The Buying-in-Spain Checklist

This is the tick-list, not the tour. Every item below is something to do or confirm, grouped by the stage you'll do it in, with the link that explains it when you need more. The story of how the stages fit together — what happens, in what order, and how long each takes — is its own page: the buying process, step by step.

Before you search

• ☐ Decide rent-first vs buy-now — honestly: Should You Rent or Buy in Spain?
• ☐ Set your ALL-IN budget — price plus purchase costs: what buying really costs
• ☐ Understand which taxes will apply to your kind of purchase (resale vs new build): The Taxes You Pay When Buying in Spain.
• ☐ Apply for your NIE early — you'll normally need it for the deed and registration
• ☐ Choose your own lawyer — before anything is signed: do you need one? (criteria: independent and acting solely for you · genuinely English-speaking · engaged before signature)
• ☐ If financing: get a mortgage decision-in-principle before you fall in love with anything

Viewing trips

• ☐ If possible, view at a different time of year — winter reveals what summer hides
• ☐ Visit at different times of day (noise, light, parking, neighbours)
• ☐ Check phone signal and internet speed in the actual rooms
• ☐ Walk the area without the agent
• ☐ Ask what's included — fixtures, furniture, appliances; assume nothing
• ☐ Photograph everything, including metre boxes and damp-prone corners

Making an offer

• ☐ Agree the price subject to your lawyer's checks — put it in writing
• ☐ Do not hand over any deposit before your lawyer has seen the paperwork
• ☐ Confirm who drafts the reservation document — and have your lawyer read it first
• ☐ Keep your financing timeline aligned with any deadlines you accept

Legal stage — your lawyer confirms:

• ☐ …the property's registered title and who actually owns it
• ☐ …charges, debts and encumbrances on the property (including qualifying unpaid community charges, which can transfer within legal limits)
• ☐ …planning status and licences — especially extensions, pools and rural builds
• ☐ …the community's rules, fees and any approved works you'd inherit
• ☐ …the contract terms before you sign anything binding
• ☐ …for new build: the developer's guarantees and the off-plan protection position

Completion

• ☐ Final walkthrough as close to signing day as possible
• ☐ Confirm the funds route and timing with your lawyer well in advance (international transfers need lead time — and watch the exchange margin)
• ☐ Bring what the notary appointment requires — your lawyer gives you the exact list
• ☐ Home insurance active from the day you own it.
• ☐ Keys, codes, manuals, warranties — collect them all at handover

Your first month as owner

• ☐ Utilities into your name (electricity, water, gas, internet)
• ☐ Direct debits set up for IBI and community fees
• ☐ Registration confirmed complete — your lawyer closes the loop
• ☐ Meet the community president/administrator if there is one
• ☐ Keep every purchase document in one place — future-you (and future tax returns) will thank you

The 10 red flags that should stop you

Consumer level — each is a "pause and get it checked properly" signal, not a diagnosis. Deep checks are specialist work → PLS.

1. Pressure to pay a deposit today to "hold" it. 2. A seller or agent who discourages you using your own lawyer. 3. No licence paperwork for obvious extensions or a pool. 4. Rural property with vague boundaries or access "everyone respects." 5. A price notably below comparable local sales with no explanation. 6. Community minutes mentioning big works or disputes nobody volunteered. 7. "The notary will sort all that out." 8. Contracts only available in Spanish with no time to translate. 9. Off-plan sellers vague about bank guarantees for stage payments. 10. Anyone who treats your questions as an inconvenience.

Frequently asked questions

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