Buying in Spain is faster than in the UK and slower than in the Netherlands, and it has no chain. The sequence is fixed and every step has a name. Once you know the names it stops feeling opaque.
1 · The NIE
A número de identidad de extranjero, your Spanish tax identity number. You cannot buy, open a bank account or pay tax without one. Apply at a police station in Spain or through the consulate at home; a lawyer can also do it under power of attorney, which is what most of our buyers choose.
2 · The reservation
€6.000 to €10.000, paid to take the property off the market — usually for two to four weeks while your lawyer runs the searches. Held by the agent or the lawyer, not the seller. It is deducted from the price at the end.
3 · Due diligence
Your lawyer checks the nota simple at the land registry for the true owner and any charges, confirms the licence of first occupation, checks that what is built matches what is registered, and confirms the community fees and IBI are paid up. Debts on a Spanish property follow the property, not the seller — this stage is not optional.
4 · The arras contract
The private purchase contract, signed with 10 per cent of the price less the reservation. Under article 1454 of the Civil Code the standard arras penitenciales are symmetrical: walk away and you forfeit the 10 per cent; if the seller walks away they owe you 20 per cent. It is the moment the deal becomes real.
5 · The escritura
Completion, in front of a notary. The balance is paid by bank cheque, the deed is signed, the keys change hands. If you cannot be in Spain that day, a power of attorney signed in advance lets your lawyer sit in your chair.
6 · After
The notary notifies the land registry the same day; the full inscription takes a few weeks. Your lawyer files the tax, and the utilities and community are put in your name. Then, if the pool needs filling, that is somebody else's problem for once.
How long
Six to ten weeks with cash, ten to fourteen with a Spanish mortgage. Off-plan runs to the developer's build schedule instead, which is a different article.
Correct as of 19 March 2026. Procedure is national but practice varies; your lawyer's timetable is the one that counts.