Resale: inspect what is already there
A resale home lets you visit the actual rooms and surroundings, but existing use is not proof that every alteration is authorised. Compare the layout with the title, cadastral description and available plans. Ask about repairs, tenants, community works and installations. An independent condition review can help distinguish cosmetic improvements from larger problems. Include the cost of immediate repairs in the price comparison with newer homes.
Completed new build: review the handover
A completed development still needs a documentary and physical review. Ask about the completion of works, the appropriate occupancy documentation, building information and applicable guarantees. Visit the specific property and its garage, storage space and common areas rather than relying on the show home. Record unfinished items and agree how they will be addressed. Clarify what is operational at handover, including lifts, access and utility connections.
Off-plan: focus on promises and safeguards
When buying before completion, you are assessing documents and future performance as well as a location. Identify the developer, land title, project, building permission and detailed specification. Understand the staged payments and check the arrangements protecting advance payments under the applicable regime. Review the delivery conditions, permitted changes and consequences of delay with your adviser. Keep the advertising and signed plans alongside the contract because the finished property cannot yet answer your questions.
Compare total cost and timing
Commercial labels do not by themselves decide the tax treatment. A first supply by a developer and a later transfer can be taxed differently, and the history of a property matters. Build separate budgets covering taxes, financing, temporary accommodation, improvements and moving costs. Consider how much uncertainty your plans can absorb. A fixed moving date, for example, makes delivery timing a central contractual issue in an unfinished development.
Sources & further reading
BOE · Información al comprador de vivienda (RD 515/1989) ↗BOE · Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación ↗Agencia Tributaria · Compra de vivienda: IVA o ITP ↗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.