Buying property in Spain: choose your location, understand the costs and check your purchase

1. Start with what the home must let you do

A holiday home, a permanent relocation and a rental investment create different questions. Begin by writing down who will use the property, in which months, whether you will work from it and what building alterations or changes of use your plans require.

If rental income will help fund the purchase, calculate a scenario in which letting is unavailable or starts later than expected. Advertised returns need to be tested against operating expenses, occupancy assumptions and the letting activity actually permitted. A suitable permanent home may be unsuitable for your holiday rental project. Property ownership and permission to live in Spain also involve separate processes. Coordinate them early so that the house, the proposed use and your personal arrangements support the same plan.

Sources: Ministerio del Interior · Número de Identidad de Extranjero ↗ · BOE · Ley de Propiedad Horizontal ↗

2. Compare locations through practical questions

Alicante and the Costa Blanca allow a search across city properties, coastal apartments and houses on their own plots. For Valencia, establish whether you mean the city, its metropolitan area or the wider province: daily travel, building characteristics and immediate surroundings can change substantially. Murcia also offers very different settings across its city, inland areas and coast. In Ibiza, narrow the search to a municipality, access arrangements and intended use. Island logistics are an additional reason to budget for travel and ongoing maintenance.

A location name cannot establish the legal condition of a property. Compare identified homes and visit their surroundings at times that reflect your future routine. Check year-round services, transport, accessibility, noise and who could handle a repair while you are away. The Alicante/Costa Blanca, Valencia, Murcia and Ibiza pages take the territorial checks further.

3. Organise your advisers and identification

Obtain an engagement letter explaining what your lawyer will investigate, which technical enquiries require another professional and who will handle taxes and registration. The estate agent facilitates the commercial transaction; the notary performs a public and impartial role. An architect or building surveyor can investigate physical condition and reconcile buildings with their records. Allocating these responsibilities avoids assuming that an inspection or legal review includes work that nobody has actually agreed to carry out.

Foreign buyers should arrange their NIE identification number early and prepare passports, marital status information, details of their matrimonial property regime and evidence of the source of funds. A NIE identifies you in your dealings with Spain; it is not a residence permit. Joint purchasers should decide ownership percentages and contributions before contracts are drafted. If someone will sign under a power of attorney, confirm its scope, validity and the translation, apostille or legalisation requirements relevant to the particular document.

Sources: Ministerio del Interior · Número de Identidad de Extranjero ↗ · Consejo General del Notariado · Información para ciudadanos ↗

4. Work out the cash required before you receive the keys

The advertised price is only one part of the budget. Add the relevant acquisition tax, notary and Land Registry charges, legal advice, a technical inspection and, where needed, valuation and financing costs. Budget separately for furniture, building works, utility connections and a contingency reserve. Ask for written estimates and identify which quoted fees include VAT.

Prepare a payment timetable covering the reservation, contractual deposit, new-build instalments, completion funds and subsequent tax payments. If your savings are held in another currency, consider exchange-rate movements and transfer lead times. Payments already made towards the purchase price must be deducted from the completion balance. Keep receipts and a clear reconciliation of every transfer.

5. Distinguish first delivery, resale and the taxable amount

In mainland Spain and the Balearics, an ordinary purchase of a dwelling from a developer that qualifies as its first delivery will generally attract 10% VAT, together with AJD stamp duty where its conditions apply. A second or subsequent transfer will normally attract transfer tax, commonly called ITP. The word “new” in an advertisement does not decide the tax treatment: the property’s history and previous use can matter. Business transactions, waivers of VAT exemption and assets with other uses require a separate assessment of the applicable rules.

For ITP, the purchase price is not always the taxable amount. Where a cadastral reference value exists, compare it with the consideration and declared value under the applicable rules, using the higher relevant figure. Where no reference value exists or it cannot be certified, market-value and verification rules become relevant. The cadastral value used for other taxes is a different concept. Obtain information for the date the tax arises and use the calculator as a documented estimate, retaining the assumptions you entered.

Sources: Dirección General del Catastro · Valor de referencia y preguntas frecuentes ↗ · AEAT · Compro una vivienda: IVA o ITP ↗

6. Taxes vary by location and transaction date

Alicante and Valencia are both within the Comunitat Valenciana. From 1 June 2026, its general ITP rate is 9%; where the transferred value exceeds one million euros, the special general rule applies 11% to the full taxable base. General AJD changed to 1.4%, with separate treatment for cases such as qualifying habitual-home acquisitions. Murcia’s general ITP rate is 7.75%. These figures cannot price every transaction: the tax date, taxable amount, intended use and purchaser’s circumstances still require verification.

Ibiza follows the legislation of the Balearic Islands, where general ITP uses a progressive scale rather than one rate for every purchase price. Regional reductions and reliefs have conditions covering matters such as a first home, age, income, disability, family circumstances, property value or continued qualifying use. Claiming a benefit means establishing and retaining evidence of eligibility. The website’s calculator distinguishes the regions it covers. Review its breakdown and the relevant conditions before treating an estimate as the final amount to fund.

Sources: BOE · Ley 13/1997 de la Comunitat Valenciana, arts. 13 y 14 ↗ · Región de Murcia · Modelo 600 y tipos aplicables ↗ · ATIB · Impuesto sobre transmisiones patrimoniales y actos jurídicos documentados ↗

7. Establish financing before your purchase depends on it

There is no guaranteed lending percentage for every foreign buyer. The lender makes its own affordability and risk assessment, and a property valuation is not a mortgage approval. Ask how much it may lend, which value it uses to calculate the limit and which conditions remain outstanding. Assess the effect of income in another currency, existing debts, insurance and associated products. A commercial illustration helps comparison, but the purchase contract should reflect any bank decisions that are still unresolved.

Where the mortgage-credit rules apply, pre-contractual documents and notarial advice have their own timing requirements. Coordinate the binding offer, personalised information and mortgage execution with the sale timetable. Negotiate expressly what happens if borrowing is refused or insufficient. Without suitable contractual protection, a bank’s refusal can leave you committed to the seller despite being unable to finance completion.

Sources: Banco de España · Contratación de la hipoteca ↗ · Banco de España · Qué debemos saber al solicitar una hipoteca ↗

8. Connect ownership records, Cadastre and physical reality

Obtain a recent nota simple to identify the registered property, owners, rights and charges. Compare the seller’s title deed with cadastral information and the home you inspected. A mortgage, usufruct or attachment entry calls for a different response in each case. Clarify garages, storage rooms and interests recorded under separate property numbers. The investigation does not end when the seller’s name matches: establish precisely which right is being transferred and whose participation is required to deliver the agreed purchase.

Keep plot size, built area, usable floor area and building footprint separate. Record pools, covered terraces, enclosures and outbuildings you can see, including those absent from the documents. A discrepancy needs an explanation and, where appropriate, a measured survey or technical report. Cadastre, Land Registry and planning records serve different purposes; matching figures do not by themselves establish that building works are lawful. If an extension is central to your decision, investigate its status before deciding how much value to place on it.

Sources: Colegio de Registradores · Información registral y certificaciones ↗ · BOE · Texto refundido de la Ley de Suelo y Rehabilitación Urbana ↗

9. Investigate planning, coastal restrictions and site risks

Check land classification and planning rules with the competent municipality using the exact property identification. Request the permits, declarations or certificates relevant to the buildings and their use, and ask about outstanding proceedings or obligations. For plots, investigate access, water supply, drainage and possible development charges. Paying local property tax or having electricity does not answer all these questions. A proposed renovation, subdivision or change of use needs its own enquiry before becoming part of your purchase assumptions.

Near the coast, consult the delimitation of the public maritime-terrestrial domain and associated restrictions, referring unresolved questions to the relevant coastal authority. For flooding, examine SNCZI and available regional or local information. Retain the date, layer and location: an unshaded area on one viewer does not establish an absence of risk. Relate the findings to intended use, physical inspection, insurance and proposed works. Mapping guides the enquiry, while the relevant administrative file or certificate may resolve a specific legal question.

Sources: BOE · Texto refundido de la Ley de Suelo y Rehabilitación Urbana ↗ · MITECO · Deslinde del dominio público marítimo-terrestre ↗ · MITECO · Sistema Nacional de Cartografía de Zonas Inundables ↗

10. Request documents that support actual decisions

A useful purchase file is more than a folder containing documents. Request each item to answer a question: the community certificate helps establish arrears; meeting minutes reveal resolutions and works; occupancy documentation assists with permitted use; bills and receipts help investigate utilities and payments. Identify the issuer, date, property and scope. Older records may explain the history without establishing the current position.

Classify information as checked, outstanding or inconsistent. Give each outstanding enquiry an owner and a deadline compatible with the contract. If essential evidence about ownership, possession or use is missing, adapt your financial commitment to the unresolved risk. Also establish whether tenants, occupants or existing contracts affect when and how you can use the home after paying for it.

Sources: BOE · Ley de Propiedad Horizontal ↗ · BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información al consumidor sobre viviendas ↗

11. Negotiate reservation and deposit terms around the findings

Before signing, identify who will receive your money, their authority to hold it and when it can be released. The label “reservation” or “arras” does not explain every legal consequence. Read the whole agreement, including the property, price, timetable, financing, charges, occupiers and documentary obligations. Establish what happens if a material check fails and which notices are needed to exercise the contractual rights.

If the seller must discharge a charge, produce permission or correct a description, agree the required result, the evidence that will demonstrate it and a deadline. A retention may form part of the solution, but it needs a calculation and release mechanism; it cannot make an unviable building lawful or guarantee cancellation. Distinguish delay, breach and an agreed right to withdraw. Do not assume every deposit contract lets a buyer walk away by losing the deposit or automatically recover double from the seller.

Sources: BOE · Código Civil, contratos y compraventa ↗

12. For an off-plan purchase, investigate the developer too

For a home under construction, examine ownership of the land, the building permission, the project and the identity of the unit being sold. Retain plans, specifications, annexes and relevant marketing material. The contract should make changes, deadlines, handover and consequences of delay understandable. Distinguish a reservation payment from price instalments and establish who receives each payment and what protection applies.

Spain’s Building Act regulates guarantees for advance payments during construction, subject to its legal conditions, and a dedicated account. Request the applicable individual guarantee and check it against the property, purchaser, sums and payment timetable. The developer’s commercial reputation is not a substitute for that documentation. Before accepting the completed home, review completion and occupancy records, utility arrangements and a snagging inspection. Agree how defects will be recorded, which party will address them and who will follow up the repairs.

Sources: BOE · Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, anticipos y garantías ↗ · BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información al consumidor sobre viviendas ↗

14. Prepare completion around payments and handover

Before the deed is signed, review its draft and a completion statement separating the remaining price, retained sums and expenses. Update the Land Registry information and confirm how agreed charges will be discharged, who will attend and which original documents are required. Inspect the property again and check arrangements for keys, possession, the inventory and utilities. Verify payment instructions through an established channel, particularly where bank details change shortly before completion.

Where the seller is non-resident for tax purposes and the statutory withholding applies, the buyer must retain and pay 3% of the consideration using form 211. Prepare this before distributing completion funds. Other matters, including municipal capital-gains tax and contractual apportionment of bills, need individual consideration. After signing, keep proof of tax filings and submission to the Land Registry. Specifically instruct someone to follow the process through registration and to provide a final account reconciling any money advanced for expenses.

Sources: Consejo General del Notariado · Información para ciudadanos ↗ · Colegio de Registradores · Información registral y certificaciones ↗ · AEAT · Retención del adquirente de un inmueble a no residente ↗

15. Budget for ownership throughout the year

Annual ownership costs depend on the home and your circumstances. Obtain information on IBI property tax, local charges, community fees, insurance, utilities, pools, gardens and maintenance. For a property left empty, arrange keyholding, periodic checks and a response to leaks or other failures. In an apartment building, read meeting minutes and ask about future works, accessibility and maintenance. A low current community fee does not establish that the building has little need for future investment.

For non-residents, personal use or vacancy of certain urban properties can create imputed income for Spanish non-resident income tax; rent and a later sale have their own treatment. Joint ownership does not remove each owner’s individual obligations. If you relocate, review tax residence, healthcare and wider asset implications in good time. Keep a property file containing the deed, tax records, improvements and invoices. It will assist with day-to-day problems, building works and any eventual sale or other transfer.

Sources: AEAT · Tributación de inmuebles de no residentes ↗ · BOE · Ley de Propiedad Horizontal ↗

16. Turn the information into a plan for your property

Begin a Spain Property Check analysis with the nota simple, title deed or available cadastral information. Review the extracted details and add what you have physically observed, keeping buildings and types of area distinct. The tool helps compare supplied information, organise potential issues and prepare a PDF report with next steps. The purchase-cost calculation can add an estimate to your decision. When evidence is missing, retain it as an outstanding item instead of replacing it with an assumed figure.

Available mapping queries and images can support the file, but they do not constitute a physical inspection or a planning certificate. Consider the source and limitations of each result. For advice about an identified property, contact Colás Abogados, whose office is in El Albir, Alicante, and agree the scope of the engagement. Provide the municipality, intended use, negotiation stage and deadline requested by the seller. This allows the initial review to focus on the decisions that actually determine whether and how your purchase should proceed.