How to buy property in Spain: order and lead times
Most guides list the steps. Few explain the order and the lead times — and that is what decides whether you can act when the right property comes up.
In short
Financing or property first?
A bank pre-assessment from your self-disclosure first. Otherwise the preliminary contract binds you before any bank has checked whether you are financeable at all.
Why a condición suspensiva?
It ties the purchase to bank approval. Without it a refusal costs you the arras deposit (usually 10%) — with it, you get the money back.
Lawyer, gestoría, payment — who does what?
The lawyer reviews before signing (Nota Simple, charges, clauses), the gestoría handles the admin afterwards. The balance is paid by cheque bancario.
How does buying property in Spain work — and in what order?
Most buyers look for the property first and sort out financing afterwards. In Spain that is the wrong order. The contrato de arras typically binds a 10 % deposit as soon as you agree with the seller — before any bank has assessed your case. If financing falls through later, the deposit is lost unless it is protected. The lever against that is the condición suspensiva: a financing-contingency clause in the preliminary contract that protects you from exactly that loss. The actual process is manageable: get your NIE early, check the property and the bank in parallel, sign the preliminary contract with a condición suspensiva, obtain the tasación and bank approval, sign the escritura before the notary, and register at the Registro de la Propiedad. What matters is not the list of steps but what you should have done before starting the property search. Already mid-process, with the preliminary contract already signed? Get in touch anyway — there is often still room to adjust.
Mortgage in Spain for foreigners: why the order matters more than the steps
Buyers typically plan like this: find the right property first, then worry about financing. That still works when buying in Germany, because reservations there are rarely binding. In Spain, the contrato de arras penitenciales is different: it is a legally binding preliminary contract with a deposit — usually 10 % of the purchase price. If you withdraw as buyer, the deposit is forfeited; if the seller withdraws, they owe double. Without a clause, that applies even if your bank says no.
That is why the bank check belongs before the property search, not after — at minimum a solid pre-assessment based on your self-disclosure. Buyers who find the dream property first and only then look for a bank negotiate under time pressure with no leverage. Buyers who clarify the financing side up front can sign with confidence and insist on the right protection in the preliminary contract.
The process in seven steps
NIE, bank account, self-disclosure
Apply for your NIE and open a Spanish bank account — both take time, so start early. In parallel, fill in the self-disclosure so a first bank assessment is in place before you even start viewing. Applying for the NIE
Property and financing in parallel
View properties, but have financeability checked in the background — income type, property type and region all affect which bank will underwrite at all. Requirements for non-residents
Nota Simple and cadastral check
The Nota Simple from the Registro de la Propiedad shows ownership and any charges. Equally important: cross-checking it against the Catastro — the separate cadastral register for tax values and floor areas. If the registry and the cadastre disagree (different area, different boundaries), your lawyer resolves that before signing, not after.
Arras with a condición suspensiva
The preliminary contract binds your deposit. Insist on a condición suspensiva — the clause that ties the contract to bank approval. If the bank declines, you get the deposit back instead of losing it.
Tasación and bank approval
The bank commissions a valuation and finances the lower of purchase price and tasación — you cover the difference from equity. The tasación explained
Gestoría, cheque bancario, completion
The gestoría handles tax filings, registration and administrative steps after signing — separate from the lawyer, who handles the legal review. The balance is usually paid by cheque bancario (a bank-guaranteed cheque), not by transfer at the notary appointment itself. On new builds, additionally: the Seguro Decenal (ten-year structural warranty, a developer obligation) and the licencia de primera ocupación (first-occupancy licence) must be in place before you sign.
Escritura, registry, plusvalía
Ownership transfers with the escritura pública before the notary. Registration at the Registro de la Propiedad follows immediately after — only then is your protection against third parties complete. The seller pays the plusvalía municipal; you re-register IBI and utility contracts.
When do I need to start what?
Most guides either give no timings at all or a blanket "allow two to three months". Neither helps when an arras deadline is running. From our own case handling the steps can be sorted by lead time — and the biggest lever is not the bank.
| Step | Lead time | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| NIE in person in Spain | 1–2 days | appointment at the police or immigration office |
| NIE via a Spanish consulate abroad | several weeks to months | appointment availability and forwarding to Spain |
| Financing approval | up to 10 days | completeness of your documents, not the bank |
| Spanish bank account | no separate lead time | opened together with the bank approval |
| Tasación (valuation report) | 5–10 working days | surveyor availability; faster if commissioned in advance |
| Statutory period before the deed | at least 10 days | non-negotiable, see below |
The line that moves your schedule most is the second one. Applying for the NIE through a consulate costs weeks on a step that takes a single morning in Spain. The Spanish bank account is not a separate predecessor, contrary to how it is usually described — it is opened together with the bank's approval. And the financing approval is rarely the bottleneck: with complete documents we have it within ten days.
Running late — preliminary contract already signed, notary date already set? Get in touch anyway. Even within a running deadline there is often still something worth sorting out that would otherwise turn costly.
The part nobody can speed up
After approval comes a block that is set by law and cannot be shortened by any bank or broker. The bank's binding offer — the FEIN — must reach the notary at least ten days before the deed is signed. During that period you review the terms. A first notary appointment follows, at which the notary explains the terms and records that you have understood them; without this record the mortgage may not be executed. Only the following day or later can the mortgage deed and the purchase deed be signed. So you visit the notary twice.
That gives the realistic calculation: approval within ten days does not mean keys ten days later. At least eleven further days lie between approval and completion. Buyers who know this deadline schedule the notary appointment correctly — those who do not fall behind at exactly the moment the arras deadline expires. Which is why it belongs in the planning before the preliminary contract is signed, not after.
The pitfalls that catch buyers most often
- Applying for the NIE at a consulate abroad instead of in Spain. The consulate route can take weeks to months; done in person in Spain it's typically a single morning.
- Assuming the Spanish bank account is a separate step before financing. It isn't — it's opened together with the bank's approval, not as its own predecessor.
- Signing the arras without a financing clause. Without it, a bank refusal costs you the deposit — with it, the risk shifts back to the seller.
- Missing the ten-day FEIN window before the notary. The bank's binding offer must reach the notary at least ten days before the deed — approval within ten days does not mean completion ten days later.
- Budgeting only the purchase price, not the valuation gap. The bank finances the lower of purchase price and tasación — a gap between the two can mean tens of thousands more in required equity. Full explanation.
Frequently asked
What is a condición suspensiva and why do I need it?
Should I find the property first or clarify financing first?
What is the difference between the Nota Simple and the Catastro?
What does a gestoría do, and do I still need a lawyer as well?
How do I pay the balance at the notary appointment?
I've already signed the preliminary contract — is it too late?
Bank and purchase process from one hand
I guide you from the first bank assessment through the arras and the condición suspensiva to the escritura — in German or English, with a lawyer and gestoría on the ground.
Read more
The process in Portugal — its own order
CPCV instead of arras, NIF instead of NIE, IMT before rather than after the escritura — and 7.5 % for non-residents since 25 May 2026.
Documents for the bank
Which documents you need in addition to the process — as a PDF to check off.
Tasación: the costliest mistake
The bank finances the lower of purchase price and valuation.