Start with your plans, then your budget
Decide whether the property will be your main home, a holiday home or an investment. That choice changes the questions to ask about location, occupation, financing and permitted use. Set a total spending limit that includes acquisition taxes, professional fees, immediate repairs and a reserve for running costs. If you need a mortgage, discuss affordability with lenders before committing to a purchase timetable.
Check the property before committing money
Ask for a recent nota simple, the seller's title document, the cadastral reference and the relevant planning and occupancy documents. Compare the address, floor, boundaries, areas and any garage or storage room across the documents and the property you visited. Arrange a physical inspection appropriate to the building. A polished listing, a mortgage valuation and a clean-looking Registry extract each answer different questions; none alone completes the investigation.
Make the agreement match the unresolved issues
Before signing a reservation or arras agreement, identify who is selling, what is included, the payment schedule and the consequences of delay or withdrawal. If the purchase depends on finance, document corrections or a particular permission, negotiate how that dependency will be handled. Verbal assurances are difficult to manage later. Keep one written list of open issues, responsible people and supporting evidence, and review it before each payment.
Prepare completion and the first weeks
Coordinate the notary appointment, identification, payment method, any mortgage cancellation and the handover of possession. Read the deed draft in advance and resolve translation needs early. After signing, follow through on tax filing, registration, utility changes and community notifications. Keep the signed documents, payment receipts and filing confirmations together. The process is complete when the follow-up work is documented, not simply when the keys change hands.
Sources & further reading
BOE · Información al comprador de vivienda (RD 515/1989) ↗Consejo General del Notariado · Viviendas e inmuebles ↗Editorial preview: professional legal review is pending. This guide provides general information and does not determine the legal position of a particular property.
Have a property in mind?
Start by organising its documents and the questions still to resolve.