One standard of advisory, applied to both sides of the transaction — driven by data and your objectives, never by developer quotas or commissions.
An estate agent is instructed by the seller and paid out of the sale. That is not a criticism — it is the structure, and it is worth understanding before you rely on anyone's recommendation.
We help international investors enter the Marbella market with clarity — assessing opportunities on their merits, not on who pays the commission.
We position your property to the right international buyers — quietly and precisely — and negotiate led solely by your interests.
The Supreme Court annulled Marbella's 2010 general plan in 2015, returning the municipality to a plan approved in 1986. Its replacement has been working through approval, and the detailed instrument that settles matters at the level of an individual plot comes later still. The court's own reasoning referred to a generalised situation of urban irregularity in the municipality.
For an apartment in an established, fully licensed development this is background. For a villa, an extension, a converted basement or a plot sold on its development potential, it is not — and it is why the licence of first occupation and the registry description deserve real attention here rather than a glance.
A purchase in Spain follows a fixed sequence: NIE, reservation, checks at the Land Registry, the private contract, and completion before a notary. We coordinate each step with your lawyer and tax adviser, so nothing is signed before it has been verified.
We advise; we do not act as your lawyer. Legal and tax opinions come from independent professionals we work alongside.
Talk through the process →We 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.
An estate agent is instructed and paid by the seller, so their duty runs to the seller. We are instructed by you, hold no stock of our own and fill no developer quota — which means we can recommend against a property, and frequently do. We also carry out the checks before a deposit is placed rather than after.
The basis of our fee is agreed with you in writing before any work begins. In Spain the estate agency commission is normally paid by the seller and is already reflected in the asking price; that is a separate arrangement from ours. If anyone is vague with you about who pays them and for what, treat that as the answer.
No. We work from what is on the market regardless of who is listing it, and we do not carry a developer's stock. That independence is the reason the firm exists; it is also why we cannot promise you access to something that is not for sale.
The registry entry and the charges on it, the cadastral record, whether what stands on the plot matches what was licensed, the licence of first occupation, community debt where there is a community of owners, the planning position of the plot, and the full cost picture including whether the reference value exceeds the agreed price. Anything legal or fiscal goes to your lawyer or tax adviser with our findings attached.
The step whose duration is least within your control is the NIE, which is why we start it as soon as a purchase looks plausible. After that the timetable is driven by the checks and by whether the seller's documentation is in order. We would rather tell you a purchase needs more time than watch a deposit go into a private contract before the checks are back.
Not for every step. A power of attorney granted to a lawyer in Spain can cover the NIE application and, if you wish, completion itself. You will still want to have seen the property, and preferably outside August.
Yes, and on the same basis. On the sell side that means valuing from registered sales rather than from portal asking prices, having the documentation assembled before the first viewing rather than during the offer, and coordinating the non-resident retention where it applies.
No, and we are direct about the line. We explain mechanisms, name the authority that sets a rule and tell you what a decision depends on — but the opinion that you act on should come from an independent lawyer and a tax adviser. We work alongside them and will say plainly when a question is theirs rather than ours.
Book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation and we'll map out the right approach for your goals.
