Marbella buyers: the NIE before the reservation

Ask anyone who has bought on the Costa del Sol what held them up, and the answer is seldom the price. More often it is a date that moved: a bank waiting for a document, a notary’s slot lost, a flight rebooked. Of all those causes, the NIE is the most avoidable, because it can be obtained before anything else in the order of a Marbella purchase.

The number commits you to nothing. It does not oblige you to buy, it is not tied to any one property, and it remains yours for life. A buyer who requests it while still viewing loses nothing if the search takes longer than planned.

The request is made on form EX-15, with the 790-012 fee and a document explaining why you need the number. At the viewing stage that document may be a letter or a reservation; your lawyer will know what is usual. In Marbella the appointment is at the Comisaría on Avenida Arias de Velasco, or at another station of the province.

Buyers who cannot be in Spain can apply at the Spanish consulate of their country of residence, and when neither calendar suits, Gestoraz can take on the request online instead.

Two details spare trouble later. Every buyer named on the deed needs a number, so a couple buys with two. And the name on the NIE certificate should match the passport exactly, since the notary and the bank compare them line by line.