About the author

I'm Jose Santos, the author of the Non-Resident Guides.

I live in Barcelona and have spent close to thirty years working in international finance. When I bought a house in Menorca, I found that even living in Spain and speaking the language, the process took more checking, more paperwork and more decisions than I had expected: the taxes on the purchase, the notary and the land registry, the planning status of the house, the taxes that come every year afterwards and the rules on letting it.

Along the way I learned what to check, in what order, and what it really costs. Someone buying from another country faces all of this with fewer advantages, so it seemed worth sharing what I had learned, with the figures worked out and the rules explained in plain English.

How the guides are written

• Every rule and figure is checked against official sources: Spanish and regional legislation, the tax authorities and the land registry.
• Each book, article and calculator shows the date its information reflects, and the books are updated with each new edition.
• Worked examples use realistic prices for each region, so you can see the whole cost, not just the headline tax rate.

What these guides are not

I am not a lawyer or a tax adviser. The guides explain how the process works so that you can ask the right questions; for your own purchase, use an independent Spanish lawyer who works for you, not for the seller or the agent.

Contact

Corrections and questions are welcome: hello@nonresidentguides.com.