A practical guide to buying a home in Spain: NIE and bank account, your own lawyer, checks before the contrato de arras, escritura before a notario, and registration. General information, not legal advice.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Regions in Spain differ, so a rule or cost in one region may not apply in another. For fees, taxes, and paperwork in your own case, ask your own lawyer and your notario before you sign anything.
Decide what kind of home you need, in which city and area, and how you will pay for it. Do not treat an asking price as the full cost: purchase taxes, notary and registry fees, lawyer fees, and any work the home needs all sit on top of it. Amounts depend on region, property type, and your situation, so get a written breakdown from your lawyer and notario early. If you need a loan, talk to your bank first.
Map Syndicat is a map platform: it gathers property listings from public sources in Spain and shows them on one map, with a link back to the original source. It sells nothing itself and takes no commission. When you find a home you like, follow the source link, re-check the original listing before you act, and contact the seller through that source, because prices and availability change at the source.
Use asking prices to compare homes, not as proof of value. A price per square metre on Map Syndicat reflects asking prices, not transaction prices and not a certified index. Before comparing, ask which area measure a listing uses: usable, built, and built including common areas give different prices for the same flat. Compare like with like, and check the Catastro record. Do not compare an asking average with a deed average as if they were the same series.
If you are a foreign buyer, get an NIE and a Spanish bank account early, before you agree to a binding contract. The NIE, the Número de Identidad de Extranjero, is a foreigner identification number used on contracts and tax forms. A Spanish bank account is, for nearly all buyers, how deposits, completion funds, and ongoing payments are made. An NIE is an identification number only: it does not by itself make you a tax resident, and it does not by itself grant residency. Buying a home in Spain does not by itself grant residency either.
Appoint your own independent lawyer, an abogado, independent of the seller and the agent. The lawyer runs due diligence for you; the notary who signs the final deed does not replace your lawyer. Ask your lawyer to explain each check in plain language, and to tell you in writing if anything is unclear or unresolved.
Work through these checks with your lawyer before any binding deposit contract: a nota simple from the Registro de la Propiedad, showing registered owner, legal description, charges, mortgages, embargoes, and rights of way — informative only, with debts and embargoes verified behind it; a Catastro check, comparing the cadastral description, boundaries, and reference with the Registro and the physical reality, and flagging any correction needed; a community-of-owners certificate confirming no outstanding community debts, plus community rules and planned major works; IBI and municipal bills paid up to date; an energy certificate, the Certificado de Eficiencia Energética; habitability and first occupation where required — whether a cédula de habitabilidad is required depends on the region and on new versus resale; and town-hall planning checks for licences, compliance, and open infringement proceedings, especially for rural properties and extensions. Keep copies of everything. If a seller cannot produce basic documents, or pressures you to skip checks, slow down.
If due diligence is clear, the next step is often a short reservation agreement that takes the property off the market while final checks run. The holding amount in that agreement is contractual, not fixed by law.
The main private contract is the contrato de arras. It sets the price, the date, and what happens if either side walks away. Read the form named in your contract, because different forms have different consequences. The form most sources describe is arras penitenciales: under that form, a buyer who walks away forfeits the deposit already paid, while a seller who walks away must repay double. Other forms, such as arras confirmatorias and arras penales, have different consequences, and penitenciales consequences must not be presented as if they applied to every arras contract. Penitenciales consequences apply only when that character is clearly agreed in the contract; otherwise, arras are treated as confirmatorias. The deposit amount is also contractual, not a national rule. Do not sign with blank spaces, verbal promises that are not written in, or deadlines you have not understood.
The public deed that formally transfers ownership is the escritura pública, signed before a notario of the buyer's choosing. The notario checks title and registry position before signing. The balance is paid at completion, with purchase taxes settled as your lawyer and notario have set out in writing for your region and property type. At the signing, check that names, property description, and price match what you agreed and what you saw in the documents.
After signing, the notario lodges the deed for registration at the Registro de la Propiedad. Registration is what fully secures the buyer's rights against a competing claim. Final registration takes time after signing. Ask your notario what document proves registration and when you will receive it. After completion, transfer utilities, update IBI registration, and settle community fees. Ongoing annual costs, such as IBI, community fees, and any non-resident income tax that applies in your case, are separate from purchase costs.
If the answer to any of these is no, pause and get that answer before you sign.