Frequently asked questions.

We work entirely on the buyer's side for international buyers in Spain. We work only for you and take no fee from anyone else: no commission from banks, agents or contractors. We do not sell property, we are not an intermediary, and we give no legal, tax or mortgage advice.

One product can be ordered right now: the Spain Purchase Plan, your personal roadmap. The Document Check and the Mortgage File Check are on the site as information, but cannot be ordered at the moment. Alongside that there is the knowledge layer: guides, articles and calculators.

Because it works better for this kind of process. It is about documents, sequencing and details that need to be in writing, not a good conversation. Putting everything in writing means nothing gets lost in a phone call nobody wrote down.

You reach us by email and the forms on the site. We reply within one working day. No queues, no diaries to align, and no required call before you get something concrete.

The Spain Purchase Plan and the knowledge layer cover all of Spain; our own market knowledge is deepest in Baix Empordà and the wider Costa Brava.

Renovation projects are deliberately limited to Baix Empordà. That is the area where we live ourselves and know the tradespeople, municipalities and processes.

Yes, but never exclusively. For legal matters you work with a lawyer; we do not take over that role and we give no legal advice. We don't work with a single fixed party and take no fee or commission from lawyers. You choose, or we help you find a suitable one, but the choice and payment run directly between you and the lawyer.

Yes. The agent offers the property; we work exclusively on the buyer's side. Those are different roles that don't get in each other's way. We stand alongside the parties who are already there and have no financial relationship with the seller or the agent.

Yes. Spanish banks do lend to international buyers, but the conditions are stricter than most people expect. As a non-resident, you can typically borrow 60 to 70% of the appraised value (tasación). The rest comes from you, plus acquisition costs on top.

What catches most buyers off guard: banks don't assess a good file. They assess a complete, correctly structured file in exactly the right format. If anything is missing or incorrectly structured, the file is returned before being assessed. The timeline resets.

The details on conditions and documents are in our mortgage guide.

Expect to have at least 45 to 55% of the total investment available in liquid funds. That breaks into two parts: your equity contribution (roughly 30 to 40%, depending on the approved LTV and the tasación, since banks finance a maximum of 60 to 70%), plus acquisition costs of 10 to 14% of the purchase price.

In Catalonia, resale properties attract property transfer tax (ITP) of 10% up to €600,000; above that the rate rises progressively to 11%, 12% and 13% depending on the bracket. New builds are subject to VAT (IVA, 10%) plus stamp duty (AJD, 1.5%).

Acquisition costs are consistently underestimated and budgeted too late. That is one of the most common reasons buyers have to restart their search entirely.

The exact list varies by bank, but expect at minimum: recent payslips or annual income statements, tax returns for the past two years, three months of bank statements, an employment contract or proof of self-employment, and your passport plus NIE number.

Self-employed applicants typically need more: profit and loss accounts, an accountant's statement and sometimes additional business documentation.

If the format is wrong, banks often return the file before it is ever assessed, even if the content is correct. Translations or apostilles are sometimes required.

From a fully submitted file to a formal mortgage offer: typically six to twelve weeks. The bank assesses your income, financial history and the property's official valuation.

Under Spanish law, you must receive the offer at least ten calendar days before signing. That cooling-off period is mandatory and cannot be waived.

In practice, delay often sits in the preparation: missing documents, wrong formats, incomplete files. If a document is missing, the bank asks for it again and the substantive assessment starts later.

Not legally required. In practice, for international buyers, it is difficult to do safely without one. A lawyer checks the legal documents and handles the purchase agreement on your behalf. That's a different role from ours. We don't replace a lawyer and we give no legal advice. Which parties are involved in a Spanish purchase and in what order they come up is set out on our parties and sequence page.

The NIE is your Spanish tax identification number, and you need it for almost every step: signing contracts, opening a bank account, applying for a mortgage. You can apply through a Spanish consulate, in person in Spain, or through a lawyer acting on your behalf. The timing is often underestimated: the earlier this runs, the less pressure later. We explain the full process in our buying guide.

In practice, usually yes. For mortgage payments, taxes, utilities and many other things, you typically need a Spanish bank account. Opening one is usually straightforward with a passport, NIE and proof of address, but the timing is often underestimated when several parts run at the same time.

Cash purchase: typically two to four months from agreed price to completion. With a mortgage: three to six months, since the mortgage process runs alongside legal due diligence.

Key steps: price agreement, optional reservation, legal due diligence by a lawyer, signing the Contrato de Arras with a deposit, arranging financing if needed, and completion at the notary.

Delays rarely happen at the notary or with the seller. They happen in the stage before the contract: due diligence, document checks, financing alignment. Those steps partly run one after another, and in practice that sets the overall timeline.

The Contrato de Arras is the binding preliminary purchase agreement you sign once you have agreed on a price, but before the final transfer at the notary. You pay a deposit at signing, typically 10% of the purchase price.

It cuts both ways. If you pull out without valid reason, you lose the deposit. If the seller pulls out, they owe you double.

Buyers sign too often before a lawyer has completed due diligence on the property. Once signed, it is difficult to reverse. Certainty first, commitment second.

The nota simple is the first thing a good lawyer requests, and the first thing many buyers skip. It is an extract from the Spanish Land Registry showing the legal owner, any mortgages or charges on the property, and whether the building records match reality.

Your lawyer requests it as part of due diligence, before you sign the Contrato de Arras. A property that looks straightforward on viewing can carry debts, liens or planning irregularities that only surface at the notary, when you are already committed.

A clean nota simple is not a guarantee that everything is in order. An unchecked one is asking for trouble.

Almost always the same things: documents arriving late or in the wrong format, costs that were never explained upfront, and parties waiting on each other. These are rarely bad intentions; every party focuses on their own role and their own documents. If you want to keep an overview yourself, start with the documents you already have and with the order of the steps.

Yes. Renovation is often part of the investment strategy for international buyers.

Renovation work in Spain involves contractors, architects and sometimes a technical architect (aparejador). The challenge is not finding capable professionals. It is keeping all of them aligned: different country, different working culture, different expectations around communication.

If you want that alignment handled for you, it runs through your own project manager or through the architect.

Projects, the renovation coordination in Baix Empordà, is currently full and is not taking on new projects.

In most cases, yes. On the Costa Brava, two come up most often.

A licencia de obra menor covers work that doesn't touch the structure: updating a kitchen or bathroom, replacing tiles, painting, basic electrical or plumbing work. Typically issued within 4 to 8 weeks.

A licencia de obra mayor covers structural changes: extensions, removing walls, façade modifications, new builds, a swimming pool. It requires architect-signed plans and takes 3 to 6 months, sometimes longer.

Starting work without the correct permit leads to fines and complications when selling later.

It depends heavily on scope. A bathroom or kitchen: four to eight weeks. A full renovation of a larger property: six to twelve months, sometimes longer.

Key factors: availability of skilled tradespeople (demand is high in the Costa Brava), material lead times, and hidden issues that emerge once work begins, particularly in older stone buildings.

Budget 15 to 20% contingency on cost, and leave room in the planning.

Yes, with the right structure and reliable people on the ground.

The real problem is not the distance. It is that no one connects the parties. Distance only makes it more expensive when it goes wrong, because you see the signals later.

Without coordination, decisions get made on site without your input and budgets shift without anyone telling you. With coordination we document the decisions and keep track of progress in writing.

Renovation coordination is limited to Baix Empordà.