Who we are
The Abroad Buyer is an independent publication about buying a home in Southern Europe, starting with Spain and Portugal. It is written and run by David Mateo.
I work in process automation, not in law, tax or real estate. I started this site because the information foreign buyers need is scattered across official pages, law firm blogs and agent marketing, and it is rarely explained plainly or dated. I research it, put it in one place, show the numbers, and say where sources disagree.
What you will find here
- Plain-English guides to the taxes, fees and paperwork of buying in Spain and Portugal.
- Worked examples with real arithmetic, so you can adapt them to your own price.
- Calculators for buying costs and rental yield, on the tools page.
- Comparisons between countries and regions.
What we are not
We are not lawyers, tax advisers, mortgage brokers or estate agents. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice, and we do not sell properties or take commissions from sellers to steer you toward a purchase. Always confirm important figures with a qualified professional in the country where you are buying.
How we write and check our guides
- Sources first. We use official sources where we can: tax authorities, official gazettes and government pages. Where we rely on a secondary source, such as a news report or a specialist firm, we say so in the sources list at the end of the guide.
- Dated facts. Each guide shows when its facts were last checked. Tax rules change, so a date matters.
- Disagreements are shown, not hidden. If two reliable sources give different figures, we say so and tell you to confirm with the official body instead of picking one.
- Calculations you can follow. Our examples show the arithmetic, so you can check it.
- Review. No guide on this site has yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer or tax adviser. When one is, the guide will show who reviewed it and when.
Corrections
If you find an error or an out-of-date figure, please email david@theabroadbuyer.com. We correct mistakes quickly and update the “last checked” date on the guide.
How the site is funded
The site is independent. It may be funded by advertising and by affiliate links, where we earn a commission if you buy something through a link, at no extra cost to you. These relationships do not change what we write or what we recommend. See the Legal Notice for the full disclosure.
Contact
You can reach us on the contact page.