Buying a property in Spain? Check before you commit

25 September, 2026 | Antonio Beltrán

You have found the property.

You love the location.

The apartment looks great.

The price works for you.

And you are ready to make an offer.

This is usually the moment when we tell our international clients something very simple:

Before you commit, let’s check everything properly.

Not because buying a property in Spain is particularly risky.

It isn’t.

But buying in another country means dealing with rules, documents and procedures that may be very different from those you know at home.

And some important things cannot be seen during a property viewing.

The good news is that you don’t need to become an expert in Spanish property regulations or mortgages.

You simply need to make the right checks — and have the right people with you throughout the process.

Whether you are buying in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands or elsewhere in Spain, the principle is the same:

understand the property, understand the costs and understand the financing before you commit.

Start with the building, not just the property

A beautifully renovated apartment can be located in a building that needs maintenance or significant works.

That does not mean there is necessarily a problem.

It simply means that when buying an apartment, you are not only buying what is behind your front door.

The condition of the building matters too.

Depending on the location, age and characteristics of the building, there may be a technical building inspection — commonly referred to as an ITE (Inspección Técnica de Edificios) — or equivalent regional or municipal requirements.

These inspections are designed to assess the condition of a building and identify deficiencies that may require maintenance or repair. The exact rules vary depending on the autonomous community and municipality. (Tràmits Gencat)

There can also occasionally be structural issues that require further investigation.

One example is aluminosis, a deterioration process associated with certain types of aluminous cement historically used in construction.

This is not something that should make you suspicious of older Spanish buildings.

Spain has an enormous stock of perfectly sound older properties, including some exceptional homes.

The point is much simpler:

a beautiful apartment deserves a proper look at the building around it.

Check the owners’ community — and possible special assessments

If you buy an apartment in Spain, you will normally become part of a comunidad de propietarios — the owners’ community.

There will usually be regular community fees for the maintenance and running of the building.

But there can also be extraordinary contributions, known in Spanish as derramas.

These can be approved to pay for major works such as a new roof, façade repairs, a lift or other improvements to the building.

Imagine buying a €400,000 apartment and discovering shortly afterwards that your share of an already approved building project is €15,000.

The property has not changed.

But the real cost of buying it certainly has.

This is why it makes sense to check the community fees, recent owners’ meeting minutes and whether significant works have been approved or are under discussion.

Again, this is not because large unexpected bills are the norm.

It is simply sensible due diligence.

Make sure what you see matches the legal reality

That beautiful enclosed terrace?

The additional bedroom?

A converted storage area?

An extension?

A property may look perfect during a viewing, but it is still important to make sure that its physical reality matches the relevant property and planning documentation.

Planning restrictions, easements and other legal limitations can also affect a property.

The rules can differ depending on the autonomous community and municipality.

For an international buyer, the important lesson is not to try to understand every Spanish planning regulation personally.

It is simply:

check before you commit.

One particular change in Catalonia: asbestos

There is one issue in this article that does specifically concern properties in Catalonia.

Catalonia has approved Law 8/2026, of 2 July, on the eradication of asbestos, which enters into force on 3 October 2026. (BOE)

The law introduces a certificate confirming the presence or absence of asbestos in a property. Article 21 states that this certificate must be provided when a property is sold or rented. (BOE)

There is an important point for buyers and sellers to understand.

The detailed implementing regulation has not yet been approved.

The law itself states that the characteristics of the certificate and who is authorised to issue it will be determined by regulation. Until that regulation exists, certificates must at least address visible asbestos, the condition of asbestos-containing materials and the potential risk to people. (BOE)

So if you are buying in Catalonia, this will become another document to consider as part of the transaction.

It should not be interpreted as meaning that asbestos is normally found in properties in Catalonia.

It means that Catalonia is introducing an additional information requirement so buyers can know more about the property before purchasing it.

Read Catalonia’s Law 8/2026 on asbestos

What about flood-risk areas?

This is another subject that can sound much more alarming than it needs to.

Spain has official flood-risk mapping and regulations governing construction and land use in areas exposed to flooding.

In certain regulated circumstances, Spanish legislation already requires a Land Registry certificate showing that a construction is recorded as being within a flood-risk area. (BOE)

Does being within a mapped flood-risk area automatically mean that you should not buy the property?

No.

Does it automatically mean that a bank will refuse the mortgage?

No.

Does it automatically mean that an existing property is illegal?

No.

It means that the circumstances of that particular property should be understood before buying it.

And that brings us back to the central message of this article:

check first, commit afterwards.

And then there is the mortgage

For an international buyer, this is particularly important.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to find a property, commit to buying it and only afterwards discover how much a Spanish bank is prepared to lend you.

Before committing to a purchase, you should have a realistic understanding of:

• how much you can borrow;
• how much of your own money you will need;
• the taxes and purchase costs involved;
• the percentage of the purchase price a Spanish bank may be prepared to finance;
• the documentation the banks will require from you;
• and the mortgage conditions realistically available for your circumstances.

Because mortgage approval is not only about you.

It is also about the property.

For you, it may be your future home.

For the bank, it is also the security behind the mortgage.

That is why the valuation and the legal and physical characteristics of the property can matter to the financing.

This is why buying with the right support matters

If you are buying in Spain from abroad, you shouldn’t have to learn every Spanish acronym, banking requirement and property procedure yourself.

That is what professional support is for.

At HipotecasPlus, we don’t simply send your mortgage application to a bank and wait for an answer.

We start before that.

We assess your financial situation.

We establish a realistic purchase budget.

We explain how much money you are likely to need.

We structure your mortgage application.

We approach the banks that fit your circumstances.

We negotiate the mortgage conditions.

We coordinate the valuation.

We follow the mortgage process and documentation.

And we help identify issues that could affect the financing before they become a problem.

We accompany you from the initial assessment through to completion at the notary.

The order matters

Many buyers naturally do this:

Find the property.

Fall in love with it.

Make an offer.

Sign the deposit agreement.

Pay the deposit.

And then start organising the mortgage.

We prefer another order.

First, understand what you can afford.

Then find the property.

Check the property.

Check the building and relevant documentation.

Check the financing.

And once everything makes sense:

commit to the purchase.

This is particularly important when dealing with an arras agreement, a common form of deposit agreement in Spain.

Depending on its terms, signing an arras agreement and paying the deposit can have significant financial consequences if the purchase does not subsequently go ahead.

So don’t wait until after signing to discover whether the financing works.

Buying in Spain should be exciting

Most property purchases do not uncover dramatic problems.

And that is precisely the point.

These checks are not intended to make you afraid of buying property in Spain.

Quite the opposite.

They are there to help you buy with confidence.

You don’t need to know everything about Spanish buildings, planning regulations, banking rules or mortgages.

You simply need to make sure that the right things are checked by the right professionals before you commit.

Because the objective is not simply to find a property you love.

It is to reach the notary knowing what you are buying, how you are financing it and what you are signing.

HipotecasPlus — with you from start to finish

Mortgage assessment. Bank negotiation. Valuation. Documentation. Notary.

One process.

One point of contact.

From the first numbers to the day you complete your purchase in Spain.