How to buy a home in Spain step by step (2026)

Buying a home is, for most people, the most important financial decision of a lifetime. In Spain the process is well structured but full of small details no one tells you about until they hit.

1. Before you start: do real maths

Don't look at flats. Look at what monthly mortgage payment you can sustain without choking. The classic rule says the payment shouldn't exceed 30-35% of your net income. Add community fees, IBI tax and a contingency fund (boiler, breakdowns, special levies).

Then calculate the upfront savings: between 20% and 25% of the purchase price. 20% deposit + 10-12% for taxes and notary/registry fees.

2. Bank pre-approval

Before viewing any flat, talk to 3-4 banks (or to an intermediary, like us). A pre-approval tells you exactly how much you can sign for and is your best card when negotiating: a seller who sees financing already arranged will prioritise you.

3. Search and viewings

On viewings, look at what they don't show you: damp behind furniture, electrical box, real orientation, noise at different times of day. Ask about the building's age, pending special levies and the cost of recent community-fee receipts.

4. Reservation → arras → signing

Once you find your flat, the usual path is:

• Reservation: a symbolic payment (~€3,000) that pulls the flat off the market while you review the Land Registry note.
• Arras (deposit) — penitenciales: 10% of the price. If you back out, you lose this amount; if the seller backs out, they return double.
• Deed signing: at the notary, with your mortgage broker and the seller.

Between arras and signing, 45 to 75 days typically pass — the time the bank takes to appraise, approve and prepare the FEIN.

5. Real costs that are often forgotten

On top of the purchase price you must add:

• ITP (second-hand): 5-10% depending on the region.
• VAT + AJD (new build): 10% + 0.5-1.5%.
• Notary + registry + management: 0.5-1%.
• Appraisal: €250-450 (paid by the buyer).

On a €300,000 home you're talking about €25,000-32,000 extra above the deed price.

6. After signing

It doesn't end there. In the next 30 days you must:

• Update your address registration if it's your primary home.
• Connect utilities (electricity, gas, water).
• Register the change of ownership for IBI tax and the community of owners.
• Keep all the documentation: you'll need it when you sell.

Buying a home is not signing a deed. It's a sequence of small decisions that, well accompanied, feel like a beautiful process rather than an administrative maze.