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You found your second home, congratulations! You are nearly there!

 

Buying a property in Spain is really nice, here are our 10+ reasons why you should buy a property in Spain?

Your first question before buying your property will be: Does it cost a lot to buy a property in Spain? We wrote a paper to give you the detailed answer: “The cost of buying a property in Spain“.

Your second question will be: Does it cost a lot as an owner of a Spanish property? Check our paper: “The cost of owning a property in Spain“.

Now, you know, you can move further, here are the legal steps to your Spanish property.

At a later stage, you could find another article interesting to get help for finding your Spanish property: Our ultimate 2021 guide to buying your property in Spain

The 9 Steps to your Spanish Property

If you prefer, listen to our 2 min 30 seconds Video:

1. Get your NIE “Número de Identificación de Extranjeros”

   It is a unique tax identification number in Spain for anyone who isn’t a Spanish citizen. You will need your own NIE number to purchase property and pay the necessary taxes! So it’s wise to apply for this as soon as you start looking for properties.

   You can get it in person or via a third party. You can get it in Spain or in your home country at a Spanish Consulate. You need to ask one for your spouse as well if you buy together.

   Read our article on this: “Your ultimate guide to your NIE number“.

    

2. Find a lawyer speaking your language and Spanish

   Your first step will be to find a reliable independent lawyer who is specialized in Spanish land and property law. Unless you speak fluent Spanish, you should find a lawyer speaking your mother tongue. More on that here: What is the legal due diligence for your Spanish property?

   Looking for a property lawyer in Spain? Check all our partners here!

    

3. Open a Bank account

    

   With your NIE and all your documents, it is easy to open a bank account in Spain. Pay attention if you are buying from outside the Eurozone. Your local bank could charge high costs to convert your local currency into Euros or wire funds to Spain. We found a good partner to assist you in a cost-efficient manner, read our detailed paper for more on that: How to pay for your Spanish property in Euros – € while you live in a non-Euro country?

    

4. Do you need a mortgage?

   If the answer is yes, it’s time to start working on it. You can get a mortgage either

   • from your home country
   • or from Spain

   Ask for a mortgage from one of our partner

   Read our step-by-step article with all the information you need: Your Spanish Mortgage: How to apply? How to get the best rates?

   

    

5. Sign the “contrato de Reserva”

   The “contrato de Reserva” expresses your intent to purchase and remove the property from the market, it is the reservation contract. In general, you will need to pay a holding fee of €3000 to 6000. Funds are held in escrow for 14 to 21 days and you have the time to do checks on the property during that period. At the same time, a purchase contract will be drawn up and legal checks carried out.

   => This contract is very important, don’t sign without including provisions so you can exit the contract.

   => Cash ideally held by a reliable third party

    

6. Important checks of the property with experts

   1. the land registry, « Registro de la Propriedad»
   2. the appropriate planning permission has been obtained
   3. No outstanding debts attached to the property
   4. the Community of owners documents’
   5. the property is as described and structurally sound

   Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

    

7. Get your mortgage confirmed

   Have a look at our reports on this subject:

   

   Spanish mortgage rates

    

8. Sign the “contrato de Arras”

   It is the private purchase contract called as well “Contrato Privado de Compraventa”.

   You will need to pay your deposit of 10% of the property within 10 days.

   As soon as the necessary legal checks have taken place, you will be required to sign the private purchase contract which will state the full price of the property.

    

9. Go to the Notary to sign the contract for the purchase of the property

   At the completion stage, all parties connected with the selling and purchasing of the property must be in attendance to sign at the offices of Notaria Publica. This includes your lawyer, mortgage provider (if applicable) and the seller or their legal representative. Before signing you should ensure you have a thorough understanding of all the costs involved and have sufficient funds to cover payments, fees and taxes.

    

   Read more: How to buy a property in Spain as a foreigner?

   Don’t miss Our ultimate 2021 guide to buying your property in Spain if you want to start your search.

   

 

Here are our FREE pdf property buyers’ guides written for all the foreign nationalities looking to buy in Spain:

Click on your country flag, you will find your pdf report at the end of each article. Get most of our tips there.

 

 

 

 

FAQ Buying property in Spain

Is buying property in Spain a good idea?

There are many reasons for buying a property in Spain: one of the first is that real estate is cheap and the cost of life is low. Of course, you need Beach and 320 days of Sun. But there are many others, that's why Spain is the number one tourist destination in Europe

What taxes do you pay when buying a property in Spain?

The taxes for buying a property in Spain are different depending on the fact that it is a resale or a new build. Each region in Spain as well as some tax authority. The rule of thumb is that taxes are between 10 and 15%. Read our dedicated article on that: What are the cost of property acquisition in Spain?

How long does it take to buy a house in Spain?

Buying a house in Spain can be done in one day. But if you want to do a proper due diligence and if you want a mortgage it should be about 10 weeks.

Can foreigners buy real estate in Spain?

Yes foreigners can purchase a property in Spain. In order to do that, they need a NIE. Read more in our article: the 9 steps to your Spanish property

 

You can find interesting information on this subject on the site of the notaries in Spain.

 

Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here