Reservation Fees in Spain: What Happens If You Sign Too Early

We paid a reservation fee before our lawyer had seen the contract. I am not proud of this. We were excited, the agent was helpful, and we didn't want to lose the property to someone else. What I know now is that the 48 hours it would have taken our lawyer to review the contract would have been worth it, and that the pressure we felt was mostly in our heads.

What the Reservation Fee Actually Is

When you agree to buy a property in Spain, the first financial commitment is the reservation fee, typically €3,000 to €10,000, sometimes more for higher-value properties. You pay this to take the property off the market while your lawyer conducts legal due diligence.

The reservation fee is usually deducted from the purchase price at completion. In that sense, it's not an extra cost. It's part of what you're paying.

What it is, however, is a commitment. And what it commits you to depends on what the reservation contract says, the document you sign when you hand over the money.

The Problem With Saying Yes Before You're Ready

The reservation contract contains terms. Terms about when the fee is returned if the purchase doesn't complete. Terms about timelines for due diligence. Terms about what constitutes a valid reason to exit.

If those terms are unfavourable to you, and the first version of any agent-drafted contract will tend to favour the seller, you may find yourself in a position where withdrawing from the purchase costs you the deposit, even if you have a good reason.

More commonly: buyers pay the reservation fee in a moment of excitement, without legal review, and then discover during due diligence that there is a problem with the property. The question of whether they can recover the reservation fee then depends on the exact wording of a contract they signed without reading carefully. Whether you're buying property in Marbella, Estepona, Mijas, or anywhere on the Costa del Sol, the same risk applies.

The Two-Stage Deposit Structure

Spain's property purchase has two main deposit stages:

Stage 1: Reservation (€3,000 to €10,000) Pays the property off market, initiates due diligence, governed by the reservation contract.

Stage 2: Arras (typically 10 per cent of purchase price) Signed after due diligence is complete, commits both parties fully. Under arras penitenciales (the standard form): buyer withdraws and loses deposit; seller withdraws and pays buyer double the deposit.

The arras stage is where the real financial commitment happens. But the reservation stage is where buyers most often make mistakes, because they're excited, the agent is helpful, and it doesn't feel like a big decision.

Both documents need your lawyer's review before you sign either of them.

The Rule That Protects You

One rule covers everything in the Spanish property buying process: never sign anything before your lawyer has reviewed it.

Not the reservation contract. Not a heads of terms. Not a side letter. Not a WhatsApp commitment.

Your lawyer reviews the document, identifies any unfavourable terms, requests changes, and gives you the sign-off. This costs you a day or two of time. It protects you from a potential five-figure mistake.

If an agent tells you you'll lose the property if you wait 48 hours for your lawyer to review, that is pressure, not fact. The seller waited this long to find a buyer. They can wait 48 hours for a clean, reviewed commitment.

PlanMarbella.com walks you through both deposit stages in the right order, what to check, what your lawyer should review, and how to protect your position. Free at planmarbella.com.