Buyers Guide

The Buying Process

Buying a property on the Costa del Sol is a simple and straight forward process when you know what you are doing. We have compiled a step by step guide on how to go about your purchase of your property on the Costa del Sol and also how to avoid some of the hidden costs & pitfalls associated with buying & owning a property in the beautiful country that is Spain. Please note this information is for orientation purposes only and cannot replace professional legal advice.

Where to Start

By reading this, it is probably safe to assume that you are currently in the process of searching for a property on the Costa del Sol. Maybe you’re a regular visitor to Spain or you might even have been living here for several years. If that is the case, our Costa del Sol property search will allow you to search through over a thousand properties in Southern Spain.

If on the other hand you are thinking of ‘taking the plunge’ our Costa del Sol area guide will allow you to orient yourself better and get a better feel for where you might want to own a property in Southern Spain. Research the areas thoroughly and identify which would be good for your purchase. Restrict your property searches to your chosen area/s, it's no good looking at fincas two hours from the coast if you like to walk to the beach!

Now that you have reviewed our informative area guide and have made the decision to purchase a property, either on the Costa del Sol or the surrounding region, you probably have some idea of what type of property you are looking for. However it is important to keep an open mind as the large selection of properties available may surprise you.

We have access to literally thousands of properties on the Costa del Sol, through the premier multi-listing system, the Inmo Network. This should allow you to do a more comprehensive search as you will find most listings of interest on this site.

If you do find a property of interest, simply fill in the enquiry form and send it to us. If on the other hand if you cannot find a property that ticks all your boxes why not fill out our buying application, and let us do a search for you.

We obviously recommend looking at several properties to enable you to make comparisons and so ensure that your final decision is the right one. We will work with you within your budget constraints to ensure that the property you purchase is the correct one for you.

But what do you do when you have found a property that you intend to purchase?

 Offer and acceptance

Your first step is to make an offer in writing. This written offer states the conditions you are willing to offer for the purchase. The sales price, when you plan to complete, any special conditions required (for example: inclusion of furniture, subject to you getting a mortgage, etc…) and what property taxes you need to pay.

Once the offer has been submitted it is then for the agent to put it across to the vendor. On written acceptance of the offer, the property is taken of the market. It is a standard procedure for the buyer to put down a deposit to secure the property and to take it off the market. This deposit is normally between 3000 € and 6000 € and is paid either to the vendors lawyer directly or is held in our client account. It should be noted that unless this is a new or off-plan property the deposit is generally taken prior to forwarding your offer to the vendor. Should you then not be able to agree on the offer the deposit is refunded.

Please note, in accordance with Decree 218, the agency or vendor’s lawyer must supply you with a range of documentation to confirm the status of the property. This will include a nota simple (a Property Registry report detailing ownership, debt, size, etc… of the property), along with IBI (council tax), Basura (waste tax) and all other information of relevance.

With your offer now accepted, you legal representative confirms the legality of the property and arranges the payment structure with the vendors representative prior to going to notary. If completion is going to be more than a month after acceptance of the offer the vendor may request for a private contract to be written where further conditions are added and a further deposit is paid. This figure would be set against the agreed sales price.

The next stage after this is the notary, where the title deeds are signed and you the buyer take possession of your new home.

For further details on notary, taxes, etc… please contact us...