Practical information on financing, buying, and renovating on the Costa Brava. Written from first-hand experience, for international buyers.
From search to notary: what international buyers need to know.
Read the guide →How financing works when you don't live in Spain.
Read the guide →Coordinating a renovation from abroad: what works and what doesn't.
Read the guide →Which location fits your purchase, and what does that mean for the buying process?
Read the location guide →Begur has five distinct locations. Which one matches the way you plan to use your property?
Read the location guide →Pals has four very different areas. The one that fits depends entirely on how you plan to use the property.
Read the location guide →The arras is the moment your offer becomes binding. The type of arras decides what it costs you to walk away, and the deadline decides whether the mortgage process still fits. The mechanics, where it goes wrong, and one concrete timing detail from our own file.
A lawyer guards the legal part of your purchase. But no one is tasked with overseeing the whole process on the buyer's side. What a lawyer does and does not catch, what it cost us, and what fills the gap.
Two buyers can say they want property in Pals and mean entirely different places. Four areas, four ways of living — which one fits depends on how you plan to use it.
In Aiguablava, you don't only buy a view. You buy the consequences of an exceptional location. Here is what to check before you sign.
Most buyers say Begur. The real choice is between five very different locations. Here is what matters in each.
Most buyers fall for the idea of a place, not always the place itself. This guide helps you decide whether Calella, Llafranc, Tamariu or Palafrugell itself is the right fit.
The municipality of Palafrugell covers four distinct areas that attract very different buyers. Here is what matters in each.
A buyer can have €200,000 sitting in their account and still run short of cash during a property purchase in Spain. The five financial moments between offer and ownership, with what each one costs and how far in advance you need to plan.
Our permit application in Calella de Palafrugell took fourteen weeks and went back three times. The bottleneck was not the ayuntamiento. It was the preparation.
A missing or expired cédula de habitabilidad can delay a property purchase in Catalonia by weeks. What the certificate covers, what causes delays, and how to check whether a property has one before the process starts.
Catalonia no longer has a flat 10% ITP rate. Since 27 June 2025, a progressive band system applies. How it works, what you pay at different purchase prices, and why many online calculations are out of date.
For non-residents comparing a fixed vs variable mortgage in Spain, the rate type is rarely the most important decision. What the dossier looks like, how income is assessed, and how much uncertainty you can carry alongside a foreign property — that shapes the rest.
The full purchase process, phase by phase — what to check, where it goes wrong, and what it costs. Read it here, or download the free 2026 PDF.
