From offer to keys: how long does it really take?

“And how long does that take?” After price, it is the most common question, and the answer you usually get is “it depends”. True, but not much use. So here is our own answer: for a resale property we work to around eight weeks from accepted offer to handover of the keys, provided the financing is in place. Below you will find week by week where that time goes — and which step causes the delay in practice.

The short answer: eight weeks

Eight weeks is not a statutory period but a practical average from our own files on resale property. The lower bound is shorter: buying without financing and with your NIE already in hand, four to five weeks is achievable. The upper bound is more elastic, and almost always for the same two reasons: a mortgage still awaiting approval, or an NIE applied for too late.

For a new build this schedule does not apply. There it is not your file that sets the pace but the construction itself — more on that below.

Week 0 — offer accepted, property off the market

Once you agree on price and terms, the property is reserved with a contrato de reserva and a reservation payment — usually a few thousand euros. That takes the property off the market for an agreed period.

This is the step where people sign too quickly. Look closely at the term stated in that contract, and above all at what happens if the legal checks turn something up. Without that clause you are paying for the right to discover problems you then cannot use to withdraw.

Week 1–2 — NIE, power of attorney and bank account, all at once

This is where the pace of the whole purchase is set, and where it most often goes wrong. Without an NIE number you cannot sign, cannot open a bank account and cannot pay tax.

There are three routes, and the difference is considerable:

Week 2–4 — the legal checks

Meanwhile, what you are actually buying gets checked. The nota simple from the land registry shows who owns the property and what charges sit on it: mortgages, attachments, easements.

Beyond that comes the question of whether the property matches its paperwork. Extensions, verandas, pools and car ports in Spain are regularly built without permission or never registered. Discrepancies between the cadastre and the land registry are common too. Such things can usually be resolved, but you want to know before the purchase contract — not after.

At the same time the outstanding charges are requested: IBI, the owners’ association fee and any derramas. Debts left by the previous owner can pass with the property. What all of that costs is set out in our article on the real cost of buying a house in Spain.

Week 3–4 — the private contract and the 10 per cent

Once the checks are done, the contrato de arras or private purchase contract follows. It sets out buyer, seller, price, what is and is not included, the payment schedule and the latest date for completion. A deposit of 10 per cent of the purchase price is customary, less the reservation already paid.

What matters is which type of arras you agree. Under the most common form, arras penitenciales, the rule is clear: if the buyer withdraws, the deposit is lost; if the seller withdraws, they must repay double. That is not a detail but your main protection against a seller who receives a better offer halfway through.

Week 4–8 — financing and the notary’s diary

This is the part you control least. Buying with a Spanish mortgage means valuation, file preparation and the statutory reflection period before signing is permitted. Allow several weeks, and ideally start the process before the purchase contract rather than after it.

A notary date then has to be found that suits buyer, seller, bank and gestoría. In the summer months and around public holidays that diary fills up. Without financing this phase largely falls away — the notary date is then often the only constraint and things move considerably faster.

Week 8 — completion day

At the notary the escritura pública is signed. The balance of the purchase price is paid, usually by banker’s draft, and the keys change hands. This is often also the moment when meter readings are taken and utilities transferred.

What many buyers misjudge: the notary checks the deed, not your entire file. The preparatory work must already be done. The notary is the final link, not the safety check.

After the deed — the clock runs a little longer

The keys are yours, but the file is not yet closed:

• Within 30 working days the purchase tax must be declared and paid. Late means surcharges and interest.
• Registration at the land registry. This usually takes some weeks; only then are you the undisputed owner as against third parties.
• Utilities, insurance and the owners’ association transferred into your name.
• Update the cadastre, so the IBI bill reaches the right owner.

And a new build? Then construction sets the pace

For a new build, “how long does it take” cannot be answered in weeks, because it depends entirely on the stage the project has reached.

Buying off plan means signing early and paying in instalments during construction; the keys only follow at completion, which may be a year or more away. Buying a property that is nearly finished or just delivered makes the process look much like a resale purchase. Everything in between exists too.

What applies in all cases: have it checked that the instalments paid are covered by a bank guarantee, and that the permits and the licencia de primera ocupación are in order. With a new build that matters more than the schedule.

Speed is not the point

Eight weeks is pleasant, but it is not what matters. A purchase completed in four weeks because the legal checks were skipped is no achievement. The gain lies not in shortening the checks but in running everything that can run in parallel: NIE, power of attorney, bank account and financing all start in week one, not once the contract is on the table.

That is also the difference between a property finder and an estate agent: we have no interest in a quick signature, only in a purchase that holds up.