Buying Process for Foreign Buyers in Spain: What Actually Happens
By Xavier Sierra
Every week I get some version of the same question from a buyer who’s found a property they love: “Okay, so what actually happens now?” It’s a fair question — buying property in Spain follows a different rhythm than what most buyers are used to at home, and nobody wants surprises on something this significant. Here’s the process as it genuinely unfolds, from someone who’s walked clients through it more times than I can count.
Step 1: Get Your NIE Number
Before you can buy anything in Spain, you need an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) — a foreigner’s tax identification number. Every part of the purchase runs through this number: the contract, the bank account, the notary, the taxes. You can apply at a Spanish consulate before you travel, or at a police station here once you’re in the country. It’s not complicated, but it does take a little lead time, so this is the first thing to sort out, not the last.
Step 2: Open a Spanish Bank Account
You’ll need one for the transaction itself — the deposit, the balance, ongoing costs like utilities and community fees afterward. Most buyers open this either on an early visit or remotely with their NIE already in hand, depending on the bank.
Step 3: The Offer and the Reservation Contract
Once you’ve found the property, you make an offer. If it’s accepted, you’ll typically sign a contrato de arras — a reservation or deposit contract — and pay a deposit, usually around 10% of the purchase price. This takes the property off the market and legally commits both sides. It’s a real contract with real consequences: if you pull out without cause, you generally lose the deposit; if the seller pulls out, they typically have to return double.
This is exactly the stage where having your own independent lawyer matters — not the agent’s lawyer, not the seller’s, yours. They review the contract terms before you sign, not after.
Step 4: Due Diligence
Between signing the reservation contract and completing the sale, your lawyer checks the property properly:
- The Nota Simple from the Land Registry — confirms who actually owns the property and whether there are any debts, mortgages, or charges against it
- Outstanding community fees or municipal taxes (IBI) — you don’t want to inherit someone else’s unpaid bills
- Planning and licensing status — especially relevant for older properties or anything with extensions, to confirm everything’s properly registered
This is unglamorous work, and it’s exactly why it matters. It’s also, honestly, where a good local lawyer earns their fee.
Step 5: Signing at the Notary
Completion happens at the notary’s office, where both parties (or their representatives with power of attorney) sign the escritura pública — the public deed of sale. You pay the remaining balance at this point, and the property officially changes hands. If you can’t be present, your lawyer can act on your behalf with a power of attorney, which is common for international buyers.
Step 6: Registration
After signing, the deed gets registered at the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad), which is what makes the change of ownership official and public. This typically takes a few weeks to process.
What It Actually Costs Beyond the Price
This is where I see the most surprise, so let me be direct about it. On a resale property in Andalucía, budget roughly 10–13% on top of the purchase price for taxes and fees:
- ITP (transfer tax): 7% on resale properties in Andalucía as the general rate (with reduced rates of 6% or 3.5% in specific cases — habitual residence under certain price thresholds, young buyers, large families). If you’re buying new-build directly from a developer, this becomes 10% IVA plus 1.2% AJD (stamp duty) instead.
- Notary and Land Registry fees: typically 1–1.5% combined
- Legal fees: usually around 1%, sometimes a flat fee
None of these are optional or negotiable — they’re the real cost of the transaction, and any serious agent should be walking you through these numbers before you make an offer, not after.
One Thing Worth Correcting Directly
If you’ve read anything about buying property in Spain and residency, you may have come across the “Golden Visa” — residency in exchange for a €500,000+ property purchase. I want to be straightforward about this: that route was abolished in April 2025. Buying property in Spain no longer grants residency on its own. If residency is part of your plan, there are still other legitimate routes (the Non-Lucrative Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, and others), but they’re separate from the property purchase itself and need their own proper legal advice — not something I’d improvise an answer to, and not something any agent should be promising you as part of a sale.
After the Purchase
If you’re a non-resident, there’s an annual tax obligation (Modelo 210) even if you’re not renting the property out — Spain treats non-resident-owned property as generating a small notional income for tax purposes. It’s not large, but it’s easy to forget and genuinely worth knowing about upfront rather than discovering it a year later.
Where I Fit Into This
I’m not your lawyer, and I won’t pretend to be — you need an independent one, and I’m always happy to point clients toward people I trust. What I can do is walk you through the practical, on-the-ground reality of buying here: which questions to ask, what typically comes up with older properties in this area, and how the whole thing actually feels day to day rather than just on paper. After thirty-plus years and a lot of completions, I’ve mostly seen every version of how this can go smoothly — and a few of how it can’t.
Get in touch if you want to talk through where you are in the process — in French, Spanish, or English.