Yes. Spain has no residency requirement for buying real estate. The only practical requirement is an NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) — a foreigner tax number. You can apply through a Spanish consulate in your home country or directly in Spain. Residency is a separate process and is not tied to property ownership.

We always recommend independent legal counsel — never the seller’s lawyer or the developer’s. A reputable Spanish property lawyer reviews title and registry, checks for unregistered debts or building irregularities, drafts the private contract, and represents you at the notary. Cost is typically 1% of purchase price plus VAT, with a sensible minimum. We work with trusted firms in Valencia and the Costa Blanca and can introduce you.

NIE is the foreigner tax number Spain assigns to anyone with a fiscal interaction in the country — buying property, opening a bank account, registering a business, paying tax. You apply once and it does not expire. Application is at a Spanish consulate abroad or at a National Police office in Spain. Processing takes a few weeks. We handle the full NIE process as part of our relocation support.

Both make sense, depending on your timeline and risk tolerance. Resale gives you immediate ownership, you can inspect what you are buying, and total costs are lower (10–12% on top of price). Off-plan offers a newer property, modern energy standards, and the chance to influence finishes — but you commit capital before completion, costs are 12–14% (VAT applies), and timelines slip. For first-time buyers in Spain we usually recommend resale; for buyers with a long-horizon hold and tolerance for construction risk, off-plan can be efficient.

For a resale property, plan for 10–12% on top of the purchase price. This covers ITP transfer tax (10% in the Comunidad Valenciana, varies by region), notary, registry, and legal fees. For new-build (or first-transfer), it is 12–14% — VAT replaces ITP, plus AJD stamp duty and the same notary/registry/legal stack. Our public calculator at reselecta.com/calculate-taxes gives a precise breakdown by region and property type.

Typically 6 to 10 weeks from accepted offer to completion, assuming clean title and no financing complications. The structure: signed reservation contract (1–2 weeks), legal due diligence (2–4 weeks), private contract with deposit (typically 10%), then completion at the notary roughly 4–8 weeks after the private contract. Off-plan purchases run longer — completion ties to construction stage, often a year or more from reservation.

Yes, but conditions differ from those for residents. Spanish banks typically lend up to 60–70% of value to non-resident foreigners, versus 80% for residents, at slightly higher rates. Approval depends on income stability, debt ratios, and country of origin. The bank also runs its own valuation — sometimes lower than contract price, which can shift the deposit calculation. We can introduce you to brokers who specialize in non-resident lending.

For a typical Valencia or Costa Blanca property, annual ownership costs run roughly 1–1.5% of property value: IBI (council tax, varies by municipality), basura (refuse), community fees if applicable, home insurance, utilities, and a maintenance reserve. For non-resident owners there is also a small annual income tax on the imputed rental value of the property, even when it is not rented out.

The Spain Golden Visa was a residency-by-investment scheme open to non-EU citizens, including a real-estate route at €500,000 minimum investment. As of April 2025, the real-estate route was discontinued for new applicants. Other Golden Visa routes (business investment, public debt, certain capital deposits) remain, but for most international buyers relocating to Spain the more practical alternatives are now the Non-Lucrative Visa and the Digital Nomad Visa.

As of April 2025, no — the real-estate route to residency was discontinued. Property ownership in itself does not grant residency. If your goal is to live in Spain, the appropriate path now is the Non-Lucrative Visa (for retirees and those with passive income), the Digital Nomad Visa (for remote workers), or a work-based residency. We file these as part of our relocation support, working with specialist immigration lawyers.

Two main routes for most international buyers: the Non-Lucrative Visa (passive income, around €30,000/year per applicant plus €7,500 per dependent, no work in Spain, renewable, leads to permanent residency after five years) and the Digital Nomad Visa (remote workers earning ~€2,650/month or more, employed by a non-Spanish company, allows continued remote work, also leads to permanent residency). Both can be filed from your home country or, in some flows, from Spain on a tourist visa.

Buyer-side, transparent, aligned with you — not with sellers. Fees depend on the engagement: a Strategy Session is €200, a Property Preview Trip is €400, a full Long-Term Home Search mandate is €2,000 (often credited toward services if it converts to a transaction). Relocation services are priced separately. We do not accept commissions from sellers or developers. Our services page has the full breakdown.

Mostly international buyers — UK, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, US, increasingly Middle Eastern — who are relocating, investing, or buying a second home, typically in the €300k–€1.5M range. We take a small number of mandates per quarter so each client gets full attention. If a search is genuinely outside our specialization (commercial, hotel-grade, or the deep budget end), we will refer you to a generalist agency we trust.

Valencia city and the northern Costa Blanca: Altea, Polop, Jávea, Calpe, Benidorm, Alicante. We do not list outside this area — by design. Local knowledge compounds when it stays tight; spreading thin would dilute it. For purchases in Madrid, Barcelona, or the southern Costa del Sol we are happy to introduce you to specialist colleagues there.