences, the building paperwork or whether the price is sensible, and none of that is an oversight: it is your lawyer. His fee is a government scale you cannot negotiate, and you pay it, because the property deed is yours. A mortgage adds a second deed for the loan itself. Since the 2019 mortgage law the bank pays the notary and registry costs on that second deed. If you do not read Spanish, ask for a sworn interpreter rather than relying on whoever happens to be in the room.

The notary scale0,2 to 0,5 %Of the price, falling as the price rises. Set by the government and not negotiable. (Consejo General del Notariado)

The land registry, on topabout 60 %Of the notary fee. A buyer sees the two as one line on the closing statement.

What your own lawyer costsAbout 1 %, VAT includedSee what the lawyer checks

The notary

Two registers, not one

Spain keeps two separate records of the same property and they do not always agree. The Registro de la Propiedad says who owns it and what is charged against it. The Catastro describes it and carries the value the tax is calculated on. The extract everybody refers to is the nota simple, from the ownership register, and it is the first document read on any purchase. You never order it yourself: your lawyer obtains it and sends it to you. It shows registered mortgages, embargoes and easements, and it does not show an unregistered extension, a change of use nobody declared, or a boundary the neighbour disagrees with. A difference between the two records, most often in the surface area, is common rather than rare.

A nota simple, online10,91 €The official cost including tax. Your lawyer obtains it, not you. (Colegio de Registradores)

What it does not provePerfect titleIt shows what is registered. An unregistered extension or a boundary dispute appears nowhere on it.

Land registry

Completion day and the keys

Completion is one appointment: the deed is signed, the balance is paid, and the property becomes yours. The keys change hands there, on the day. On a new build the useful thing is to inspect the property before that appointment and write every defect and unfinished item down, dated and photographed. That record is the snagging list, and it goes to the developer to put right. We do not carry out the inspection ourselves, and we do arrange it. The firm is an external inspection company that carries professional liability for its own report. We come with you at the handover, to check the inventory and the final state of the property. The inspection is optional, and it can be done before the notary rather than after. Do not move in before the first occupation licence has been issued.

When the keys change handsAt the notary, on the day the deed is signedThe inspection before it is optional and strongly recommended.

Reservation to keysMonths on a resale, years on a new buildSee new build or resale

Handover of the keys

Official sources for this partPolicia Nacional, sede electronicaPolicia Nacional, tasa 790 codigo 012Banco de Espana, Cliente BancarioOrden EHA/3202/2008 (BOE)Consejo General del NotariadoColegio de RegistradoresDecreto 218/2005, Junta de Andalucia (BOJA)Codigo Civil, texto consolidado (BOE)Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (BOE)Ley 38/1999 de Ordenacion de la Edificacion (BOE)Ley 10/2010, prevencion del blanqueo de capitales (BOE)

Mistakes, and who to trust

Which mistakes cost buyers the most?

The expensive mistakes here are rarely paperwork mistakes. They are decisions made from another country, without local knowledge. Six repeat so often that we can simply list them.

The six mistakes we keep seeing

Every one of these is avoidable, and every one of them still happens weekly on this coast.

Budgeting only the asking priceThe real total is the price plus the costs on top of it. The money section below shows exactly what they are.
Expecting the notary to check the propertyThe notary checks the deed and the identities, not whether the property is a good buy. That work belongs to your own lawyer.
Using the lawyer from the selling sideThe lawyer on the selling side works for the seller. Bring your own, or we can recommend an independent one.
Signing a reservation without reading the refund conditionsThe reservation is the one payment outside the protection systems. What returns it to you must be written in it before the money moves.
Deciding under pressureDeciding fast is fine, and many buyers decide on the spot. Deciding because the flight home is on Sunday is the expensive version.
Trying to do the whole thing aloneYou cannot know which urbanisation gets a strange smell in winter, or which one is in a legal fight with its own administrator or its developer. You cannot know which developers are difficult after handover. Somebody who lives here and does this every day knows. That knowledge is most of what you get when you work with us.

Common buyer mistakes

How do you tell a buyer agency from a sales operation?

You cannot look an agency up in a register, because no register of good agencies exists. What you can do is watch how one behaves in the first two weeks, and the signals are consistent. A buyer agency answers the questions it would be easier to dodge, tells you what is wrong with a property, and adapts when you change your mind. A sales operation pushes. The checks below are the ones we would want a buyer to run on us.

They tell you when a property they are showing you is their own listingAgencies here share stock, so most of what you are sent belongs to somebody else and a few properties belong to the agency itself. Neither is a problem. Not being told which is which is the problem. On its own listing the agency is representing the seller and selling to you at the same time.
You can ask what they earn on a specific property, and they answerThe commission is not the same on every property, so the question is fair and the answer is checkable against the price you are being quoted. An agency that treats the question as rude has told you something. One that answers plainly has told you more.
They recommend an independent lawyer, and they do not insist on oneThe right shape is a recommendation you can refuse: here is the firm we work with, here is what it charges, and you can bring your own. An agency that will only work with one lawyer, or that suggests you do not really need one, is arranging the check around itself.
A quick first selection is normal, pushing is notA first selection can arrive fast, and that is a good sign: it exists to show you the market, and it is there to be discussed and changed. The tell is what happens next. An agency that pushes one property, or keeps steering you back to the same listing, is selling. One that narrows the list with you, and adapts when you change your mind, is searching.
You can ask uncomfortable questions without frictionWhether the price is too high. Whether the area is really as quiet as it looks. Whether they would buy it. Whether the developer is difficult after handover. The answers matter less than whether asking changes the temperature of the conversation.
Ask for the negatives, on both the work and the propertyTwo questions. What has gone wrong in purchases they have handled, because anybody who has done this for years has lived through complications and can describe them. And what is bad about this specific property, because every property has something: the noise, the orientation, the stairs, the community, the resale prospects. An agency that cannot name a single drawback either does not know the property or is selling it.
Ask whether they search the whole market or only their own stockAn agency that searches only what it holds is choosing from a fraction of what is available at your budget. The price is the same either way, because the selling side pays the commission.
Ask whether they have ever told a buyer not to buyA specific answer with a reason attached is hard to invent. No answer at all is its own answer.
Ask whether they take a referral fee from the lawyer or the inspectorIf they do, the recommendation is a product rather than an opinion. Ours is no on both, and you can ask any agency the same question.

Why listings mislead, and what fixes it

Agencies on this coast share the same stock, so one apartment is often advertised by dozens of offices, sometimes at different prices. In the end the price is usually the same wherever you buy it, but not always: an agency can list its own stock a little higher, because it earns more on its own listing. Some listings are already sold and stay online anyway. Some show photos of a different unit, or mix renders of the best new-build apartment with an older resale, so the property looks better than it is. You cannot untangle this from another country, and you do not have to. This is what a buyer agency is for. We know the urbanisations, the community managers, the neighbours and the areas, and we know which buildings have problems that no listing will ever mention. Every property we send you has been checked against reality first, whoever is advertising it.

Bait listings

How much room is there to negotiate?

Less room than most buyers expect. A property that is priced correctly for this coast usually sells with almost no discount, and the genuinely good ones go at the asking price. An overpriced property is the one with real room in it. What moves a price is not how hard you push: it is how long the property has been listed, why the seller is selling, and whether the asking price was set against real comparable sales or against hope. That is the work that happens before an offer, and it is most of the reason an offer lands. It is also the work we do for you on every offer we place: we know what comparable properties have sold for, and we know when an asking price is hope.

A standard opening attempt, well-priced resale: about 5 %This is the opening ask rather than the likely outcome. On a correctly priced property the discount that is finally agreed is often close to nothing. General market practice here rather than a rule.
A property that is priced right: Almost no discountThe best ones go at the asking price, and they go quickly.
A property that is overpriced: Much more roomHow much depends on the situation of the seller and on how long it has been listed.
On a new build: Terms rather than priceSee Should you buy a new build or a resale, which sets out what each path lets you move.

Spain does publish sold prices: the notary and land registry transaction data are public, and that is where the national statistics on what property sells for come from. What no public source gives you is the asking price against the sold price for one particular listing, which is the comparison a buyer wants. So the figures above are general market practice on this coast rather than a statistic anyone can look up per property.

Negotiation Common buyer mistakes

What does all of this cost you?

Nothing. There is no fee, retainer, or percentage at completion. We are paid from the commission that the seller or developer already pays. That commission is inside the asking price, whether or not anyone represents you.

Buyer
0 €No fee, no retainer, and no payment when you buy.
Developer or seller
New build2,5 to 6 %
Resale1,5 to 4 %
Who pays itAlready inside the priceThe selling side pays it, whether you buy through us or directly.
Arevont
A part of that commissionIf you buy nothing, nobody pays us anything.

The commission exists whether or not we are involved because it is built into the price that the seller is asking. What changes is whether anybody in the transaction is working for you while it is spent.You do pay for two things, and neither is ours: the independent lawyer and a technical inspection when the property needs one. We take no referral fee from either. You can also bring your own lawyer.

How we are paid Why we represent buyers

Who the agent works forThe agent on a listing works for the seller, and their job is the outcome the seller wants. A buyer agent works for you. We search the whole market, including the stock of other agencies. We check the property against your interest rather than against a sale. And we negotiate for you rather than for the seller. The commission sits inside the asking price either way, so having somebody on your own side does not raise the price you pay.

Three situations, and what each one costs youA commission exists on almost every sale on this coast whether you are represented or not. The seller agreed it with their own agency before you appeared, and it is paid out of the sale rather than added to the price. Being represented changes how that existing commission is divided, and nothing else.

You come without representation: The price of the propertyThe whole of the commission usually stays with the agency acting for the seller.
We represent you: The same price, with nothing addedThe agency acting for the seller pays our share out of that same commission.
You decide not to buy: NothingNo commission arises, so nothing reaches anyone. Not for the search, not for the viewings, not for the time.
Either way the price is the same: Set by the developer, or by the sellerA new build costs the same however you come. On a resale, agencies here share their listings, so the same property at the same price is reachable through several of them.

What happens elsewhere on this coast, and what we do instead

A commission charged to the buyer on top of the commission the seller paysSome agencies here do it. We never charge the buyer, and there is no second fee anywhere. It is worth knowing the practice exists before you sign anything with anybody.
A referral fee taken from the lawyer, the broker or the inspectorWe take no commission and no other reward for recommending the law firm, or any other specialist. You can bring your own lawyer at any point.
Volume bonuses for selling units in a particular projectWe have none, and no sales targets on specific projects, so there is no project we need to move you towards.
A fee you only find out about at the endOur fee is not the same on every property, because it depends on the offer and the arrangement behind it. Ask what we earn on a specific one and we will tell you.

The fair question behind all of this is whether the size of our fee decides what we recommend. It does not, and here is why. We stay with you after the purchase. A large share of our clients arrive on a recommendation. We say when we think a property is not worth the asking price. And a resale that pays us less is what we recommend when it is the better property.

Straight talk

This process does not work for every budget, and it does not suit every buyer

Below 200 000 € we would not look on the Costa del Sol at all. Between 200 000 € and 250 000 €, the choice is limited, and Costa Blanca often makes more sense.From around 300 000 € the selection starts to include the things people came for, and that figure is still genuinely the entry level rather than a comfortable budget: at that money you will not get a sea view within walking distance of the beach. We would rather say that on a page you found on Google than on a call.If the property is for two weeks a year and nothing else, the costs are worse than people expect. This is because of the community fee, the tax filings, and the running costs.For some buyers the answer is no. We have told people this and lost the deal.The fifteen steps in this guide are our process, not a legal requirement. Other agencies do things differently. We do some of these steps because we think they are worth doing, not because anyone insists on them. You can buy a Spanish property without an agency doing any of it for you.The one you cannot sensibly skip is step 9.

Official sources for this partDecreto 218/2005, Junta de Andalucia (BOJA)Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993, ITP y AJD (BOE)Ley 5/2021 de Tributos Cedidos de Andalucia (BOE)Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 91 (BOE)Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal (BOE)

The money

What do you pay on top of the price, and which tax applies?

Plan for 8 to 13 % on top of the price. The gap between those two figures is almost entirely the purchase tax, and which tax applies depends only on who is selling.

13 %Property price

New build

9 %Property price

Resale

The terracotta slice is the cost that is added to the property price. Both bars show the same property.

What buying costs on top of the price

A new build runs closer to 13 % and a resale closer to 9 %, covering the purchase tax, the notary, the land registry and your lawyer. The notary and registry in that list are for the property deed, which the buyer pays. If you borrow, the loan has a deed of its own, and the bank pays the notary and registry on that one. The tax is the large line and everything else is small beside it. The percentage also falls slightly as the price rises, because the notary and registry scales are not proportional. Two things catch buyers out. On a new build the staged payments want 20 to 40 % of the price in cash long before the keys exist, and a mortgage rarely reaches those payments. And the costs are due in euros on dates you do not control, so they belong in the transfer plan rather than in a mental note.

On top of the price, new buildabout 13 %

On top of the price, resaleabout 9 %

NIE and translations~150 €The bundled line in our cost model: the state fee of a few euros per applicant, plus translations and the handling of the application.

Utility transfer and connection~600 €

What buying costs

Which purchase tax applies

You pay one of two taxes and who is selling decides which. A resale from a private owner carries transfer tax. A new build from a developer carries VAT plus stamp duty on the deed. The valor de referencia is the reference value Spain sets for a property, and the resale transfer tax is calculated on it whenever it is higher than the price you paid. So under declaring the price achieves nothing at all: the floor is set by the state. The reduced rates you will read about almost never apply to a non-resident buying a second home. Your lawyer handles the filing itself, within the deadline after the deed.

ITP, a resale from a private owner7 %(BOE)

IVA plus AJD, a new build11,2 %(BOE)

Reference value in the tax base since2022(BOE)

Cash you must declare on a trip10 000 €(BOE)

Taxes and fees

What does the first year cost, all in?

Nobody assembles the number a buyer wants, which is the whole first year rather than the purchase. Every figure below is one this page or its guides already publish. It is an assembled example and arithmetic, not a quote.

On top of the price, new build: about 13 %Tax, notary, land registry and your lawyer.
On top of the price, resale: about 9 %The same list, with the lower purchase tax.
Furniture for yourself, two bedroom apartment: 1 000 to 15 000 €Supplier published packages for furnishing it to live in. A new build arrives empty, down to the light fittings. Fitting one out to rental standard is a different and higher range, in the renting section.
What 1 % of exchange margin costs: 4 000 €On a property at 400 000 €, and more than every transfer fee in the purchase together. See what a bank margin runs to
Year one: property tax, community fee and insurance: 1 600 to 7 800 €The arithmetic sum of the three yearly figures further down this page. Electricity, water and internet sit on top of it and depend on how much you are there.

Read it as three separate cash calls rather than one number: the costs on top of the price, which you need at the notary; the furniture, which you need in the first weeks; and the running costs, which start immediately and never stop. The percentage falls slightly as the price rises, and the community fee is the line that varies most between two apartments that look identical.

What buying costs Cost calculator Furniture and fitting out Annual costs

Furniture, and the empty new build

A Spanish new build is handed over completely empty, down to the light fittings. A resale usually comes furnished, but you negotiate the furniture at the reservation stage, and anything not written into a dated inventory tends to disappear before handover. Bringing furniture from Czechia is usually a bad idea.

Bed linen, if you rent it to tourists2 setsOne set in use and one spare per bed. Three sets is practice, not law.

What our advice on fitting out costs0 €

Furniture and fitting out

What can you borrow, and how does the money reach Spain?

Two questions decide what you can really afford: how much a Spanish bank will lend a non-resident, and what the exchange rate takes on the way. The second is the larger number and the one buyers ignore.

A mortgage as a non-resident

A Spanish bank lends a non-resident at most 60 to 70 % of the price. That means 30 to 40 % in cash from you, before the costs on top. An EU citizen buying a genuine main residence can sometimes reach further than that. The bank values the property itself and lends against the lower of the valuation and the price. A valuation below the agreed price is a problem for you, not for the seller. Since 2019 you have to be given the two standard information documents and a reflection period before anything can be signed. Free choice of notary is also your legal right on a mortgage. Two things to watch. A mixed rate sold as fixed behaves very differently once the fixed period ends. And a document that needs an apostille rather than a plain translation is the usual reason a file sits unfinished for weeks.

Loan to value, EU non-resident60 to 70 %

Loan to value, outside the EU50 to 60 %

Fixed rate over 20 years3,8 to 5,2 %A market snapshot. Rates move.

Reflection period before signing10 days(BOE)

Mortgage

Moving the money, and the rate

A purchase is not one transfer but several, spread over months or years, and the rate costs far more than every transfer fee added together. A forward contract can fix a rate ahead of a payment against a deposit, and it is a binding obligation rather than optional insurance: if the rate moves the other way you are still committed. Three practical traps. Paying a reservation by card, which converts at a rate nobody agreed and adds a cash advance charge. Sending money to an account that is not the one named in the contract. And leaving the transfer to the last week, when the compliance check and the source of funds proof take days of their own. Convert the taxes, the furniture and the first year of running costs too, because all of them are euro liabilities on dates you do not control.

Separate transfers in one purchase4 to 8

A high street bank margin3 to 4 %Taken in the rate, not in the fee.

What 1 % of margin costs4 000 €On a property at 400 000 €.

What we take from an exchange0 €

Changing crowns into euros

What protects your money before you own anything?

Spain has no notarial escrow, so your money is protected by one of two systems depending on what you buy, and one payment sits outside both.

Which account holds your money

On a new build your payments go into a legally protected construction account and you receive a guarantee certificate in return. On a resale they go into the client account of your own lawyer, separate from the money of the firm, and are released at the notary. The reservation is the one payment neither system covers, which is why it should be small and why its refund clause matters more than its size. You get the guarantee certificate when you sign the private purchase contract, before any staged payment leaves. If it is promised for later, the payment you are about to make is not covered yet.

New build, the protected accountRequired by law

Resale, where the money waitsA client account

If the developer fails to deliverThe money back, with interest

How many payments sit outside both1The reservation. Keep it small and get the refund clause in writing.

How your money is protected

The bank guarantee, and how to read the certificate

Every payment you make to a developer before the building is finished must be covered by a guarantee or an insurance policy issued individually to you. Read four things on the certificate. Your own name as the beneficiary. The amount guaranteed, including the tax you have already paid. The issuer, which has to be a bank or an insurer and never the developer. And the delivery date the interest runs to. A certificate naming the development instead of you is the most common gap on this coast. Money paid before the certificate is updated is unprotected until the paperwork catches up. This is not the warranty on the finished building, which is a separate thing entirely.

Whose name is on itIn your own name(BOE)

What it has to coverThe whole amount

Who may issue itA bank or an insurerNever the developer itself.

Reinforced form in force since2015

Bank guarantees

The client account, and the fraud aimed at it

A Spanish lawyer must keep your money separate from the money of the firm and cannot draw on it without your written authorisation. The real risk at completion is not the rule failing, it is a fraudulent email telling you the account number has changed. Confirm any change by voice, on a number you already had.

The client accountKept separate(BOE)

How mishandling is classifiedSerious to very serious

Where the insurance duty sitsThe code of conductAsk for the cover amount, not whether cover exists.

The lawyer client account

Should you buy personally or through a company?

For almost every buyer of one holiday home the answer is no. A company adds filings, taxes your own use of the property, complicates the sale, and does not reduce the purchase tax.

Personally, or through a company

A company saves nothing on the purchase tax, and for one holiday home that is usually the end of the conversation. Using the property yourself can be taxed as a rent the company should have charged you. The shares still count for wealth tax, valued through the balance sheet of the company. Beneficial ownership has to be declared at incorporation and again every year. And a dormant company still has to file, even when there is nothing to report. It also changes what you can do later. A company landlord is bound for seven years on a long tenancy rather than five. And selling the shares instead of the property is a more complex transaction that needs its own specialist. Where it can make sense is a genuine business holding several properties, which is a different conversation with a tax adviser rather than an agency.

Purchase tax a company saves0 €The tax is the same either way.

Corporate tax on rental income25 %

A dormant company, each year500 to 1 000 €

The levy on non-cooperative jurisdictions3 %Czechia and Poland are not on that list.

Buying through a company

Official sources for this partReal Decreto Legislativo 1/1993, ITP y AJD (BOE)Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 91 (BOE)Ley 5/2021 de Tributos Cedidos de Andalucia (BOE)Ley 11/2021, lucha contra el fraude fiscal (BOE)Ley 5/2019, contratos de credito inmobiliario (BOE)Reglamento (UE) 2018/1672, controles de efectivoLey 10/2010, prevencion del blanqueo de capitales (BOE)Ley 38/1999 de Ordenacion de la Edificacion (BOE)Real Decreto 135/2021, Estatuto General de la Abogacia (BOE)Real Decreto 609/2023, Registro de Titularidades Reales (BOE)Junta de Andalucia, viviendas de uso turistico

What can go wrong

What does an independent lawyer check, and in what order?

This is the part you are paying for, and the one step in this guide you cannot sensibly skip. An independent lawyer runs about fifteen checks and then tells you whether to continue.

The fifteen checks

The checks run in four groups. Who owns it and what is charged against it, from the ownership register. What the building legally is: the building licence, the first occupation licence, and whether the registry and the Catastro describe the same property that is standing there. What it owes: the community fee, the debt certificate from the administrator, and the property tax. And what you may do with it: the community statutes, and whether tourist rentals are allowed at all. One no anywhere in the building legality chain stops the whole chain, and that is the point at which a purchase gets stopped rather than repriced. A private one-off seller owes you less disclosure than an agency does, which makes the check more important rather than less.

Checks on the list15

How long it takes, in weeks2 to 4

What the lawyer costs~1 %Of the price, VAT included.

What we take from the law firm0 €

What the lawyer checks

The energy certificate

Every property needs a valid certificate before it can be advertised for sale or rent, and the seller has to provide it, not you. Only a qualified technician can issue it. A notary can still sign without one if you waive it in writing in the deed, so a missing certificate is a question to ask rather than a blocker.

The certificate is valid for10 years(BOE)

With the worst rating5 years

What a certificate costs50 to 300 €

The narrow exemption50 m²An independent building under that floor area.

Energy certificates

You do not have to pick a lawyer blind, and you do not have to chase one either. We coordinate the check, keep it moving, and turn what comes back into what it means for this specific property. The lawyer is paid by you and works for you.

What if the building or the land is not what it looks like?

The most expensive problems here are not in the walls, they are in the paperwork behind them: a building or an extension that was never licensed, or land that is not as buildable as the seller says.

An unlicensed building, and the demolition clock

On ordinary urban or rustic land the right to order demolition runs out after six years, and the building can then apply for AFO status. AFO is not legalisation: it records that the clock has run out, and it can be reopened later if the land turns out to sit in a protected category. On protected or coastal land the clock never starts, so demolition stays possible indefinitely. Two practical consequences. Lenders are cautious about an AFO property, so the mortgage terms can differ from a normal purchase or the loan can be refused. And an open enforcement file at the town hall appears on no registry extract at all. Somebody has to ask the town hall directly, which is part of the legal check rather than something you can do from a listing.

On ordinary land6 yearsAfter that the authority can no longer order demolition. (BOJA)

On protected or coastal landNo time limit

Illegal builds

A closed terrace, a pool, an extra room

An undeclared addition on an otherwise legal home is usually fixable, but it surfaces when the registry, the Catastro and the real building do not agree. Correcting the record is a procedure somebody has to carry out, and it can bring years of back property tax. A lender values the registered square metres, so an undeclared extension is not financed.

Back property tax once corrected4 years(BOE)

Unpermitted extensions

Coastal land, rustic land and wells

A protection band runs inland from the shoreline and its building limits never expire. On rustic land in Andalusia, urbanizable is a planning status and not a promise the plot will ever be buildable. A well that pumps water is not proof of a legal well.

The coastal protection band100 metresInland from the public maritime boundary, and it does not expire. (MITECO)

Minimum plot for an isolated house2,5 ha

A legalised well, at most7 000 m³ a yearWith a volumetric meter.

Coastal and rustic land

What can you inherit from the seller?

Some of what you buy belongs to the person selling it: their debt to the community, their heirs, or their tenant. All three are checkable before you pay anything.

Community debts you inherit with the apartment

You answer, with the property itself, for unpaid community fees left by the seller for the current year and the three calendar years before it. The debt is attached to the apartment rather than to the person who ran it up, so it follows the keys. What stops it is one document: a certificate from the community administrator stating the account is clear, and the notary cannot authorise the deed without it unless you expressly waive it. Waiving it removes the check and not the liability, so there is no good reason to waive it. Two traps beyond that. A repossessed apartment sold by a bank is not automatically clean. And a block inside a larger urbanisation can belong to two communities with two budgets, so one certificate does not always cover both.

Debt you can inherit3 yearsPlus the running year. (BOE)

The debt certificateYesThe notary needs it unless you waive it.

How a community recovers a debtA special court procedure

Community debts

If the seller dies, before or during

Buying from an estate is a normal purchase with more documents and more people who have to agree. If the seller dies after you signed, the contract is not cancelled: the heirs take his place once they accept the inheritance. One heir cannot sign for everybody.

Who can sign for an estate3 routesAll heirs, a named executor, or a court-appointed administrator.

Does your contract surviveYes

The registry tax gateYes, even at zero tax(BOE)

If the seller dies

Buying with a tenant already in it

You take over the existing lease for whatever is left of its minimum term, on the terms the previous owner agreed, registered or not. You cannot raise the rent because ownership changed. The tenant may also have a legal right to buy before you can, and skipping that notice can stop your purchase being registered.

The term you inherit5 or 7 yearsSeven if the previous landlord was a company. (BOE)

Notice if the pre-emption right was waived30 days

A property with a tenant

What can the ground, the air and the building do to you?

Four things about a specific address are checkable from a desk before you fly out, and none appears in a listing: whether it floods, what it sounds like in August, why it is damp in January, and who owes you a repair afterwards.

Flood zones, and the ten minute check

Roughly 8 % of Spanish homes stand in a mapped flood zone, and checking one specific address costs nothing on the state viewer: you find the address, and the shading tells you whether it sits in a studied flood zone and at which probability. Two limits are worth knowing. The maps only cover studied watercourses, so a small covered stream or an urban drain may not appear at all. And a blocked storm drain in heavy rain is not flooding in the legal sense. Being inside the preferential flow zone is a stricter category than ordinary flood shading, with tighter limits on building and rebuilding. The national scheme pays for extraordinary floods only on top of an active paid-up policy, never for lost rental income, and no Spanish seller has to declare flood risk. A legal check does not include a flood map check unless somebody asks for one, which is why it is on our own list before an offer rather than after.

Spanish homes in a mapped zone~8 %

A medium probability zone1 % a yearOver thirty years of ownership the chance of at least one such event is roughly 26 %.

Checking one addressFreeOn the public SNCZI viewer. (MITECO)

What the national scheme paysOnly on top of a live policySee home insurance

Flood zones

Noise, which is seasonal and has an address

Most noise here is predictable before you buy, because the sources are seasonal and several are on public record. A beach bar is silent in February and live every night in August. Near the motorway what matters is line of sight rather than distance. The limits below are the regulation, not a measurement of any property.

Outdoors by day65 dBAResidential area, existing urbanised zone. (BOJA)

Outdoors at night55 dBA

Inside your own bedroom at night35 dBA

Night starts at23:00

Noise

Damp, and why it is a winter problem

Damp on this coast is usually condensation, which is warm humid air meeting cold surfaces in an empty unheated flat, rather than a leak. So the damp season is November to February and not August, which is why buyers looking for it in summer find nothing. A freshly painted flat can hide it instead of fixing it.

Malaga humidity, annual mean65 %

The wettest month is December72 %Against fifty eight per cent in June and July.

Damp proofing in the building code since2006Older buildings often have no barrier at all. (BOE)

Damp and build quality

A defect after you move in

A new build carries three warranty periods, and each is owed by a different set of the people who built it. The structural one is backed by compulsory insurance that attaches to the building rather than to the company. So it survives the builder closing down. When something appears, the useful move is unglamorous. Report it in writing, dated, with photographs, to the developer, and to the community administrator if a shared element is involved. The clock on the claim starts when the damage shows, not when you get round to complaining. A resale carries almost nothing by comparison: a strict hidden defects claim on a short deadline that cannot be paused by sending a letter, and only for something the seller knew about and hid.

Structure, on a new build10 yearsThree years on the installations, one on the finishes. (BOE)

To claim once a defect appears2 years

Behind the ten year coverCompulsory insurance

Hidden defects on a resale6 monthsFrom delivery, and it cannot be interrupted. (BOE)

Construction defects

What does deliberate fraud look like here?

Deliberate fraud is rare here, and it is not subtle. It takes four shapes, and every one is caught by the same reflex: nobody gets money or a signature before verification is possible.

The four patterns

A fake seller who sells what they have no right to sell, a stolen deposit, a fake rental, and an off-plan scam taking staged payments with no guarantee behind them. Fake sellers pick properties that have stood empty a long time, are owned from abroad, or were recently inherited and never updated in the registry. In all three cases nobody local notices. The pattern under all four is the same, and it is the only thing you have to remember: money or a signature is asked for before verification is possible. So the guards are simple. The best case is that the money goes into the client account of your own lawyer. Where it goes to the seller, the agency or the developer instead, which is common, the name on the account has to match exactly the party named in the contract. Three things mean stop. A private account belonging to somebody who is not the seller. A request for cash. Or a company account in a country with nothing to do with the sale. Nothing is paid before a viewing, in person or on a live video call. And a same-day transfer can sometimes be recalled if you move within a day or two, which is worth knowing before the weekend rather than after it.

Deliberate patterns4Fake seller, stolen deposit, fake rental, off-plan with no guarantee.

For selling what you may not sell1 to 4 yearsA prison sentence under one article of the criminal code. (BOE)

Property scams

What can go wrong on a new build, and who pays for it?

Three things go wrong on a new build: the developer fails, the project stops, or the date moves. Which one you are looking at decides whether your money comes back from a bank in weeks or waits in a court process for years.

If the developer becomes insolvent

Your money splits in two. Anything covered by a valid guarantee comes back from the bank or the insurer. That is a debt owed by a different company, so it survives whatever happens to the developer. Anything else becomes an ordinary claim inside the insolvency, in line behind other creditors, with no promised amount and no promised date. So the first thing to do is not to panic but to read the certificates: which payments are covered, in your own name, for the full amount. The second is to register the claim inside the deadline the insolvency procedure sets, because missing it can lose the claim entirely. Insolvency is a court-declared event with a date, and it is not the same thing as a developer being slow, quiet or rumoured to be struggling.

A guarantee is paidRegardless of the insolvency

Without a guarantee you areAn ordinary creditor

The payment no guarantee coversThe reservation

The governing lawRDLeg 1/2020(BOE)

Developer insolvency

If the project stalls

A stalled development ends in one of three places, and which one it is decides whether you wait or leave. If another developer takes it over, the old guarantee does not simply transfer. A licence can lapse if works stay stopped, and exposed concrete left through rainy seasons deteriorates in ways a paper check will not catch.

Where a stalled project ends3 possible outcomes

If another developer finishes itA new guarantee, a new cycle

The first document to pullNota simple

Community debt on a half-built unitIt can attach to the property

An unfinished project

If completion is late

On a new build, once the completion date in your contract has passed, you can claim the money back with statutory interest from the guarantee. No court, and no argument about how serious the delay was. Only the date in the contract counts, and a grace period exists only if your contract writes one.

Which date countsThe contract, not the brochure

Does the guarantee cover a delayYes, for a plain delay too

On a new buildNo severity test

On a resaleCivil Code article 1124A court decides whether the breach is serious enough. (BOE)

Delayed completion

If a project goes quiet, the first question is which of these three situations you are in. We check the licence and the registry again, confirm whether your guarantee still covers the payments you have made, and say plainly whether waiting or leaving is the better call.

Official sources for this partDecreto 218/2005, Junta de Andalucia (BOJA)Real Decreto 390/2021, certificacion energetica (BOE)Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), Junta de Andalucia (BOJA)Ley 58/2003, General Tributaria, art. 66 (BOE)MITECO, preguntas frecuentes sobre la Ley de CostasLey 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal (BOE)Codigo Civil, texto consolidado (BOE)Ley Hipotecaria, art. 254 (BOE)Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (BOE)MITECO, Sistema Nacional de Cartografia de Zonas InundablesConsorcio de Compensacion de SegurosReal Decreto 300/2004, seguro de riesgos extraordinarios (BOE)Decreto 50/2025, calidad acustica en Andalucia (BOJA)Real Decreto 1367/2007, Ley del Ruido (BOE)Real Decreto 314/2006, Codigo Tecnico de la Edificacion (BOE)AEMET, valores climatologicos normales, Malaga AeropuertoLey 38/1999 de Ordenacion de la Edificacion (BOE)Codigo Penal, art. 251 (BOE)Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020, Ley Concursal (BOE)

New build or resale

Should you buy a new build or a resale?

Buy the property that fits your calendar. This is the main difference you cannot change. A resale takes months. A new build can take years. The other points are choices, not fixed answers. Steps 1 to 7 are the same for both options. Steps 8 to 14 are different.

New build

Reservation to keys2 months to 3 yearsThis depends on how far the building work has progressed.

Costs on top of the priceThe higher of the two figures aboveMost of this is tax: 10 % VAT plus Andalusian stamp duty on the deed.

How you payIn stages, based on building milestonesA bank guarantee in your name covers every stage payment.

What can go wrongThe date changesThe finished flat can also differ from the drawings. The snagging list and the guarantees address this.

What you can negotiateTerms more than priceYou can negotiate the payment plan, the furniture, the parking space and the deadline.

Warranties you getTen years on the structureThree years on the installations, and one year on the finishes.

Best if you can wait for the building, and you want the warranties that come with a new one.

Resale property

Reservation to keys1 to 3 monthsThe legal check sets the pace, not the building.

Costs on top of the priceThe lower of the two figures aboveTransfer tax at 7 % in Andalusia applies to the reference value when it is higher than the price you paid.

How you payReservation, arras, then the balanceArras is 10 to 20 %. You pay the balance at the notary.

What can go wrongWhat the building already isThere may be debts, unregistered changes, damp, or a community rule that you did not read.

What you can negotiatePrice, and the timetableThere is one seller, and they have a reason to sell.

Warranties you getNone from the sellerInstead, you get a building with a history that you can inspect.

Best if you need to be in the property soon, and you want room to negotiate the price.

Neither path is better, and we sell neither. The calendar usually decides. If you need to be in the property next summer, a project that is two years from completion is not a candidate, however good it is.

What buying costs Cost calculator

What surprises buyers most

On a new build, your money moves before any contract is signed

You pay the reservation before a contract with the developer exists, and depending on the developer more than the reservation can be asked for at that point. We say this in advance and we have still nearly lost deals at exactly this step: the email from the lawyer arrives asking for money before anything is signed, and buyers freeze. Most people assume it is one developer being strange. In our experience it is not: most developers on this coast work this way, roughly eight in ten or more. No published figure exists, this is what we see.An exception can sometimes be negotiated, and there is rarely a reason to ask for one. Every payment you make before the building is finished has to be covered by a bank guarantee in your own name. The reservation contract has to state which findings return your money. Between the two, nothing is exposed that the guarantee system does not already cover. This is simply the standard process here. The shape those payments usually take is set out further down, in the off-plan section.

Bank guarantees Reservation agreement

You do not have to judge that email on your own. Your lawyer checks the guarantee certificate and the wording that protects the payment; we go through it with you and we do not let a transfer go out on a promise that the certificate is coming later.

Is buying off plan right for you?

Off plan and ready to move in are not two levels of risk, they are two different risks. On a new build the risk is time and the protection is a piece of paper you have to read. On a resale the risk is the building itself and the protection is the legal check. The seven questions below decide it in the order that matters.

Can your calendar carry the wait: 2 months to 3 yearsThis is the one difference you cannot negotiate. If you need to be in the property next summer, a project two years out is not a candidate however good it is.
Whose name the guarantee must carry: In your own nameA certificate naming the development instead of you is not protection. Check it before each staged payment, not once at the start.
Does the guarantee still pay if the developer fails: Regardless of the insolvencyGuaranteed money comes back from the bank. Unguaranteed money becomes a claim inside the insolvency, with no promised amount and no promised date.
What happens if the project stops: 3 possible outcomesIt resumes, another developer finishes it, or it is wound up and buyers are refunded. A new developer means a new guarantee rather than the old one.
What happens if the date moves: The contract, not the brochureOnly the date in your contract counts, and once it passes you can claim from the guarantee without proving the delay was serious.
What a new build gives you that a resale cannot: 10 yearsThree years on the installations and one on the finishes, with compulsory insurance behind the ten years on the structure.
What a resale gives you instead: NoneNo warranty from the seller, and a building with a history that you can inspect and price before you pay for it.

Off plan suits a buyer whose calendar has room and who is willing to read a guarantee certificate before every payment. Ready to move in suits a buyer who needs to be in the property soon and would rather inspect a real building than a drawing. Neither is safer in the abstract: what makes off plan safe is the certificate, and what makes a resale safe is the legal check.

What the payment calendar usually looks like

First, the reservation: 6 000 to 11 000 €Paid before any contract with the developer exists, as the callout above explains.
At the private developer contract: around 20 %With VAT on each payment. Our observation rather than a rule.
During construction: Sometimes more milestone paymentsSome developers ask for none after the contract, some ask for two or three.
At completion: around 70 %The balance, usually with mortgage financing in place by then.
What is binding: The calendar in your own contractThe split varies by developer, so the contract is the version that counts, not this shape.
Every payment before completion: Covered by the bank guaranteeSee what protects your money

Bank guarantees Developer insolvency An unfinished project Delayed completion

Official sources for this partLey 38/1999 de Ordenacion de la Edificacion (BOE)Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020, Ley Concursal (BOE)Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), Junta de Andalucia (BOJA)Codigo Civil, texto consolidado (BOE)

Owning it

What does owning it cost each year?

Four bills arrive every year whether you are in Spain or not: the property tax, the community fee, the insurance, and the non-resident tax return. On an apartment they come to the figures below.

Property tax, IBI400 to 1 000 €The annual property tax on an apartment.

Community fees900 to 6 000 €Paid to the community of owners every year.

Home insurance300 to 800 €The law does not require it. A mortgage bank does.

Electricity, water and internet, a month100 to 400 €Our own observation for a regular apartment or townhouse. A villa or a large home with a pool, a garden and climate control is materially higher.

Non-resident tax, EU and EEA19 %Filed once a year, even if you never rent the property out. (Agencia Tributaria)

Non-resident tax, elsewhere24 %The same tax, at the higher rate.

What that tax is charged on1,1 or 2 %Of the cadastral value, when you do not rent the property out.

What you pay for electricity, water and internet depends on how much you are there and on what kind of property it is. Each figure above belongs to one of the guides below, which carry the full version and the source it came from.

Annual costs Community fees Non-resident tax Home insurance Utilities and internet

Which bills, filings and votes come with owning it?

The figures are above. What follows is who decides them and what the insurance will and will not pay. It also covers how the utilities get into your name, and the two taxes that ask nothing of most buyers.

The community of owners, and how it decides

Membership is automatic and you cannot opt out or pay less by not using the pool. The budget is voted by the owners, so the community fee is often the real difference between two apartments that look identical. Ask for the budget, the minutes, the reserve balance and the debt certificate before you reserve.

The minimum reserve fund10 %Of the last ordinary budget. (BOE)

To challenge a resolution3 monthsOne year if it is contrary to the law or the statutes.

Community fees

Home insurance, and the clause that costs you

No law makes you insure a Spanish home, but every mortgage lender will. The clause that costs second home owners money is the unoccupancy clause: once the property has stood empty long enough, theft cover is usually suspended while fire and water continue. Under insuring triggers a proportional rule that cuts every claim.

Is it compulsoryNot required by lawNo statute obliges an owner to insure. A lender does, as a condition of the loan. See what it costs a year

The grace period on a new policy7 days(Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros)

Home insurance

Electricity, water and internet

On a resale you are changing the holder of an existing supply rather than connecting a new one, which takes days rather than months. None of this applies to a new build, where the licences behind a first connection can take months. Take the supply reference, the meter readings and the water company details at handover.

Documents a change of holder needs6

What the distributor may charge0 €

The standard domestic tariff2 bandsTwo contracted power periods.

Spanish households in reach of fibre95,9 %

Utilities and internet

The tax return you owe even with nobody in it

You owe Spanish tax on the property every year, rented out or empty, on a notional income calculated from the cadastral value. It is one form. A missed filing accrues interest and a surcharge that grows the longer it stays unfiled, and the first partial year is already owed, which owners assume starts next January.

The filing window opens1 AprilFor the previous year, and it stays open until the end of the following December. (Agencia Tributaria)

Non-resident tax

Wealth tax, and the one that is not bonified

Andalusia gives a full bonification on the regional wealth tax, so for almost every buyer it costs nothing at all. A separate national solidarity tax can still apply much higher up. The regional bonification does not reduce that one, because the credit is for regional tax you have really paid, and a full bonification means you paid none.

The general exempt minimum700 000 €(BOE)

Main home, residents only300 000 €

The Andalusian bonification100 %

The national solidarity tax starts at3 000 000 €(BOE)

Wealth tax

These are small jobs that become expensive the year they are missed. Your lawyer files the tax return, and we stay the contact for the bills, the insurance, and whoever needs to open the door while you are not here.

Official sources for this partReal Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, Haciendas Locales (BOE)Ley 7/2022, residuos y suelos contaminados (BOE)Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal (BOE)Ley Organica 1/2025 (BOE)Ley 50/1980, de Contrato de Seguro (BOE)Consorcio de Compensacion de SegurosDecreto 120/1991, suministro domiciliario de agua (BOJA)Agencia Tributaria, IRNR sin establecimiento permanenteLey 19/1991, del Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio (BOE)Ley 38/2022, impuesto de solidaridad (BOE)Ley 5/2021 de Tributos Cedidos de Andalucia (BOE)

Renting it out

May you rent it out, and what does it really earn?

Renting to tourists needs not one permission but three, and the one that stops most owners is their own neighbours. Long-term rental is a different regime with far longer commitments.

Renting to tourists, and the three authorities

The region has to register the property and the town has to allow it. Then your own community of owners can ban or restrict tourist rentals by a qualified majority, and that is the one that stops most owners. A property can hold a valid registration and a willing town hall and still be blocked by that vote. So the community statutes and the minutes are worth reading before you reserve, rather than after. The registration itself is a declaration with conditions attached. The property has to meet the equipment rules, including climate control in every habitable room in the relevant seasons. And there is no exemption for renting for only a week: advertising without the licence is the same offence as running it full time. A registration held by the previous owner does not always transfer with the property. We run short-term rentals and property management ourselves, so this is a question you can put to us about a specific property rather than a general one.

The community can vote it down3/5Of owners and of quotas. (BOE)

National advertising number since1 July 2025(Junta de Andalucia)

Sleeping capacity, at most4 per bedroom(BOJA)

A rental grade furniture package4 500 to 26 000 €For a two bedroom apartment, and higher than furnishing the same flat for yourself, because a licensed rental has equipment rules to meet and takes harder wear.

Short-term rental

Renting it out long term

A long tenancy binds you for a statutory minimum however short the contract says it is, and longer if the landlord is a company. Rent cannot be raised during the term unless the contract provides for it. If the tenant stops paying, you cannot simply end the contract: only a court can remove a tenant, and that takes many months. And selling the property does not end the tenancy.

Minimum term, private landlord5 years(BOE)

Minimum term, company landlord7 years

Deposit and extra guarantee1 + 2 monthsThree months of rent in total, at most.

Notice a tenant gives to leave30 days

Long-term rental

Tax on the rent

As a Czech or Polish tax resident you pay the lower rate on net income after allowable expenses. A resident outside the EU and the EEA pays the higher rate on the gross rent with no deductions at all. Both file the same form, quarterly while it is rented and annually while it stands empty.

EU and EEA residents19 %On net income, after allowable expenses.

Everyone else24 %On the gross rent, with no deductions.

While it stands emptyThe same tax, on a notional incomeSee the yearly figures

Rental taxes

What it realistically earns

A well run short-term rental earns roughly 5 to 9 % gross, and a long-term rental roughly 4 to 6 %. Both come down to roughly 3 to 4,5 % net, once management, tax and running costs come off. A yield quoted before the property has been seen is a guess. These are market report figures, not ours.

Short-term rental, gross5 to 9 %Market reports, 2026.

Net, either route3 to 4,5 %After management, tax and real running costs.

Management, of each booking20 %

Rental income and yield

Official sources for this partJunta de Andalucia, viviendas de uso turisticoDecreto 28/2016, viviendas con fines turisticos (BOJA)Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal (BOE)Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (BOE)Agencia Tributaria, rendimientos de inmuebles arrendados

Living here

What changes once you live here rather than visit?

Owning a property here and living here are two decisions with two sets of paperwork. Everything below starts when you decide to spend real time in the property, and the deadlines are shorter than people expect.

Moving here, in order

If you are an EU citizen and you plan to stay in Spain longer than three months, you must register. Owning a property does not trigger this: staying does. The order matters, and each step needs the one before it. An address first, then the NIE, then the padron at the town hall. The padron is the municipal register that proves where you live, and schools, health cover and most local paperwork depend on it. After that comes the residency certificate, then health cover, family, the car and the utilities. A non-EU citizen who owns a home here still gets 90 days in every 180. That is now tracked digitally at the border, with no room for argument. The non-lucrative visa allows no work at all, remote work for a foreign employer included. It also has a money test, and the test is built on IPREM, which is the reference income figure Spanish rules use. An applicant has to show four times the yearly IPREM for themselves, plus the yearly figure again for each dependent.

To register, once you intend to stay3 months(Policia Nacional)

Non-EU stay, per 180 days90 days

IPREM, the benchmark, a year7 200 €The reference figure the visa money test is calculated from.

Permanent residence after5 years

Moving to Spain

Your car and your licence

A foreign plated car can stay as a visitor for a limited time, and staying past that time risks a fine and sometimes the car being immobilised. Once you are resident it has to go onto Spanish plates quickly, and sources disagree on how quickly. Owning it long enough before the move waives the import tax, and a financed car belongs to the finance company.

A foreign plated car, as a visitor6 months

Once resident, to re-register30 to 60 daysSources disagree. Confirm it with the traffic authority.

An indefinite licence, to exchange2 years

Own the car this long to avoid the tax6 months

Cars and driving

Coming with a dog

Do the steps in order, because the order is the whole thing: microchip first, then the rabies vaccination, then a wait. Vaccinating before the chip voids it and the wait starts again. Check the community statutes before you buy, because they can restrict pets and access to shared areas, and check your airline.

Wait after the vaccination21 days

Minimum age to travel15 weeksSpain grants no exception below it. (MAPA)

Animals in one non-commercial move5

Driving from Czechia2 daysTwo long days each way, with an overnight stop.

Moving with pets

When Spain starts taxing everything

You become a Spanish tax resident after more than 183 days in a calendar year. You also become one at any day count, if your main economic interests or your family are here. There is no split year: trigger one test and you are resident for the whole year. The family test is the one buyers overlook.

The day count183 daysMore than that, not exactly that. (BOE)

Lowest combined rate19 %

Highest combined rate47 %

Foreign assets reported from50 000 €Per category.

Taxes if you live in Spain

Official sources for this partPolicia Nacional, certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UEEuropean Commission, short-stay calculatorAgencia Tributaria, requisitos tras la aduanaDGT, sede electronicaEuropean Commission, travelling with a pet within the EUMAPA, desplazamiento de animales de companiaReal Decreto 287/2002, animales potencialmente peligrosos (BOE)Ley 35/2006, del IRPF, art. 9 (BOE)

Selling it, and inheritance

What does selling it later cost?

Three costs land on the seller: the municipal tax on the rise in the land value, capital gains tax, and the agency commission. As a non-resident you also do not receive the whole price on the day, because the buyer holds part of it back for the tax office.

PlusvalíaUp to 30 %The municipal tax on the rise in the land value. This is the maximum rate. (BOE)

Capital gains tax19 %The same rate for every non-resident, whether you live in the EU or not. (Agencia Tributaria)

Held back at the sale3 %The buyer keeps this part of the price and pays it to the tax office as an advance on your tax. (Agencia Tributaria)

Agency commission1,5 to 4 %Paid by the selling side, which is you on the day you sell.

None of this applies while you own the property. It applies on the day you sell, and two parts of it surprise sellers. The three per cent is an advance rather than the final bill. Where your real gain is smaller you reclaim the difference, and the deadline for doing it is four months from the sale. And the municipal tax on the rise in the land value can legally fall on the buyer when the seller is a non-resident. That makes it a clause to settle before you agree a price, rather than after. The guide below works through the whole calculation.

Selling and the costs of leaving

What happens to the property when you die?

A Spanish property is taxed in Spain when its owner dies, even if the owner never lived here. For close family in Andalusia the tax usually comes out at nothing, but only because three separate reliefs were claimed correctly.

Inheritance tax, and the three reliefs

For a spouse, a child or a parent, Andalusia gives three reliefs: a large kinship reduction, a further reduction on a main home, and a bonification on whatever tax is left. A family property often ends at nothing owed. None of the three applies automatically. Each has to be claimed correctly on the return, inside six months of the death. The one extension has to be asked for by the fifth month rather than the sixth. In practice the heirs need more than the tax return. A death certificate, the certificate of last wishes, and the will or a declaration of heirs. A NIE each. And a notarial deed accepting the inheritance, before the land registry will put the property in their names. European law lets you choose which national succession law decides who inherits, and that choice changes who inherits rather than whether Spain taxes it.

Kinship reduction, close familyUp to 1 000 000 €(Decreto Legislativo 1/2018)

Bonification on the tax left99 %

Main home reduction100 %Up to a value ceiling, then it tapers.

Filing deadline from the death6 monthsOne extension, requested by month five. (BOE)

Inheritance and the treaty with Czechia

Official sources for this partAgencia Tributaria, ganancia patrimonial derivada de la transmisionReal Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, Haciendas Locales (BOE)Real Decreto-ley 26/2021, plusvalia municipal (BOE)Decreto Legislativo 1/2018, Andalucia, sucesiones y donacionesLey 29/1987, del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (BOE)

Where the detail lives

Where the detail lives, stage by stage

Every step above leads to one of these pages. They are grouped by the stage of the purchase when you need them, rather than alphabetically. This is the same order as the fifteen steps.

How the purchase worksThe documents and signatures, steps 7 to 14 in detail.

Money and taxesWhat it costs above the price, what a Czech buyer can borrow, and how the money is protected during the process.

What can go wrongEach page explains one problem and what you should check before it happens.

Renting it outFind out if you may rent out the property, who may rent it, and how much it can really earn.

Once you own itThese are the bills, community fees, insurance and tax filings that start when you get the keys.

Living in SpainThis section is for buyers who will live in Spain, not only visit. It covers residency, cars, dogs and moving.

ReferenceThese are the Spanish purchase words you will meet, in the order you meet them.

Glossary

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Where to next

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