Most problems with a Spanish property purchase announce themselves early — if you know what to listen for. Here are the twelve warning signs foreign buyers should never ignore, what each one really means, and exactly what to do about it. Calm, plain English, and every one of them catchable before you complete.
Buying a home in Spain is, for most foreign buyers, a smooth and rewarding process. The legal system is robust, the Land Registry is reliable, and the great majority of sellers, agents and developers are honest. But the process is conducted in a language you may not read fluently, under a body of law that differs from the one you know at home, and on a timetable that is sometimes designed to move faster than your due diligence. That combination is where things go wrong — not usually through outright fraud, but through a problem that was visible all along and simply not checked.
The good news is that almost every serious issue gives off a signal before completion. A reluctance to provide a document, a contract that protects only one side, a price that does not add up, a push to sign before you have taken advice — these are not disasters in themselves. They are red flags: prompts to slow down, ask the right question, and verify. This page sets out the twelve we see most often. None of them should frighten you off Spain. They should simply tell you when to pause and have the purchase checked properly.
Each is expanded in full below, with what it means and what to do. Spot any one of these and it is time to slow the process down.
You are pushed to put down a deposit or sign "today" before you have had time to take independent advice or read the documents.
You are told a lawyer is unnecessary, or steered toward the agent's or developer's own lawyer to act for you.
The seller will not or cannot produce the Land Registry extract — the single most important document in any Spanish purchase.
The asking price is well below comparable properties, with no clear, verifiable reason for the discount.
You are asked to pay part in cash, or to record a lower price on the deed than you are actually paying (so-called "B-money").
The seller cannot clearly show they own the property, or there are several owners or heirs and not all of them consent to the sale.
Extensions, a pool or a whole property built without a licence, or rural land lacking a licence of first occupation or AFO.
You are asked to pay stage payments on an unbuilt property with no bank guarantee (aval) protecting your money.
Tenants, squatters or other occupants are living in the property and the sale glosses over who they are and what rights they hold.
Outstanding mortgages, embargoes (court charges), unpaid taxes or community-fee arrears that can follow the property to you.
A private purchase contract with no conditions, no clarity on what happens to your deposit, and no protection if the deal falls through.
You are asked to sign papers in Spanish you do not understand, with no translation and no independent advice on what they commit you to.
The most common red flag is also the most psychological: urgency. "There's another buyer interested." "The price goes up next week." "Just put down a reservation deposit to hold it." A degree of momentum is normal in any property market, and reservation deposits are a legitimate part of the Spanish process. What is not normal is being pushed to commit money or sign a binding document before you have had the chance to take independent advice or even read what you are signing.
What it means: genuine urgency is rare; manufactured urgency is common, because pressure is the simplest way to stop a buyer from checking. The faster you are asked to move, the more important it is to slow down.
What to do: never let a deadline override due diligence. Reservation deposits should be modest, documented, and ideally held with conditions that let you recover them if a legal problem emerges. Before any money leaves your account, have the reservation terms checked. A serious seller will wait a few days for you to take advice; a seller who will not is telling you something.
You may be told that a lawyer is an unnecessary expense, that the notary "checks everything," or — more subtly — that the agent or developer has a lawyer who can "handle it for both sides." This is the red flag that quietly disables all the others, because an independent lawyer is precisely the person who would catch them.
What it means: the notary in Spain confirms identities and that the deed is correctly executed, but the notary does not act for you, does not negotiate on your behalf, and does not run the searches that protect a buyer. A lawyer recommended by the agent or developer has an obvious conflict of interest — their relationship is with the party selling, not with you.
What to do: instruct your own lawyer, chosen by you, acting only for you. That is the entire point of independence: full due diligence done in your interest, with no incentive to wave the deal through. At Platinum Legal Spain we act for the buyer and the buyer alone — never for the agent, the developer or the seller.
The nota simple is an extract from the Spanish Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). It is the foundation document of any purchase: it states who legally owns the property, its registered description and boundaries, and — crucially — whether any charges, mortgages, embargoes or restrictions are registered against it. Anyone can request one, so there is no good reason for a seller to refuse.
What it means: if the seller cannot or will not produce a nota simple, the most likely explanations are the ones you most need to know about — the seller does not actually own what they are selling, or the registry reveals a charge they would rather you did not see. Reluctance here is rarely innocent.
What to do: your lawyer should obtain a fresh nota simple directly from the registry, not rely on one handed over by the seller, and check it again immediately before completion. It is the first search we run on every purchase, and it answers more questions than any other single document.
A property priced well below comparable homes in the same area is not automatically a problem — there are genuine bargains, motivated sellers and quick sales. But a price that does not add up, with no verifiable reason behind it, is a prompt to find out why before you fall in love with the number.
What it means: an unexplained discount often has a legal cause: an illegal extension that cannot be regularised, a boundary or access dispute, an unresolved inheritance, a charge on the property, or a building that lacks the licences to be sold cleanly. The "saving" can turn out to be the cost of a problem the seller is passing to you.
What to do: treat a surprising price as a question, not a windfall. Due diligence will usually surface the reason — and sometimes the reason is benign and the bargain real. Either way, you want to know what you are buying and why it is cheap before you commit, not after.
It sounds elementary, but a surprising number of problems trace back to it: the person selling is not the registered owner, is only one of several co-owners, or is an heir who has not completed the inheritance that would give them clear title. In Spain, inherited property in particular can sit for years with the estate unsettled and several family members holding undivided shares.
What it means: if all the legal owners do not consent to the sale, the sale cannot validly transfer full ownership to you. Buying from one heir among several, or from someone acting under a power of attorney that does not actually authorise the sale, can leave you with a defective title and a dispute waiting to happen.
What to do: ownership must be confirmed against the Land Registry and, where relevant, the underlying inheritance or probate documents — and every legal owner must be a party to the sale. Where a power of attorney is used, your lawyer should verify that it genuinely grants authority to sell. This is core conveyancing work, and it is not optional.
Spain has a long history of construction that outran the paperwork — homes, extensions, pools and outbuildings put up without the proper licences, especially on rural or semi-rural land. The property may look perfect and have been lived in for years, yet not match its registered description or lack the licences that make it legally complete.
What it means: an unlicensed build or extension can be unregisterable, difficult to insure, hard to resell, and in some cases subject to enforcement action. On rural land, the absence of a licence of first occupation (licencia de primera ocupación) or of an AFO (the certificate that recognises an out-of-planning rural build, Asimilado Fuera de Ordenación) is a particular trap for foreign buyers who assume that "it's been there for years" means "it's fine."
What to do: the registered description, the cadastral record and the physical reality must be cross-checked, and the relevant town hall licences confirmed. Where a property is out of planning, your lawyer can advise whether it can be regularised and on what terms — before you buy, not after. Read more in our guide to property due diligence.
Buying off-plan — paying for a property that is not yet built, in instalments as construction progresses — is entirely legitimate and common in Spain. What protects you is the legal requirement that a developer secure your stage payments with a bank guarantee or insurance (an aval), so that if the development fails or is never completed, your money is returned.
What it means: if a developer takes your stage payments without providing this guarantee, you are funding construction with no safety net. Should the project stall or the developer become insolvent, unsecured payments can be extremely difficult to recover. This is one of the clearest, most avoidable risks in Spanish property.
What to do: never pay an off-plan instalment that is not covered by a valid bank guarantee or insurance policy, paid into a dedicated, protected account. Your lawyer should confirm the guarantee exists, names you, and covers each payment before you make it. See our guide to off-plan property purchase in Spain.
A property is not always as empty as it looks. There may be a tenant on a long lease, a family member living there informally, or — in a small number of cases — occupants who have moved in without right (the situation often described in Spain as okupas). A sale that is vague about who is in the property, and what they are entitled to, is hiding a problem.
What it means: in Spain, occupants can carry rights that survive the sale. A protected tenant may have security of tenure that you inherit as the new owner; removing unlawful occupants can require a court process that takes time and money. Buying with sitting occupants you did not understand can mean buying a property you cannot actually use.
What to do: establish exactly who occupies the property, on what legal basis, and whether they will leave before or at completion — in writing. Vacant possession, where you need it, should be a condition of the contract, not an assumption. Where tenants are involved, their rights need to be assessed before you commit.
In Spain, certain debts attach to the property rather than only to the person who ran them up. A mortgage, an embargo (a charge registered by a court or creditor), unpaid local property tax (IBI), and arrears of community fees can all follow the property to its new owner if they are not cleared at completion. A buyer who does not check can inherit someone else's debt.
What it means: the nota simple reveals registered charges such as mortgages and embargoes, while community-fee arrears and unpaid IBI require separate enquiries to the community of owners and the town hall. If these are not identified and dealt with, you can complete the purchase only to find a creditor's claim or a debt for back-charges attached to your new home.
What to do: your lawyer should obtain the up-to-date registry position plus a certificate from the community of owners confirming that fees are paid, and confirm IBI and utilities are clear. Any existing charge must be cancelled or paid off at completion out of the sale proceeds, with the cancellation properly arranged — not simply promised.
Most Spanish purchases run through a private contract before the public deed — commonly a contrato de arras (deposit contract) or a private purchase contract. This document sets the price, the timetable, the conditions and what happens to your deposit if things change. A vague, one-sided or rushed contract is a red flag precisely because it is the document that decides your downside.
What it means: without proper conditions, a deposit can be lost if the purchase falls through for a reason that was never your fault — a mortgage refused, a licence problem discovered, a charge revealed late. The different types of deposit contract carry very different consequences if either side walks away, and a contract drafted to suit the seller will not contain the protections you need.
What to do: never sign a private contract or pay a meaningful deposit until your lawyer has reviewed and, where needed, negotiated it. It should make the purchase conditional on clean due diligence, set out clearly what happens to your money in each scenario, and protect you if a legal problem emerges. This is where a good lawyer earns their fee long before completion.
You may be presented with a contract, a power of attorney or a deed in Spanish and asked to sign on the basis of a quick verbal summary — "it's all standard." Signing a binding legal document you cannot read, with no independent advice on what it commits you to, is the red flag that compounds every other one on this list.
What it means: a verbal "it's standard" is not advice, and a translation provided by the other side is not independent. Powers of attorney in particular can grant far wider authority than a buyer realises. If you do not understand precisely what you are agreeing to, you cannot give informed consent — and you may be agreeing to terms that work against you.
What to do: have every document explained to you in plain English by someone acting for you, before you sign. Where you cannot attend in person, a properly limited power of attorney can let your lawyer act — but its scope should be controlled and explained. You should always know exactly what you are signing and why.
We act only for the buyer. We are independent of estate agents, developers and sellers, which means our due diligence is run in your interest and there is no incentive on our side to push a sale through. On every purchase we obtain and re-check the nota simple, confirm ownership and the right to sell, verify licences and the planning position, identify any charges, embargoes, tax or community-fee arrears, and review or negotiate your private contract before you sign or pay. Our fees are fixed and quoted to you upfront, so you know the cost of protection before you commit to it, and we work in plain English with buyers anywhere in Spain.
The aim is not to make Spain sound frightening — it is a fine place to buy a home, and most purchases complete without incident. The aim is to make sure that the few problems that exist are the ones you find before the money moves, not after. If anything on this page sounds familiar from a purchase you are considering, that is exactly the moment to talk to us. Learn more about the whole process in our guide to buying property in Spain, or about the warning signs that tip into outright property scams.
Being told you don't need your own lawyer, or being steered toward the agent's or developer's lawyer. An independent lawyer acting only for you is the protection that catches every other warning sign, so anything that discourages you from instructing one should put you on alert.
The nota simple is an extract from the Spanish Land Registry showing who owns a property, its registered description, and any charges such as mortgages or embargoes registered against it. It is the foundation document of any purchase. Anyone can request one, so a seller who refuses to provide it is a clear warning sign.
No. Under-declaring the purchase price ("B-money") is tax fraud and exposes you, the buyer, to penalties, a higher capital gains bill when you sell, and anti-money-laundering problems on large cash payments. The full, true price should always be recorded on the deed.
Yes. Certain debts attach to the property rather than only the seller — mortgages, embargoes, unpaid IBI property tax and community-fee arrears can follow the property to a new owner if they are not cleared at completion. This is why the registry and a community-fee certificate must be checked before you buy.
An illegal build is a property, extension, pool or outbuilding constructed without the proper licences. It often shows up as a mismatch between the registered description, the cadastral record and the physical property, or as a rural home lacking a licence of first occupation or an AFO certificate. A lawyer cross-checks these before you commit.
When you buy off-plan, the law requires the developer to secure your stage payments with a bank guarantee or insurance (an aval), so your money is protected if the project fails or is never completed. You should never make an off-plan payment that is not covered by a valid guarantee naming you.
Pressure to sign or pay quickly is the most common red flag, because urgency is the simplest way to stop a buyer from checking. Reservation deposits are normal, but they should be modest, documented, and held with conditions that let you recover them if a legal problem emerges. A serious seller will give you a few days to take advice.
A contrato de arras is a deposit contract signed before the public deed, setting the price, timetable, conditions and what happens to your deposit. Different forms of arras carry very different consequences if either side withdraws. A vague or one-sided contract can mean losing your deposit through no fault of your own, so it should be reviewed before you sign.
Occupants can hold rights that survive the sale. A protected tenant may have security of tenure you inherit, and removing unlawful occupants can require a court process. You should establish in writing who occupies the property and on what basis, and make vacant possession a condition of the contract where you need it.
No. Signing a binding document you cannot read, on the basis of a verbal "it's standard," means you cannot give informed consent. Have every contract, power of attorney or deed explained to you in plain English by someone acting for you before you sign. Powers of attorney in particular can grant wider authority than a buyer realises.
Only partly. The notary confirms identities and that the deed is correctly executed, but does not act for you, does not negotiate, and does not run the searches that protect a buyer. That is the job of your own independent lawyer, which is why relying on the notary alone leaves important gaps.
Not at all. A red flag is a prompt to pause, get independent advice, and verify — not a verdict. Almost every warning sign has a documented answer, and many turn out to be benign or fixable. The point is to find out before you complete, when the issue can still be resolved, renegotiated or, if necessary, walked away from.
Every one of these warning signs is catchable before you complete — with an independent lawyer acting only for you. Clear fees, quoted upfront, plain English, anywhere in Spain.
The information on this page is general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Spanish property law, planning rules, tax treatment and regional requirements vary and change over time, and the position on any individual property depends on its specific facts. Always obtain advice on your particular purchase and circumstances before acting. Platinum Legal Spain is an independent English-speaking legal practice acting for property buyers across Spain, comprising bar-registered solicitors and legal specialists.
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