In Spain, debts stick to the property, not just the person who ran them up. Buy a house on the Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol without checking the land registry, and you can inherit the seller's unpaid mortgage, an embargo (court seizure order), or years of overdue community fees. The single most important document that reveals all of this is the nota simple — a low-cost extract from the Spanish Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) that lists who owns the property and every charge (carga) registered against it.
The short answer: yes, you can safely buy a property that still has an outstanding mortgage or even an embargo — it happens on every one of our four coasts routinely — but only if those charges are cancelled or formally accounted for at the notary on completion day. This guide explains how to read a nota simple, which debts transfer to you and which don't, and the exact checks your lawyer must run before you sign anything on the Costa Blanca, Costa Cálida, Costa del Sol or Costa Almería.
A nota simple is an official informative extract issued by the local Land Registry that covers the finca registral (the registered property unit). It is not a legal title in itself, but it is the authoritative snapshot of the registered situation. It costs roughly €9–€30 and can be requested online or by your lawyer within minutes.
Every property on the Costas is registered at the Registro de la Propiedad that covers its municipality — for example a flat in Torrevieja, a villa in Marbella, an apartment in La Manga or a townhouse in Mojácar each fall under their local registry. A nota simple typically contains:
If the "cargas" section says "libre de cargas" (free of charges), the property is clean. If it lists a hipoteca (mortgage) or an embargo, you have work to do before completion — not a reason to walk away, but a reason to slow down.
This is the heart of the matter. Some liabilities follow the bricks and mortar (propter rem) and become the new owner's problem; others remain personal to the seller. Getting this wrong is one of the most expensive mistakes an international buyer can make.
| Debt / charge | Transfers to buyer? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IBI (annual council property tax) | Partly — yes for arrears | The property answers for up to the current plus previous years' unpaid IBI. Always demand the last paid receipt. |
| Community of owners fees (comunidad) | Yes, limited | You are liable for the current year plus the previous three years of arrears. Get a certificate of no debt. |
| Outstanding mortgage (hipoteca) | Only if not cancelled | Normally paid off from sale proceeds at the notary. If left in place, it stays registered against the property. |
| Embargo (court/tax seizure) | Yes, until lifted | The property can still be auctioned to satisfy the debt. Must be cleared before you buy. |
| Plusvalía municipal & seller's capital gains tax | No (seller's liability) | These are the seller's taxes — see our seller's guides. |
| Unpaid utility bills (water, electric) | No, but expect disruption | Personal to the seller, but supply may be cut until settled. |
Because unpaid community fees and IBI arrears do attach to the property, a proper due-diligence process on the Costas always includes a written certificate from the community administrator confirming there are no outstanding comunidad debts, and sight of the most recent IBI receipt from the town hall.
The charges section lists each encumbrance in registration order, with a date and the amount secured. Here is what to look for on a Costa property:
You will see the lending bank, the original loan capital, and often figures for interest and costs. Crucially, the nota simple shows the registered mortgage, not the current outstanding balance — a loan may be nearly repaid but still fully registered. Your lawyer requests a certificado de deuda (debt certificate) from the bank showing the exact amount to cancel. Cancelling a mortgage at the registry is a separate act from repaying it, so both must happen.
An embargo appears when a creditor — a bank, the Agencia Tributaria (tax office), Social Security, or a town hall — has obtained a court or administrative order to secure a debt against the property. It states who ordered it and the sum involved. A property with a live embargo cannot be sold free and clear until it is lifted (levantamiento del embargo), which requires the debt to be paid and the registry updated.
You may also find a right of way (servidumbre de paso) — common on rural Costa Almería and inland Costa Cálida plots — or a usufructo giving someone (often a surviving spouse) the right to live in the property for life. These don't necessarily block a sale but change what you are actually buying, so they must be understood.
Absolutely — the majority of resale sales on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca involve a seller who still has a mortgage. The standard, safe mechanism is:
This is routine on completion day and your real estate lawyer orchestrates it. Never hand the seller the full price and trust them to pay off the mortgage afterwards — always let it be cancelled at the notary.
An embargo is more serious than a simple mortgage because it signals financial distress and, if left unresolved, the property could be auctioned to satisfy the creditor even after you have bought it. But it is not automatically a dealbreaker. The same completion-day logic applies: the embargoed amount is settled directly to the creditor from the purchase funds, and the cancellation is registered.
The risks that require real caution are:
These situations arise across all four coasts, and are more common in the value segments of the market. Our overview of the 2026 Spanish market explains why distressed resales appear where they do.
An outstanding mortgage or embargo does not reduce your purchase tax. Transfer tax (ITP) on a resale is calculated on the higher of the price paid or the official valor de referencia (reference value) set by the cadastre — a point most competitor articles miss. The regional rates for 2026 are:
| Region | Autonomous community | Resale ITP 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Blanca | Valencian Community | 9% (reduced from 10% for deeds signed from 1 June 2026; 11% band above €1M) |
| Costa Cálida | Murcia | 7.75% (Ley 3/2025 — the old 8% is out of date) |
| Costa del Sol | Andalucía | 7% |
| Costa Almería | Andalucía | 7% |
On the Costa Blanca, note that for the reduced 9% rate the notary signing date is what counts, not the date of the arras (deposit) contract. Add notary (~0.2–0.5%), land registry (~0.1–0.25%), lawyer (~1% + IVA) and gestoría (~€300), and total resale costs land around 10–13% on top of the price — nearer the lower end in Andalucía and higher in the Valencian Community. For the full breakdown see our complete guide to taxes when buying property in Spain.
Before you pay any deposit, and again just before completion, your lawyer should confirm:
Buyers who are unfamiliar with Spanish legal vocabulary will find our property glossary helpful when reading these documents. If you are purchasing as a non-resident, remember you will need an NIE and a Spanish bank account in place first — see our guide on the NIE and NIF numbers.
A nota simple costs roughly €9–€30 and can be ordered online through the official Colegio de Registradores portal or requested by your lawyer, usually delivered within a few hours. It is the cheapest and most important document in the whole buying process.
No. It shows the mortgage as originally registered, not the current outstanding balance. To learn exactly how much must be paid to cancel it, your lawyer requests a certificado de deuda (debt certificate) from the seller's bank.
Partly. In Spain the property is liable for the current year plus the previous three years of community fee arrears, and for outstanding IBI. This is why a debt-free certificate from the community and the latest IBI receipt are essential before completion.
Yes, provided the embargo is lifted before or at completion by paying the underlying debt from the purchase funds and registering the cancellation. If the debt is larger than the sale price, the seller cannot deliver a clean title and the sale cannot safely proceed.
Economically the seller, since it is their debt, but practically it is arranged at the notary: part of your payment is directed straight to the seller's bank to cancel the loan, and your gestoría registers the cancellation so the property is transferred to you free of charges.
No. The escritura is the notarised deed of sale that transfers ownership, while the nota simple is an informative extract of what the registry currently records. You review the nota simple before you sign the escritura.
Checking the land registry properly is the difference between a smooth purchase and an expensive surprise. At Mediter Real Estate we guide international buyers through every nota simple, mortgage cancellation and embargo check across the Costa Blanca, Costa Cálida, Costa del Sol and Costa Almería — working alongside trusted independent lawyers so you complete with a clean title. Get in touch with our team today to discuss your next property on the Spanish coast with confidence.
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