The legal process for foreign buyers
NIE numbers, mortgages for non-residents, the notary, the land registry — what actually happens, in what order, and where buyers get caught out.
Buying Guide
The buying guide
Buying in Spain is not complicated once someone explains it properly. This guide is that explanation — the process, the taxes, the timeline, and the traps, written for buyers rather than for search engines.
Taxes, explained
ITP versus IVA, plusvalía, IBI, and the annual running costs nobody mentions in the sales brochure.
The areas, in depth
Torremolinos to Estepona, town by town: who buys there, what it costs, and what it is like in February — not just in July.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Signing a reservation with no way back. Trusting the agent's valuation. Underestimating community fees. The patterns repeat.
From first viewing to keys: the timeline
Week by week, what a well-run purchase looks like — offer, reservation, arras, escritura — and how long each stage really takes.
Buying from the UK
Buying in Spain from the UK after Brexit
What changed for British buyers, what did not, and the paperwork that comes first.
The 90/180 rule: how long you can stay in your Spanish home
Owning a home here does not add a single day. How the rule is counted, the new border checks, and the visa for longer stays.
Paying in pounds: exchange rates and moving the money
A deposit and a completion in euros, from a salary or a sale in pounds — and where the cost hides.
Owning in Spain while living in the UK: tax on both sides
What Spain taxes a UK resident for, what HMRC still sees, and how the two fit together.
Getting to the Costa del Sol from the UK
Flights into Málaga, the drive to each town and the train along the coast.
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