Buying a home on the Costa del Sol is more structured than most people expect. The Spanish system is notary-led and document-heavy, but it follows a clear sequence, and once you understand the order of the steps the process is calm rather than chaotic. What follows is the path most foreign buyers take, from the first viewing to the day the property is yours.
Get your NIE first
The NIE — Número de Identidad de Extranjero — is your foreign tax identification number, and you cannot complete a purchase without it. It is the single piece of paperwork that holds up the most transactions, so it is worth starting early. You can apply at a Spanish consulate in your home country before you travel, or in person at a police station on the coast, usually with a pre-booked appointment. The number itself is straightforward to obtain; the delay is almost always in securing the appointment, which is why we treat it as step one rather than a formality to handle later.
Appoint an independent lawyer
A Spanish property lawyer — an abogado — works only for you, not for the seller or the agent, and their job is to make sure the property is legally clean before any money changes hands. They check the registry to confirm the seller actually owns it, that there are no outstanding mortgages or debts attached to it, that the build is properly licensed, and that there are no planning irregularities. On the Costa del Sol, where some older properties were built or extended without full permissions, this checking is the part of the process that protects you most.
The lawyer is the one professional in the transaction whose only interest is yours. Appoint them before you sign anything, not after.
The reservation and the deposit
Once you have agreed a price, the property is usually taken off the market with a reservation contract and a small holding deposit, often a few thousand euros. This freezes the price and the terms while your lawyer carries out their checks. The larger commitment comes next, with the private purchase contract — the contrato de arras — at which point you typically pay ten per cent of the price. Under the standard arras agreement, if you withdraw you lose that deposit; if the seller withdraws, they owe you double. It is a serious commitment, which is why the legal checks should be complete before you reach this stage.
Opening a Spanish bank account
You will need a Spanish bank account to pay the balance, the taxes and the ongoing utility bills. Opening one as a non-resident is routine but slower than at home, requiring your NIE, proof of address and proof of income or funds. We tend to set this up in parallel with the legal checks so that the money is in place and ready when the completion date arrives, rather than scrambling for transfers at the last moment.
Completion at the notary
Completion happens in front of a Spanish notary — the notario — a public official who confirms the identities of both parties, reads out the deed of sale and witnesses the signing. The balance of the price is paid, usually by banker’s draft, and the keys are handed over on the spot. If you are buying with a Spanish mortgage, the lender’s representative attends as well. The notary then registers the change of ownership and your lawyer files the deed with the Land Registry, which is what makes you the formal owner of record.
The taxes and costs to budget for
On top of the purchase price, allow roughly ten to twelve per cent for taxes and fees. The largest single item on a resale property is the transfer tax — Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales — which in Andalucía is currently seven per cent of the declared price. On a new-build bought from a developer you pay VAT instead, at ten per cent, plus a small stamp duty. To that you add notary fees, Land Registry fees and your lawyer’s fee, which is commonly around one per cent plus VAT. Knowing these numbers from the start means the final bill holds no surprises.
How long it takes
A cash purchase with the NIE already in hand can complete in four to six weeks. A purchase that needs the NIE arranged, a mortgage approved and more involved legal checks completed will more realistically take two to three months. The timeline is rarely the obstacle people fear; the delays that do occur almost always trace back to paperwork that was started too late.
None of these steps is difficult on its own. The work is in keeping them moving in the right order, with the right people, so that no single stage stalls the rest. That sequencing — the NIE, the lawyer, the bank, the notary, the registry — is precisely the part we manage, so the only decision left to you is whether the home is the right one.