We hold no stock and fill no developer quota, which means the answer to "should you buy this one" can be no. On the buy side that means establishing what the property is permitted to be before anyone discusses price; on the sell side, pricing from registered sales rather than from what portals are asking. For buyers from outside the EU, it also means being clear about what owning a house here does and does not permit.
MARNER ESTATES works as an independent advisory firm. On the buy side we represent your interests, never a developer quota. What that means here in practice: we establish whether what stands on the plot matches what was licensed and registered, whether the licence of first occupation is in place, and what the current planning framework allows — before anyone talks about price.
On the sell side we position your property discreetly to the right international buyers, priced from registered comparables rather than portal asking prices.
About MARNER ESTATESMarbella is not short of property, and the coast is not short of new development. What is genuinely scarce is a property whose licences, registry entry and planning position all agree with one another. That is a documentary question, not a geographic one — and it is why the checks matter more than the search.
The Supreme Court annulled the 2010 general plan in 2015, and the 1986 plan has governed the municipality since. Its replacement, the PGOM, is the first in Andalusia drawn up under the region's new planning law; the detailed plan that settles matters at the level of an individual plot is expected later still. For some plots, what may be done is not a question the seller can answer.
The Supreme Court's own ruling referred to a generalised situation of urban irregularity in the municipality. That is history — but it is history recorded in registers, licences and files, and it is why the licence of first occupation deserves more attention here than the brochure.
Transfer tax, tourist-letting registration and much of the procedure are set by the region, not by Madrid. Figures written for Spain as a whole, or for another autonomous region, do not apply here — which is also why we do not reuse them.
The Golden Mile, Nueva Andalucía, the old town, San Pedro, the eastern beaches and the hillside urbanisations behave differently in supply, in buyer profile and in what the planning framework permits. A Costa del Sol average describes none of them.
Málaga airport connects the coast to most of Europe through the winter. The area functions as a base rather than only as a summer address, which is visible in how properties are used and let.
Holiday letting in Andalusia runs through a declaration to the regional tourism register, which issues a registration number that must appear in any advertising. It is a different mechanism from the capped licences used elsewhere in Spain — and what the community of owners' rules permit is a separate question again.
"Every recommendation is driven by analysis, not sales pressure — aligned solely with your goals, on either side of the table."
Operating at the intersection of brokerage execution and strategic advisory, with international client experience across the Spanish market.
More about usWe understand your objective — buying, selling or both.
The right area for that objective, then the right house within it.
Registry, licences, planning position and running costs, before you commit.
Coordinated completion, executed before a notary.
Ongoing guidance — hold, let, reinvest or exit.
Written for people about to commit money in a legal system that is not their own — and kept free of the numbers that go stale.
Yes. There is no restriction on foreign ownership in Spain. You will need an NIE (foreigner identification number), and the transfer is executed before a notary and recorded at the Land Registry.
In Andalusia, holiday letting runs through a declaration to the regional tourism register, which issues a registration number that has to appear in any advertising. Whether a given property qualifies, and whether the rules of the community of owners allow it, are separate questions. Establish both before you commit rather than assuming they can be settled afterwards.
Budget for transfer tax — ITP on a resale, or VAT plus stamp duty on a new build — together with notary, Land Registry and legal fees. The rates are set by Andalusia and are changed by the region rather than nationally, so we work them out for your specific property against what the Agencia Tributaria de Andalucía currently applies.
Yes. IBI is levied annually by the municipality, and community fees apply in most developments. Non-resident owners also have annual filing obligations in Spain. Your tax adviser should confirm what applies to you, and residence for tax purposes is decided by where you actually live, not by your passport.
Whether what stands on the plot matches what was licensed and what the registry describes, and whether the licence of first occupation was ever issued. Given the municipality's planning history this is not a formality here. Where the property sits under the plan currently in force is the second question, and for some plots it is not yet fully settled.
No. Spain closed the property route to its investor residence permit. Anyone offering it on that basis is working from a rule that no longer applies. Residence options exist through other routes and belong with an immigration lawyer.
Market fundamentals, valuation or strategy, regulatory framework and next steps — based on your goals. Book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation.
