Buying in Spain makes you a member of a comunidad de propietarios automatically. How fees, special levies, voting majorities and the 2025 tourist-let rules work — and the traps for non-resident owners.

A guide written specifically for US buyers: there is no escrow, no title company, no title insurance and no MLS in Spain — this is what happens instead. How to get your NIE from the United States, how to grant a power of attorney so you never have to fly over, what closing costs really are in 2026, why American landlords pay 24% on gross rent, and what the IRS still wants from you.

With a property’s address and around €11 you can find out who owns it, whether it is mortgaged and how many square metres are registered. How to request the nota simple (including in English), how to read it with a glossary of terms, how to obtain cadastral data, and what these documents do not tell you.

The Registry publishes rights; the Cadastre describes for tax purposes; and neither establishes planning legality. Fourteen discrepancy scenarios, which documents to request, who should resolve them, and a decision tree before signing.

The arras contract decides your purchase: the difference between confirmatory, penitential and penalty deposits, the fifteen essential checks, and how to adapt the contract when the legal review uncovers a mortgage, a seizure or an unregistered extension.

A pool, a glazed terrace or an extension built without a licence is one of the most common traps for foreign property owners in Spain. Here is how the rules work, the fifteen-year time limit, and the route to regularisation.