1. The first conversation
We start with a conversation, in English or Swedish, where we listen more than we talk. What is the property for — living permanently, wintering, a base for the family, letting? What budget have you counted on, and does it include the costs on top of the price? When do you want to be here?
This is also where we speak up if something does not add up. If your budget does not stretch to what you describe, it is better you hear it now than after three trips here.
2. Preparations before we search
Three things should be under way before we look at a single property. Otherwise you lose it to someone who is ready.
- NIE number — required for everything, and you do not control the processing time.
- A Spanish bank account, with documentation of where the money comes from.
- A lawyer. An independent lawyer who works only for you. We can suggest English-speaking ones, but the choice is yours.
If you need a mortgage we make sure you get an agreement in principle from the bank before we go further. Searching without knowing what the bank says is searching blind.
3. Searching the whole market
We search with other agents, developers and private sellers — not just among properties we ourselves are instructed on. Most of what is for sale on the coast is with someone else, and an agent who only shows their own portfolio shows you a fraction.
We filter hard before you see anything. The wrong area for your purpose, a community in poor financial health, an extension that is not in the registry — we sort that out without you having to spend a trip on it. You get fewer properties, but they fit.
4. Viewing
In person if you are here, by video if you are still at home. We also show what is not in the listing: what the street sounds like in the evening, how far it is to walk to the shop, what the stairwell looks like, what the neighbours say. A property you like we go back to a second time, preferably at a different time of day.
5. Checks before an offer
This is the step that decides the deal. Before you make an offer we want to know:
- who owns the property and which loans and debts encumber it,
- that what has been built was built legally and is registered,
- what the community’s finances look like, which works have been approved and whether the seller is behind with fees,
- that municipal charges are paid and that an energy certificate exists.
Your lawyer does the formal review. Our role is to make sure it gets done before you commit, not after — and that no contract is signed before the answers are in.
6. Offer and negotiation
We negotiate on your behalf and tell you what we think of the price, with what we base it on: what similar properties in the same area have actually sold for, how long the property has been on the market, what condition it is in. Sometimes the advice is to pay the asking price. Sometimes the advice is to move on.
7. Reservation and arras
Once the offer is accepted, a reservation agreement normally follows and then the deposit contract, arras. Both are binding, and arras in a way that differs from agreements at home. We go through every line with you, and your lawyer reads the contract before you sign. Always — even when the other side says it is standard. The whole sequence is described in our guide to the buying process.
8. Notary and completion
The purchase is completed at the notary, where the deed is signed and payment is made. We are there, and we make sure you understand what is read out. If you are not present, your lawyer can sign with power of attorney. After the notary the purchase is registered at the land registry, and only then is the property formally yours.
9. After the keys
This is where most agents stop. We help you transfer electricity, water and community fees into your name, notify the town hall of the change of owner and set up what recurs every year — the IBI property tax and, if you remain resident abroad, the Modelo 210 return. You get a list of what needs doing and when, and you can get in touch when something comes up.