In brief:
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It sounds obvious, but this is exactly where many mistakes begin. Buying an apartment “for yourself, to live in”, “to rent out” and “as an asset that is simply expected to increase in value” are three completely different scenarios.
They require different locations, different types of property and a different approach to assessing returns.
For permanent living, infrastructure matters: schools, healthcare facilities and shops within walking distance. For rental purposes, especially tourist rentals, proximity to the beach and the availability of a short-term rental licence in the specific municipality are crucial. Such licences are far from universally available, and the rules became stricter in 2026, with some cities freezing the issue of new licences altogether.
If the goal is simply to preserve and grow capital, it is worth looking at developing areas where new construction is only beginning to expand and prices have not yet caught up with neighbouring established locations.
Until you answer this question honestly, there is little point in moving forward.
It is important not to confuse the advertised price of an apartment with the amount you will actually need.
For a new-build property, you should add:
In total, it is worth budgeting an additional 12–15% on top of the apartment price.
Many buyers budget only for the tax and are then surprised by the “extra” thousands of euros that appear at the final stage. It is better to plan for them in advance.
Spain is diverse.
The Costa Blanca offers relatively accessible prices and a large international community, the Costa del Sol comes with a higher entry price and stable rental demand, Valencia is seeing growing interest from digital nomads, while Madrid and Barcelona are a different proposition altogether for those looking for the liquidity of major urban markets.
Each region has its own market rhythm, construction pace and particular pressure points – in some places there is a shortage of land available for development, while elsewhere local authorities are slow to issue permits.
The developer should be checked separately and thoroughly:
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This is usually where a reliable real estate agency enters the picture.
Not because it is impossible to find anything without one – websites such as Idealista and Fotocasa are open to everyone – but because an agent can see things that are not visible in the listing: the developer’s actual reputation, hidden drawbacks in the layout, or nearby construction projects that may block the view from your window a year later.
At this stage, it is worth putting together a shortlist of 5–7 properties and seeing at least some of them in person, ideally all of them.
If you cannot travel to Spain in advance, ask for a live video tour rather than a pre-recorded promotional video with music. The difference is immediately noticeable.
NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) is a foreigner identification number without which, according to the article, you cannot buy property, open a bank account or pay taxes in Spain.
There are two ways to obtain it: in person in Spain through a police station (Comisaría de Policía or Oficina de Extranjeros) or through a Spanish consulate in your country of residence.
The process is not particularly quick, and appointments at consulates are often booked months in advance, so it is worth dealing with your NIE from the very beginning of the buying process rather than waiting until the contract is ready to sign and the seller is pushing you to move quickly.
Many legal firms can also arrange an NIE through a power of attorney, which genuinely saves a lot of stress, especially if you cannot spend time dealing with appointments and queues yourself.
Formally, Spanish law does not require you to have a Spanish bank account in order to buy property, but in practice almost all payments – from the reservation deposit to utility bills after moving in – are made through a local bank.
Tax payments such as IBI and non-resident tax are also more convenient to have debited automatically from a Spanish account than to make an international transfer every time.
To open an account as a non-resident, you will need a passport, NIE – or confirmation that you have applied for one –, proof of the source of funds and sometimes proof of income.
Some banks allow accounts to be opened remotely, but a full package of banking services is usually available only after an in-person visit to a branch.
Once the apartment has been selected, a relatively small reservation deposit is paid, usually between €3,000 and €10,000 depending on the developer and the stage of the project.
This payment takes the property off the market and fixes the price for an agreed period, usually 15–30 days, during which legal due diligence must be carried out and the main contract prepared.
This is worth pausing on and saying clearly: the reservation agreement is not a formality.
It should clearly set out the conditions under which the deposit will be refunded if the transaction falls through through no fault of your own.
It is not advisable to sign it without a translation or consultation with a lawyer, even if the developer is smiling warmly and telling you that “everyone does it this way”.
This is exactly the stage that people often skip when they are in a hurry – and regret later.
The lawyer checks:
A property check usually takes between one and two weeks.
Trying to save time on it is, frankly, one of the most common causes of future problems for buyers of new-build properties.
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Once the checks have been completed, the main contract is signed.
It sets out the full property price, the payment schedule – usually several instalments linked to stages of construction such as the foundations, structure, roof and final finishes –, the completion deadline, penalties for delays on both sides and the procedure for handing over the keys.
An important detail: every scheduled payment must be transferred specifically to the protected account covered by the bank guarantee mentioned in Step 3.
Check the bank details in the payment instructions. They should match those specified in the guarantee document.
Foreign buyers can obtain a mortgage from a Spanish bank, usually for 60–70% of the property value, and sometimes slightly more with a strong credit history and stable income.
Fixed mortgage rates in 2026 are around 3–4% per year, although the bank will provide exact figures only after assessing the applicant.
The bank will require proof of income for the past two or three years, tax returns, bank statements and sometimes documentation on existing obligations under other loans.
The approval process takes between three and six weeks, so if you are planning to use a mortgage, it is worth starting the application in parallel with the legal due diligence rather than after signing the main contract.
While the building is under construction – which for new-build developments usually takes between 12 and 24 months depending on the scale of the project – it is worth keeping track of progress.
Good developers send photo reports themselves and invite buyers for interim visits.
If this does not happen, ask for updates yourself. This is normal practice, not being overly demanding.
If the schedule starts to slip, it is important to refer back to the contract: what does it say about delays and what penalties are provided for?
Minor delays of a couple of months are almost normal on the Spanish market, but if the project has shown no progress for six months, that is already a reason for a serious conversation with a lawyer.
Before signing the handover document, the apartment is inspected – in Spain this is referred to as llaves en mano, literally “keys in hand”.
Everything is checked: plumbing, electrics, windows, the condition of the finishes and whether the floor area corresponds to what is stated in the contract.
If any defects are found, they are recorded in a separate report, and the developer must correct them before the final handover of the property.
Do not hesitate to arrive at the inspection with a notebook and your phone. Record everything on video.
Minor defects such as a door that does not close properly or a chipped tile are found in almost every new-build property. They are not necessarily a reason to panic, but they do need to be documented.
The final point of the transaction is signing the title deed (escritura pública) before a notary.
At this stage, the remaining balance is paid, the parties sign the document, and from that moment you officially become the owner.
After signing, the notary sends a copy of the document to the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad), where registration takes from several weeks to a couple of months.
This is also when the VAT and stamp duty mentioned in Step 2 are paid, so the money for these expenses should be prepared in advance and sitting in the account rather than being “somewhere in transit”.
Once you receive the keys, the electricity, water and, where applicable, gas contracts need to be transferred into your name.
The developer usually helps with this during the handover stage, but it is better to clarify in advance who is responsible and how long the process will take.
Then begins life as a property-owning taxpayer in Spain:
It is possible to deal with this yourself, but it is easier to find a Spanish tax adviser once and have them handle your annual tax returns.
It is inexpensive and saves a considerable amount of time and stress.
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There are also a few things worth keeping in mind right now.
First, some coastal municipalities have tightened the rules for issuing short-term rental licences, so if the property is being purchased for tourist rentals, this needs to be checked for the specific city before signing the reservation agreement, not afterwards.
Second, interest from digital nomads and remote workers continues to support demand in cities such as Valencia and Alicante, which is having a noticeable effect on the pace of new-build price growth in these areas.
Third, banks have become more attentive when checking the source of funds in large transactions, so documents confirming where the money comes from are best prepared well in advance rather than at the last minute before the notary appointment.
At Alegría, we go through this journey with our clients from the very first email to the moment the keys are finally in their hands and, to be honest, every time we worry about them a little as if we were buying the property ourselves. Spain is generous with both sunshine and bureaucracy, and our job is to make sure you barely notice the latter. If any of the fourteen steps above have raised questions – and they almost always do – get in touch. We will look at your specific situation, without generic answers, and explain where it makes sense for you to start.
According to the calculation in this article, you should allow around 12–15% on top of the apartment price for additional expenses. This amount includes taxes and other costs associated with the transaction.
Yes. An NIE is a foreigner identification number without which, according to the article, you cannot buy property, open a bank account or pay taxes.
The article states that the reservation deposit is usually between €3,000 and €10,000 depending on the developer and the stage of the project. The payment takes the property off the market and fixes the price for the agreed period.
Yes. As stated in the article, foreign buyers can obtain a mortgage from a Spanish bank, usually for 60–70% of the property value. The exact terms depend on the bank and the borrower’s profile.
The article gives an indicative construction period of 12 to 24 months depending on the scale of the project. During construction, it is worth monitoring progress and comparing the actual schedule with the contractual deadlines.
The information provided does not constitute legal or tax advice and does not constitute a public offer.
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