July 2026

The Risk Of Wire Fraud When Buying Property in Spain

Somewhere between agreeing on a price and signing at the notary, real money has to move, often hundreds of thousands of euros, wired across an ocean to a bank account we've only ever seen typed in an email. That single moment is exactly where wire fraud when buying property in Spain does its damage and it cost American buyers $275 million in 2025 alone.

It has nothing to do with someone hacking an account or stealing a password. It's about someone convincing you to send the money yourself, to the wrong place, at the one moment you're not expecting to double-check.

Read MoreThe Risk Of Wire Fraud When Buying Property in Spain

How Safe Is Your Money In Spain Vs The US?

Bank deposit insurance and card liability rules discussed here aren't Spain-specific, they're harmonized across the entire EU by directive. That means the figures below apply the same way whether the account is in Spain, France, Germany or anywhere else in the EU.

Investor compensation is the exception. The EU only sets a €20,000 floor there and each country decides whether to go higher. Spain chose to go well above that floor, which matters if you ever end up comparing a Spanish brokerage to one elsewhere in Europe.

Read MoreHow Safe Is Your Money In Spain Vs The US?

Heating and Cooling Systems in Spain: What’s Different From the US

Heating, cooling and hot water all work differently in a Spanish home than they do in the US. It's worth understanding how, before you're standing in a property trying to figure out what you're actually looking at.

There's usually no central furnace and ductwork. Air conditioning often does double duty as the heating system. Hot water frequently comes from a small unit that heats on demand rather than a tank quietly keeping 50 gallons warm in the garage. None of it is worse, it's just different. Each one affects how you'll budget for and evaluate a property.

Read MoreHeating and Cooling Systems in Spain: What’s Different From the US

230 Volts Will Fry Your Hair Dryer: What to Know Before You Move To Spain

If you've traveled to Europe before, you've probably dealt with a plug adapter and not thought much more about it. Moving to Spain permanently is a different equation. This isn't about getting your phone charger through a two-week trip—it's about deciding what from your kitchen, bathroom and closet is actually worth moving and what you're better off buying once you arrive in Spain.

Read More230 Volts Will Fry Your Hair Dryer: What to Know Before You Move To Spain

The $10,000 Mistake: Moving With Your US Car to Spain

.For a very short, fleeting moment this was one of the first questions we asked ourselves: could we just ship our car? The answer, once we started digging into it, was a hard "NO". Here's why.The answer, once we dug into it, was a clear no. Here's why.

The Cost Stack Adds Up Fast

Shipping is only the first cost line item and it's not even the biggest one. Getting a US car to a Spanish port runs somewhere in the $2,000 to $2,500+ range depending on which US port you're leaving from and whether it lands in Valencia or Barcelona.

Read MoreThe $10,000 Mistake: Moving With Your US Car to Spain

Negotiating Home Prices In Spain

Negotiating home prices in Spain when you're ready to purchase a home isn't easy. One of the first things Americans notice when they're ready to make an offer on a property in Spain, is that the familiar comparison pricing information isn't there.

No Zillow. No Redfin. No Zestimate telling you whether the asking price is reasonable or wildly optimistic. No public database of what the house next door sold for last spring. If you've spent any time shopping for real estate in the US, the opacity can feel disorienting at first.

Read MoreNegotiating Home Prices In Spain

Solar Power For A Home In Spain

Solar power for a home in Spain is one of the first topics that comes up when you start seriously evaluating properties and for good reason. The sun hours here are among the highest in Europe, electricity prices have climbed steadily, and a well-sized system can cover the majority of a typical household's needs year-round.

What hasn't existed until now is one place that actually walks through the practical questions: how many panels you need, what it costs, what it costs to maintain, how long it lasts and what to look for whether you're buying a home that already has solar or adding it after the fact.

Read MoreSolar Power For A Home In Spain

Spanish Property Checklists: Three Tools for Evaluating Homes

If you've been following along, you know that finding a home in Spain is not quite like buying a house back in the US. The agents are charming, the properties are beautiful and the questions you actually need to ask rarely come up on their own.

As we've been going through this process ourselves, one thing we kept running into was the gap between "interesting property" and "properties to make the list for final consideration." To help close that gap — for ourselves

Read MoreSpanish Property Checklists: Three Tools for Evaluating Homes