Buying property in Spain: what nobody tells you

We moved our family from Sweden to Marbella in 2018. The original plan was to stay for two years, enjoy the weather, and then head back north. We are still here. Somewhere along the line, we decided to put roots down and buy a house. I have bought property in Sweden and I have signed commercial leases for companies like Mediapilot, but buying a house in Spain is a completely different sport.

The first mistake people make happens before they even look at a property portal. They buy in their first six months. Do not do this. When you first arrive in Marbella, you are in holiday mode. Every area looks fantastic when the sun is shining and you are eating out every day. But the reality of living here is very different. We rented first. It gave us time to realise that while living up the hill in Benahavís offers great views, driving down it four times a day for the school run gets old fast. Give yourself time to figure out where you actually want to be, rather than where an enthusiastic agent wants you to be.

The paperwork begins with the NIE

Once you are ready to buy, you hit your first administrative wall. The Número de Identidad de Extranjero is your Spanish tax identification number. You cannot buy a house, open a bank account, or sometimes even get a fibre internet connection without one. It sounds like a simple piece of paper, but acquiring it usually involves queuing at a national police station at dawn. Just pay a local lawyer a few hundred euros to handle it for you. It is the best money you will spend.

Next, you need a lawyer. You need an independent lawyer, completely unaffiliated with the estate agent or the seller. I cannot stress this enough. The agent gets paid when the sale goes through. Your lawyer's job is to find out why it shouldn't. They are the ones who will pull the nota simple, the land registry document that tells you what you are actually buying.

You want to make sure the person selling the house actually owns it, and that the beautiful swimming pool outside actually exists on paper.

In Spain, debts stay with the property, not the person. If the previous owner did not pay their community fees, their rubbish collection tax, or their mortgage, congratulations. You just bought their debt. The nota simple will also show if the property has any illegal extensions. A surprising number of houses here have an extra bedroom or a terrace that was built without planning permission. Your independent lawyer will catch this before you hand over a deposit.

The real cost of buying

You also need to understand the maths. In Sweden, you agree on a price, pay a small administrative fee, and you are done. In Spain, the asking price is just the starting point. You need to add roughly 11 to 13 per cent on top to find your actual all-in cost.

If you are buying a resale property, you pay ITP, which is a transfer tax. If you are buying a brand new build, you pay IVA, which is VAT, plus stamp duty. Then you have to add notary fees, land registry fees, and your lawyer's fee. If you negotiate a house down to half a million euros, you need to have at least another fifty-five thousand euros sitting in cash just to cover the taxes and fees. A lot of foreign buyers get caught out by this and have to scramble for funds at the last minute.

A quick warning on off-plan properties. You will see cranes and billboards for new developments all over the Costa del Sol. Buying off-plan is tempting. You pay in stages, and eighteen months later, you get a pristine modern home. Except, eighteen months routinely turns into three years. Sometimes, the developer runs out of cash and construction stops entirely. If you decide to go this route, you must ensure every single stage payment you make is backed by a bank guarantee. Personally, I prefer to stick to resale properties. I like to stand in the rooms and see exactly what I am paying for.

Notary day

Eventually, you reach notary day. This is a very traditional Spanish experience. You, the seller, both sets of lawyers, and usually a translator will all sit around a heavy wooden table in a large office. The notary, who is a highly qualified public official, sits at the head of the table and reads the purchase contract aloud in rapid Spanish.

They check your passports. They check the bank drafts. They make sure everyone understands what they are signing. It feels slow, highly formal, and strangely reassuring after weeks of emailing documents back and forth. You hand over a small mountain of paperwork and a very large cheque. In return, you get a massive bundle of keys.

I keep a written life plan that I update every year, rating my finances, health, and family life out of ten. Moving to Spain and figuring out how to build a life here was a major positive shift for those scores. The property process is bureaucratic, yes, but it is entirely manageable if you follow the rules. Take your time, pay for independent legal advice, and accept that things take the time they take. I am still playing terrible tennis on these local courts, but at least I know the house I go home to is legally mine.