Frequently asked questions about buying a home on the Costa del Sol

Yes, with no restrictions: anyone, resident or not and whether or not they are an EU citizen, can buy property in Spain in their own name or through a company. The only practical requirements are obtaining an NIE (foreigner identification number) and, highly recommended, opening a Spanish bank account to pay utilities and taxes by direct debit.

The NIE is the tax identification number for foreigners in Spain and is essential to sign a purchase deed. You apply for it by appointment at an immigration office or police station in Spain, at the Spanish consulate in your country, or through a representative with a power of attorney. The procedure is simple; the usual approach is to have the lawyer handling the purchase take care of it.

No. You can grant a power of attorney to your lawyer or a person you trust to sign the reservation, the deposit contract (arras) and the deed on your behalf. The power of attorney can be signed before a notary in Spain or abroad (in that case, with an apostille and a sworn translation). Many of our clients complete the whole purchase without travelling.

No: Spain abolished the residence visa for real estate investment in April 2025. Buying remains completely open to foreigners; what disappeared is the residence permit linked to the investment. The current alternatives are the non-lucrative visa (for people living off income or a pension) and the digital nomad visa (for remote workers).

As a rule of thumb, between 8% and 12% of the price. On resale homes you pay ITP transfer tax (7% in Andalusia); on new builds, 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty (AJD). On top of that come the notary, the Land Registry and the gestoría (around 1–1.5%) and, if there is a mortgage, the valuation. On the Costa del Sol the real estate agency’s fee is usually paid by the seller.

The fixed ones are IBI (the municipal property tax), the rubbish collection fee, community fees if there is a community, and insurance. Non-resident owners also file the IRNR non-resident income tax every year (deemed income on the cadastral value, or the actual income if they rent the property out). The total varies a lot by municipality and development: ask us for the real figure for any property you are interested in.

Two: the municipal plusvalía (on the increase in the value of the land) and capital gains tax, around 19% for non-residents. In addition, when the seller is a non-resident, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the Spanish Tax Agency on account of that gain. A good calculation beforehand avoids surprises at signing.

Yes, it is common practice on the Costa del Sol. Spanish banks typically lend non-residents 60–70% of the lower of the price and the valuation (residents can get up to 80%), with terms of up to 20–25 years. You will need to prove your income with translated documents (payslips, tax returns). It is best to get pre-approval before signing the deposit contract (arras).

The first step is a reservation document with a deposit (usually between €3,000 and €10,000) that takes the property off the market. Then the arras contract is signed, normally with 10% of the price, setting the deadline for the deed and the penalties: if the buyer pulls out, they lose the arras; if the seller pulls out, they must return double. The rest is paid when the deed is signed before the notary.

From reservation to deed, usually 4–8 weeks when paying cash and 6–10 weeks with a mortgage. For new builds, construction sets the timeline: you reserve, sign a private contract with stage payments (guaranteed by law) and sign the deed on handover, which can be anything from a few months to a couple of years away.

It is highly recommended. The notary certifies the act but does not defend the interests of either party. An independent lawyer checks charges, licences, planning status and community debts, and drafts or reviews the private contracts. At EVS Property Group we work with multilingual local law firms and coordinate the whole process with them.

It is the official extract from the Land Registry: it identifies the actual owner, the registered description and size of the property and, above all, any charges (mortgages, embargoes, easements). It is the first check in any serious transaction and can be obtained within hours.

Yes, but with requirements: the property must be registered as a tourist dwelling (Vivienda de Uso Turístico, VUT) in the Junta de Andalucía register and comply with current regulations, and some town halls restrict new licences in certain areas. Since 2025, the owners’ community can also restrict tourist use in its bylaws. Long-term rentals, on the other hand, do not require a tourist licence.

It depends on the area, the product and the format (holiday, seasonal or annual). The objective starting point is our market report with median prices and rents by municipality, which we update with the full property database. As a general reference, long-term rental supply is scarce all along the coast, which supports rents; ask us for a specific estimate for the area you are interested in.

EVS PROPERTY GROUP is a real estate agency with a physical office on the Costa del Sol: Av. de Mijas 1, puerta 1, 29630 Benalmádena (Málaga). The legal name is EVS PROPERTY GROUP SL, tax ID (CIF) B10686459, incorporated on 12 May 2022 and registered with the Málaga Commercial Registry. It is run by its two founders: Elena Zolotareva, with 15 years of experience in the real estate sector, and Vladimir Shokov, with 7 years on the Costa del Sol market, specialised in investment, including real estate debt (NPL).

Spanish, English and Russian, with the same adviser from start to finish: the first consultation, viewings, negotiation and signing before the notary. When needed, we also coordinate multilingual local lawyers and gestorías.

We work in Málaga city, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Estepona, Benahavís, Nerja and the rest of the municipalities of the province of Málaga. Our office is in Benalmádena, in the middle of the coast, less than 20 minutes from Málaga city, Fuengirola and the airport.

We cover all four operations: buying, selling, renting and investing. In rentals we manage both long-term and holiday lets — tenant selection, contract, rent collection, maintenance, the VFT licence and the IRNR tax return for non-resident owners. In investment we work on buy-to-let, renovate-and-resell and off-plan new builds.

Nothing. In a sale, the agency fee is paid by the seller, as is customary on the Costa del Sol. The buyer pays the transaction’s own costs (ITP or VAT, notary, Land Registry and gestoría, around 8–12% of the price) and, if they hire one, their independent lawyer.

Around 9,000, combining our own portfolio and the Resales-Online MLS network, the largest pool of agency collaboration on the Costa del Sol. This includes off-plan new builds and properties that are not always published on portals; if you are interested in a property that does not appear on our website, we can still track it down.

Yes. We can show you properties by video call, handle your NIE, coordinate opening a bank account and the non-resident mortgage, and sign the reservation, the arras contract and the deed through a power of attorney given to your lawyer or a person you trust. Many of our clients complete the entire purchase remotely.

By phone on +34 951 12 40 59, by WhatsApp on +34 678 98 06 62 or by email at [email protected]. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:30 (Spanish mainland time), and viewings outside those hours can be arranged in advance. We reply on the same working day.