About us - Spain Advisors

We can help you make Barcelona your home or investment.

How to buy property in Barcelona

Spain Advisors founder, Mark Carr, introduces himself and explains how he helps people buy property in Barcelona.

Why our clients buy property in Barcelona

New Yorkers Bill & Tess Fischer talk about what convinced them to buy in Barcelona and their experience here.

Google Rating

5.0

Based on 22 reviews

Spain Advisors

5.0

Davide Sedda

17:37 22 Jul 21

Mark will take care of your purchasing from the very first moment by helping you to locate the zone/city you prefer, analysing the property, arranging visits, inspecting the property while visiting it, making the offer, reviewing all the documents etc.He will provide all the info you need related to taxation, necessary documents, steps for the future.Even after the purchase, you'll get his help in case of doubts or inexperience related to owning a property in Spain.The fee for his services is first of all very fair, and most important thing, it's worth every cent to have a counselor by your side who has as primary interest the happiness and the safety of the clients.Mark knows how the property world works in Spain, that's why for expats it's highly recommended and probably the best resource you'll find.

Bob van der Beek

21:22 18 Jul 21

When I embarked on my adventure of looking for a second home in Barcelona, while living in my home country of the Netherlands, I quickly realized that the legal aspects of buying property abroad come with great risks with major financial implications. I learned from my first encounters with the Spanish property market that you absolutely need an experienced, senior advisor on site to avoid all the pitfalls associated with buying property in a country where you don't speak the language and don't have enough local knowledge about how things work.Working with Mark Carr from Spain Advisors to fulfill my dream of owning my own second home in Barcelona has been an amazing journey. The project I chose to invest in was a highly complex, multifaceted and massive renovation project that involved the conversion of a dilapidated 19th century factory building into over 50 industrial urban loft apartments. At the time when I started considering buying one of these apartments, the project was still in its early stages and there were a lot of uncertainties. Despite the setbacks and challenges we encountered along the way, Mark provided excellent support every step of the way, from the initial project assessment and due diligence to negotiating and preparing the purchase agreement, followed by monitoring progress during the construction phase, up to and including the final delivery of the apartment, the signing of the deed and the registration.During the project, Mark always kept a close eye on what was needed in each phase, gave me relevant and pragmatic advice and represented me in person at key moments towards parties such as the project developer, the bank, the notary and the registry office. The assurance that Mark was aware of all the legal issues brought peace of mind and allowed me to fully enjoy the entire construction process and move into the apartment immediately on the day of completion!Based on my experience, I would highly recommend Mark to anyone considering buying a home in Barcelona!

Lisa Marie Conlan

14:37 29 Jun 21

What do you say to someone when “thank you” isn’t enough? That is how we feel about the support Mark gave us in the process of buying our home. We found Mark via a property seminar which he offered for free and were very impressed by his knowledge as well as his professional, friendly approach. We decided to seek out his services and we could not be happier we did. Mark has saved us much stress, time and cost. He knows exactly how the process works so he helped everything flow extremely well from an administrative point of view. From a legal point of view, we felt incredibly comforted having Mark’s experienced eyes to draft and review the contractual elements of the sale. Mark also had excellent contacts and put us in touch with a fantastic architect who was able to check the structure. In every way, Mark was able to lead the process from start to finish, making it incredibly easy for us. It was also invaluable to have someone negotiating for us and representing our interests in front of sellers and selling agents. Even if you are very comfortable dealing in Spanish and used to dealing with Spanish bureaucracy, I think the complexities involved in buying a home are such that the peace of mind to have an experienced real estate and legal professional on your side is worth it’s weight in gold. Thanks Mark for all the help.

Christopher Martyn

15:58 21 May 21

If you are considering to buy property in Spain I highly recommend enlisting Mark´s services. It was reassuring to have Mark with us throughout the process of purchasing our first apartment.There are many things to consider when purchasing a property here in Spain and Mark always explained complicated topics in a clear and easily understandable way, making us much more comfortable during the process.Mark was able to handle all the communication with the seller and their agents, helping us to structure our offer and make sure our interests were protected at all times. Requesting and insisting on all the correct documentation for the sale to be produced by the agents.Mark also has great contacts in the region and was able to find an excellent mortgage offer for us, as well as a good notary to finalise the sale with.Do yourself a favour and use Spain advisors & Mark´s services!!

Leah Ganse

15:54 12 Apr 21

We absolutely recommend Mark from Spain Advisors if you're considering buying real estate in Spain. Although we've lived in Barcelona for over 10 years, this was our first experience buying as opposed to renting, and we were looking for someone trustworthy to help us navigate the process of buying a home. Mark was able to negotiate the price, provide contacts for an architect inspection and notary, and take all the paperwork off our plate. It made the process painless and we were able to get into our dream apartment quickly and easily. We wholeheartedly recommend Spain Advisors!

Dave Adeane

15:46 09 Mar 21

Overall, the whole buying process with Marc was simple, well explained and stress free. If there were any problems, Marc was always at hand to explain and offer effective solutions. I had a particular problem with the bank and Marc took the time to come and speak to the bank manager in person. Looking at the property together we were able to renegotiate the price. This attention to detail and his being constantly available are reasons I would thoroughly encourage you to use him. David Adeane, proud new house owener.

Jordie Campbell

20:24 02 Feb 21

Mark was such a big help in navigating a problem I was having with Caixa bank. Because of the pandemic I left Barcelona and could no longer visit the bank in person so it was crucial to have someone step in on my behalf and I am so grateful that Mark was that person. Thank you so much.

Oyniva BCN

18:53 16 Dec 20

Mark was nothing short of fantastic in helping us buy our first property. Even though I speak Spanish, Mark was able to translate and negotiate all the jargon that came our way professionally and effectively. With the many complicated and unexpected twists and turns that presented throughout the buying process Mark was always able to give sound, comprehensive and experienced advice...we couldn't have done it without him.He negotiated a really good price at the start, and was by our side throughout the long journey until completion day. The property is in Castelldefels, and Mark took the time to research any gaps in his extensive knowledge to be able to help us. As I am a tax resident of Spain, but my partner is not, this presented huge challenges throughout, to the point where we doubted if we would ever succeed, but Mark's persistence managed to get us through. He was organised and thorough in his communication and we really felt we could trust him from the get go. We would not hesitate to recommend Mark and Spain Advisors to anyone buying a place in and around Barcelona.

Molly Roberts

14:28 28 Oct 20

When we started researching the possibility of buying a home in Spain, every single book I read said that the one most important thing to do was to have a good real estate consultant by your side during the process. We found Mark Carr at Spain Advisors by the consistently excellent reviews he got from his clients. Those reviews were very accurate, and now here I am adding my own voice to Mark’s long list of well-deserved praises.Mark was with us from the beginning, looking at several homes with us and weighing in on their pros and cons, pointing out both features and issues that we would have missed, and helping us to make informed decisions about price, location, etc. He is a native English speaker and also speaks excellent Spanish, so his help with translation was also greatly appreciated. He has a deep knowledge of how the real estate system works here along with years of experience in navigating that system when there are bumps along the road.The home we decided on had a number of legal and builder issues related to its being a renovation, and so we had to take up a lot more of Mark’s time than we would have liked. Never once did he complain about this and in fact was always an enthusiastic and friendly advocate for us. He was the perfect partner, and I can’t thank him enough for his help. Mark is now woven into the origin story of our new home as a positive force along our journey. We are now comfortably moved into our new home, and we have Mark to thank for how well this all turned out.If you are thinking about hiring Spain Advisors, I’m here to tell you that you are making an excellent decision to get him involved with your home purchase. You will be very happy you did. My husband and I offer our wholehearted endorsement for Mark Carr and Spain Advisors.

Leah Newman

14:46 08 Oct 20

I knew I wanted to buy an apartment but I had no idea how to navigate the process, especially not speaking Spanish. Mark was absolutely instrumental in making this happen and I am so grateful I had him by my side when it came to negotiating and finalizing the deal. His knowledge and experience in the field were outstanding and he was always able to give me advice and recommendations when decisions needed to be made. I highly recommend Mark.

Randal Moore

16:14 25 Sep 20

Buying property in a foreign country where you don't speak the language fluently can be a nerve-wracking process, but our buying experience was the best it could have been thanks to Mark. Throughout all steps in the process: deciding between properties, negotiation, mortgage / financing, signing and post purchase; Mark was always readily available with a great deal of knowledge. He clearly explained the roadmap and choices for all steps, suggested alternatives, but still gave us complete freedom to make our own decisions.Our buying process was longer and more complicated than usual property transactions and required a lot of extra time, patience, and attention to detail. Mark never complained once, he simply dealt with each issue as it came up during the process in a timely manner. He professionally mediated between us, the seller and others; shielding us from a lot of stress. Especially impressive and impactful was Mark's expert negotiation of the price: a lot of back and forth with the seller but in the end we arrived at a fair price. This particular flat was the only one on the market that would work for us (we were very picky) and we are very happy with it. The purchase would not have happened without Mark's invaluable help.Mark knows all the ins and outs of buying property in Barcelona and working with him was a pleasure. The ratio of value he provided compared to what he charged ended up far exceeding our expectations. There were many instances in the buying process that we were so glad to have him by our side representing our interests and explaining things to us. We highly recommend working with Mark.Randal & Nicole

Sebastián Azócar Pizarro

11:01 04 Aug 20

Our experience with Spain Advisors was excellent. Mark is professional, knowledgeable and reliable. Buying our first property in Barcelona would have been a far more complicated and stressful process without his expertise.We are delighted with the flat we were able to secure thanks to Mark´s thorough and professional approach. He dealt with the agent (unreliable) and building administrators (uncommunicative) in a way that took the stress and pressure off of us. We knew we were in good hands when it got a little difficult and thanks to Mark we were finally able to move forward with the purchase when faced with concerns over essential repairs and who would be responsible for them.He gave us good advice when dealing with the banks and recommended a professional notary.We also knew what to expect financially throughout the whole process as he broke everything down clearly.Whether you speak Spanish or not buying property here can still be a big challenge and Mark helped to navigate us through the process from start to finish- he was there every step of the way. Mark came recommended to us through a colleague and after our experience with him we can not recommend him enough. We would be delighted to work with him again in the future as he was the only constant and reliable party in the whole buying process! A 10 out of 10 for sure! Thank you, Mark!Alison and Sebastian

Dan Banks

11:14 16 Jul 20

We'd watched Mark's seminar and were impressed at his depth of knowledge. When we decided to purchase a property in Sitges, Mark was there every step of the way, through dealing with multiple real estate agents, digging deep into any property issues, and looking for and finding stuff we'd never considered. Mark's Spanish is excellent and he navigated the process with ease, giving us ease of mind as well. He didn't add any additional costs to his estimate, he travelled to Sitges several times without a hesitation, and even followed up with a list of todos for us.Mark seemed to genuinely care about us and our transaction. I would highly recommend using Mark if you are thinking about purchasing property in Spain.

Hugh Connolly

09:27 02 May 20

Thoroughly recommended. If you are feeling a little disconcerted at the thought of buying your first property around Barcelona, it’s great having someone ‘on your side’ who has seen and done it many times before to advise, accompany, translate and represent you, from the initial viewing all the way through to completing the purchase. Thanks for all your help Mark.

Luis Zarza

11:55 11 Feb 20

Elektra Klimi

20:22 04 Feb 20

When we started off the process of buying a house in Barcelona, we considered doing it on our own. We soon found out that this could be pretty risky. Minor mistakes can literally cost you thousands!After buying our dream house, we realised we couldn't have done it without Spain Advisors. We found Mark by accident through a facebook event. I decided to pay him a visit in his office to find out more about the process. I was immediately convinced we needed to work with him!Mark helped us avoid a lot of pitfalls - hidden maintenance costs, ownership problems, inflated asking prices and more.His fee is a very small fraction of the money he saved us, by negotiating the price, being meticulous in reviewing contracts, and recommending us his trustworthy contacts (mortgage broker, notaria etc).Mark brings a wealth of experience, and has an incredible work ethic, making sure you're kept up to date at all times. We don't speak much Spanish, so having him explain every single detail was a great help. It was a great pleasure meeting him and working with him.We'd definitely recommend Spain Advisors if you're considering buying a house in Barcelona. Do yourself a favour and contact Mark even before considering purchasing a house.

Larry Heugatter

09:52 22 Jan 20

We offer the very highest recommendation for Mark Carr and Spain Advisors. We purchased a lovely apartment in Tarragona, and would have never accomplished it without Mark's guidance and actions via power of attorney. Obtaining a mortgage was difficult as the Spanish laws changed in 2019 right after we signed the contract, so we had to negotiate with four banks to get a loan (Mark works closely with Bozena Brunowska at Mortgage Direct). It took much longer than anticipated, and Mark served as the go-between with the seller who, like us, had hoped to close sooner. Mark's knowledge of Spanish real estate law and navigating the system was indispensable. We have already recommended him to two friends who are considering a move to Spain. When we came to shop for properties, Mark met with us and lined up around a dozen places to see in two days. He was helpful in pointing out issues about the apartments, location, etc. that we may have overlooked. He is highly ethical, and went well above and beyond what was required to help us complete the purchase. His communications are clear, concise, and very quick. We never had any trust issues or felt that we weren't in the best hands. Mark is one of the nicest and most trustworthy people you could every meet.We absolutely love our place in Tarragona, and encourage anyone to take the plunge and establish a base in this lovely country. Mark can be your best asset to do so. Thank you!

shannon miller

20:46 20 Jan 20

A thousand stars!!! Spain advisors is amazing!!! I couldn’t have done it without them. I had hired two different lawyers that couldn’t get me the apartment before finding Mark. The property I was trying to purchase had a difficult owner and Mark came in and saved the deal. He even helped me negotiate a better price! He is very knowledgeable about the regulations, construction laws and what to watch out for. He has a network of expert professionals he works with. Mark walked me through every step, making sure all my paperwork was in order and that the proper protections were in place. He found me a mortgage broker that got me financed, a Spanish tax attorney to help me understand all my taxes and stayed with me through all of it. I can’t recommend him enough. If you are considering buying property in Barcelona you need Mark!! I love my new apartment and I’m so glad I moved here from Los Angeles. Thank you for helping me live my dream!!

Rafael Castro

12:30 08 Dec 19

I met Mark from Spain Advisors by chance at a real estate event, at the time was looking for a flat to buy and he helped me, first providing his valuable opinion in regards to some properties we saw, and later guiding the purchase process which went very smoothly. I went with Spain Advisors because of their attention to legal detail, thoroughness through the purchasing process and Mark's punctuality. Thanks again! Rafael.

Dan Chivers

16:04 03 Dec 19

It was very helpful to have you guide us through the process and be available to answer any questions along the way. Thank you!

Antonia Heath

18:47 17 Nov 19

Spain Advisors were excellent. I could not recommend the company more. I was guided through every step, had every question answered and had the whole process explained clearly and carefully to me. It was reassuring to have a company with so much experience helping me. This was my first purchase in Spain coming from the UK and Spain Advisors knew how to reassure me.

Andrea Garnett

19:05 11 Nov 19

I could not have done this without the Help of Mark. He helped me every step of the way and finally I am happy in my new flat. Very happy with the service. Money well spent. Thanks a million

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We are a Property Buyer’s Agent

Spain Advisors is your most trusted option to find and buy property in Barcelona or the area nearby. With a highly professional and personalized service, you are sure to find the ideal estate.

We take our time with each client visiting properties, talking to agents, and going through the purchase process. To protect your investment, we strive to reduce your chances of paying unnecessarily high costs or having post-purchase regrets.

Company Founder

Spain Advisor's founder, Mark Carr, is an attorney licensed in California. He practiced law in San Diego for ten years and, in 2001, moved to Barcelona. Mark worked in law firms specializing in real estate and, in 2015, founded Spain Advisors. In 2010, he and his wife bought an apartment near Sagrada Familia. They have two children, ages 14 and 17.

Mission

Promptly resolve problems that arise in the search and purchase process. Non-Spaniards are at a natural disadvantage in Spain with the language, contracts, and strange home rules. We carefully explain the details in each step of the process. If we can't get straight answers from the agent, we advise you to pass. It happens.

Sole Contact

We offer the services required to buy and own the property. In addition, we work with a mortgage specialist for financing, a local architect for property inspections, and a Spanish tax attorney for tax issues. We also partner with a money transfer expert if necessary. Having one contact makes things a lot easier.

Our Collaborators

Mortgage Advisor

We work with Ms. Bozena Brunowska of Mortgage Direct. Bozena is a UK-qualified financial advisor where she lived for 20 years. She has worked in accounting, retail banking and holds a CeMAP mortgage qualification. Ms. Brunowska can provide a mortgage quote within 24 hours and pre-approval while you are still searching. In 2017, she bought a small farm near Barcelona.

Catalan Architect

Carlos Casablancas is a Barcelona-licensed architect. Graduated from the Técnica Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona in 1997, he also has a master's in Legal and Forensic Architecture and lectures at a local university. He specializes in inspecting properties for structural defects, water damage, and similar issues. Carlos also designs and manages renovation projects.

Spanish Tax Attorney

Spain Advisors works with an attorney who graduated from the Universidad de Cantabria Law School and has a master's in Spanish taxation. He worked for the Cantabrian government and later for a large Barcelona law firm for several years. He specializes in real estate and property taxes, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions.

Why Barcelona?

Barcelona offers a high quality of life with a variety of people and activities.

Sunny Climate

Located on the Mediterranean Sea with warm summers, little rain, and mild winters, you can enjoy the outdoors year-round.

Cosmopolitan

Barcelona is home to people from all over the world, creating an exciting and tolerant environment.

Diversity

From the medieval Gothic Quarter to the urban Eixample district to the sunny beach area to the friendly, lower-priced zones on the city’s outskirts, there’s a neighborhood for everyone.

The Economy

Barcelona has the most robust economy in Spain and, compared to other large cities, housing prices are very reasonable. As a result, demand for property is constant, and construction is booming.

No car needed

We get around by foot, bike, or the underground metro. Not having to spend in car gas is truly a relief!

Location

Situated on the Mediterranean Coast, it’s minutes by train to several beach towns and two hours to France and the ski slopes of the Pyrenees Mountains.

For some advice, read our articles:

How to buy property in Barcelona

Why our clients buy property in Barcelona

For some advice, read our articles:

Hire a Buyer’s Agent in Barcelona

Why does the estate agent want me to get a mortgage broker?

Okupas in Barcelona: Homeless or Squatters? A True Story