Your purchase journey, step by step

A secured offer is a purchase offer that reaches the owner in writing, signed, dated and backed by a deposit. It is not a call or a message: it is a document with concrete terms — amount, payment method, deadlines and whether you request a financing clause — with money behind it proving the interest is real.

That is why it works better: the owner stops comparing words and compares verifiable offers. An offer with a deposit gets answered sooner, negotiates better and usually ranks ahead of those made by word of mouth.

It also protects you: there is a record of what you offered and when, and the owner has a maximum term to reply instead of leaving you waiting.

Arras are an economic signal the buyer pays the seller to reserve the home and commit to the purchase. In Spain they come before the final deed (not the same as the final payment).

There are three kinds: confirmatorias (advance on price), penales (with penalty), and the most common in resale, penitenciales (Spanish Civil Code art. 1454), which allow withdrawal:

• If the buyer withdraws, they forfeit the arras paid.
• If the seller withdraws, they must return double the arras.

You choose the percentage in your offer (most common and advisable is 10% of the price). For this property, 10% would be 20.000 €, deducted from the final amount. Ejemplo con una vivienda de 200.000 €.

The financing clause is an optional condition you can ask to include in the earnest money contract. It states that if the bank formally refuses your mortgage, the contract is void and you get your earnest money back in full.

Bear in mind: it is useful protection, but many owners do not accept it because it prolongs uncertainty. If your profile is solid and you have pre-approval, leaving it out sometimes makes your offer more competitive.

If you request it, you will be asked for:

• A minimum of 2 refusal certificates from different banks.
• A banking process window of 30 days as a rule, extendable if agreed with the owner.

If you are buying with cash this clause does not apply. It is your decision: you enable it with a checkbox when making your offer.

In a home purchase, total costs are often around 8–12% of the price, depending on the region, whether the home is new or resale, and your intended use (main home, second home, investment).

• Taxes: ITP on resale (varies by region and type, with reductions for main home, young buyers, etc.). New build: VAT + AJD on the mainland and Balearics · IGIC + AJD in the Canary Islands.
• Notary: ≈€600–1,200
• Land Registry: ≈€400–700
• Gestoría: ≈€300–400
• Valuation (if you need a mortgage): ≈€300–450
• Agency fees: sometimes paid by the seller, sometimes shared — we confirm before you sign.

On request, your Ziegel agent prepares a tailored breakdown with exact figures before completion.

When you send your offer, a secure payment gateway holds €500 on your payment method. To begin with it is a hold (pre-authorisation), not a charge: the money does not leave your account.

From there:

• If the owner declines your offer or does not reply in time → the hold is released automatically and nothing is charged.
• If the owner accepts → the hold becomes a charge and the amount stays on deposit until the earnest money contract is signed. When you sign and pay the earnest money it is always returned to you in full.
• If the owner accepts and you do not sign → the €500 is not returned: it stays as compensation.

While it is only a hold, your banking app may show it as a pending transaction. That is normal and it disappears once released.

Yes. Ziegel works with a panel of partner banks to whom we can send your profile so they compete to offer the best mortgage terms (APR, APRC, term, fees, tie-ins).

It is an optional, free service with no obligation: you choose which lender to use (one of ours or your usual bank). You request it in step 2 of the purchase offer.

How advisory works:

1. You tick the option in step 2 of your offer (GDPR consent to share your profile with partner banks).
2. Within 24–48 h, a Ziegel mortgage adviser contacts you to collect basic documents (DNI/NIE, recent payslips or tax return, employment history, existing debts) and understand your goal (amount, term, target payment).
3. We send your anonymised profile to 3–5 partner lenders and collect their binding offers (APR, APRC, tie-ins, fees).
4. We give you a comparison table and you choose which bank proceeds with valuation and FEIN/FIAE (Spanish mortgage law 5/2019).
5. We coordinate timelines with you and the chosen bank so completion fits the arras contract (60 days with a mortgage is typical).

If you also request the finance clause, this fits well — you compare, get valued, and if the bank declines, you recover your arras.

Yes. The owner can accept your offer, decline it or propose a different price or terms. If they counter, your agent passes it on and you decide: accept, offer again or walk away.

While you negotiate, your deposit stays on hold. If you do not reach an agreement it is released at no cost.

It is not compulsory, but we recommend it. Seeing it avoids surprises with the condition, light, noise or the building, and gives you arguments to negotiate.

You can book the viewing from this page and make your offer afterwards. If you are away, your agent can show it to you by video.

Yes. The property is not taken off the market while your offer is being considered: others may arrive. The owner picks the one that suits them best, and it is not always the highest — payment method, deadlines and whether you ask for a financing clause also count.

That is where a secured, well-framed offer makes the difference against a verbal one.

No. Once you send it and your agent presents it to the owner, the offer stands and cannot be withdrawn: it remains in force until the owner replies or the term expires. That is why it is worth checking the amount, payment method and terms before sending — the summary step is there for exactly that.

If the owner declines or does not reply in time, the offer lapses on its own and the hold is released at no cost. If they accept and you then do not sign the earnest money contract, the €500 deposit stays as compensation.

Yes. DNI or NIE is mandatory for a purchase offer: it formally identifies the buyer and lets the owner and notary verify your legal capacity.

If several people are buying (couple, family, investors), each buyer must provide their DNI/NIE — later, at the office, we will also ask for a copy.

Your data is stored encrypted (GDPR) and used only for the transaction.

Yes, for three reasons. There is a record: your offer has a date and exact content. It is comparable: the owner sees your amount and terms next to the others. And it has a deadline: you know when you will get an answer.

You also do it in two minutes from your phone, with no trip to the office and nothing to print, and your Ziegel agent presents and defends it before the owner on your behalf.