How to conduct a property viewing with a foreign buyer

In the province of Alicante, foreigners made 46.43% of the home purchases registered in the second quarter of 2026, according to Spain's land registrars. Across Spain, the largest groups of foreign buyers that quarter were British, Dutch, German, Moroccan, Romanian, Italian, French and Polish. This guide shows how to conduct a property viewing with a foreign buyer when you share no language: a checklist of five moments, what to set up before you go, and the two moments where a phone is not enough. The examples use Getix Translate, the live captions app we make, but the checklist works with any setup.

How to conduct a property viewing in five moments

When you show a property to a foreign buyer, five moments decide whether they leave informed or confused: the door, the rooms, the area, the money and the next step. Plan what to say and what to show for each.

Before you go: which languages, which words, which signal?

Decide the languages, the words and the connection before the day: the languages of a meeting are chosen before it starts and cannot change while it runs.

Ask the buyer which language they want to read, and who else will join, such as a partner or a parent. Getix Translate runs up to 5 languages at once, depending on the plan. On mobile data, keep to two.

Don't guess the language from the passport. These are the twelve largest groups of foreign buyers in Spain in the registrars' figures, with the language to pick:

Then prepare the words. Add the names of the development, the streets and the people to the glossary in the app. In Settings, set the meeting scene to Real estate: it brings a ready pack of terms such as IBI, nota simple and arras, with translations into English, Russian and Ukrainian. Our page for real estate agents shows the full agency setup.

Last, the signal. Walk the route with your phone before the buyer arrives and check each room you will show. Ask whether the buyer has mobile data in Spain. If not, the home's wifi (with the owner's permission) or your phone's hotspot can fill the gap.

At the door: how does the buyer follow on their own phone?

Start the meeting on your phone, send the buyer the captions link, and let them pick their language: they need no account and nothing to install.

1. On your phone, choose the languages. If nobody wants a transcript, set "Save transcripts" to "Don’t save" in Settings now, before you start.
2. Press the meeting tile marked "the mic hears everyone" and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
3. Copy the viewer link and send it by message to the buyer and their partner.
4. The buyer opens it, chooses a language and reads. Captions can be in any of the 60 languages, Polish and Swedish included; the buttons around them are in English, Spanish, French, Romanian, Russian or Ukrainian for now.
5. Say that live captions are on and whether the text is saved.
6. Keep the Getix Translate screen open on your phone. In the background the phone pauses the microphone, so use a second device for photos and documents.

Hold the phone in your hand, screen up, between you and the buyer. When the buyer speaks, bring it a little closer to them. You read their words in Spanish on your screen while they read yours on theirs.

Room by room: how should you speak so the captions keep up?

Say one fact per sentence, finish it, then pause: the translation appears shortly after a sentence ends, and short sentences come through whole.

• Speak in turns. When two people talk at once, part of what was said is lost. This is a limit of speech recognition, not a setting.
• One language per sentence. "The terraza faces south" can put the first words in the wrong column. Say it all in Spanish or all in English.
• Mind the room. Empty rooms echo, terraces catch wind, a builder may be drilling next door. Fewer words get through, so move the phone closer to whoever is speaking.
• Name places clearly. Give distances in minutes and say the names of the beach, the school and the bus stop. A name the captions keep getting wrong goes into the glossary.

A buyer can switch to English for a question, as long as English is one of the languages you chose.

Price, costs and taxes: why say it, then send it?

Say each figure once, show it written, and send it again after the viewing, because numbers, names and dates are where AI translation slips. AI makes mistakes. The original stays in view.

The figures buyers usually ask about:

• The asking price and what it includes.
• The community fee (cuota de comunidad) and any extra payment the owners have already approved (derrama).
• The yearly property tax (IBI): ask the seller for the last receipt.
• The purchase tax. In the Comunitat Valenciana, a resale home pays transfer tax (ITP), and a new home bought from the developer pays VAT, with stamp duty (AJD) on the deed, according to the regional tax agency. Send the buyer the official page, not a rate from memory.
• Notary and Land Registry fees, which follow official fee schedules.

Explain each Spanish word once, then keep using it. Our list of Spanish real estate terms defines each one, with an official source.

After the viewing: how do you confirm the next step?

Send a short written summary the same day, in simple Spanish or English with a translation underneath, so the buyer can check it in their own language and you keep the original.

• The property: address or reference.
• The figures: price, community fee, yearly IBI.
• The documents: floor plan, energy certificate, nota simple.
• The next step and its date: a second visit, a video call or an offer.

The energy rating has to appear in sale adverts, and a copy of the registered certificate is attached to the sale contract (Royal Decree 390/2021, article 17). If you saved the transcript, download it and check your figures against it; the buyer can save the text on their side too. Before the next buyer, press New link in Getix Translate so the link you sent today stops working. If the buyer has flown home, you can run the next viewing over video.

When is a phone not enough?

For the deposit contract and the deed at the notary, a phone is not enough: these are the moments for a person who interprets and a lawyer who explains.

• At the notary. Under article 150 of Spain's notarial regulation, if a party does not understand the language of the deed and the notary cannot explain it, a person chosen by that party acts as interpreter and signs the deed too. See who you need at each step of a purchase.
• The arras. This is a private contract with money at stake: where the arras allow either side to withdraw, a buyer who walks away loses the deposit and a seller who walks away returns it doubled (Civil Code, article 1454). The buyer's own lawyer should explain it in a language the buyer understands. Don't translate it yourself.

Sometimes another option is better. A colleague who speaks the buyer's language is the stronger choice. For two people taking turns in a quiet room, a phone app can be enough: Google Translate's live translate lists Polish, Swedish and Ukrainian. Before relying on earbuds, check the list: on 1 November 2026, Apple's Live Translation with AirPods covered nine languages, without Polish, Swedish, Dutch or Ukrainian. Getix Translate needs an internet connection on your phone and the buyer's.

Where three or four people each read in their own language, captions by link fit well: our page for real estate agents shows how an agency sets it up.

FAQ

How should a Spanish estate agent run a viewing with a Polish buyer who speaks no Spanish?

Choose Spanish and Polish before you start. Send the buyer the captions link at the door, speak one short sentence at a time, show every figure in writing and send a written summary the same day. For the arras, the buyer needs their own lawyer; at the notary, a person who interprets.

Does the buyer need to install an app?

No. The buyer opens a link in the phone's browser and picks a language, with no account and nothing to install. They need mobile data or wifi during the viewing.

What if there is no mobile signal inside the property?

Check the route before the buyer arrives. Getix Translate needs a connection, so where there is no signal at all, use the home's wifi with the owner's permission. Where the signal is only weak, stay on two languages or switch to Pocket Translate on your phone: you hold a button while you speak, and it picks up again after short dropouts.

Can I use live captions at the notary or to sign the arras?

No. Live captions help you follow the conversation at viewings and meetings. At the notary, when the notary cannot explain the deed in the buyer's language, Spain's notarial regulation provides for an interpreter chosen by the buyer, and that person signs the deed too. The deposit contract should be explained by the buyer's own lawyer.

Sources

• Colegio de Registradores, Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria, second quarter 2026: share of home purchases by foreigners in Alicante and in Spain, and the nationalities of foreign buyers. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Agència Tributària Valenciana, questions on ITP and AJD: which tax applies to resale and new homes. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Royal Decree 390/2021 on energy certificates, article 17: energy rating in adverts and the certificate attached to the sale contract. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Royal Decree 1426/1989, notaries' fee schedule and Royal Decree 1427/1989, Land Registry fee schedule: official fees for the deed and the registration. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Reglamento Notarial, article 150: the interpreter at the notary. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Civil Code, article 1454: arras in a sale. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Google Translate Help, live translate: supported languages and conversation modes. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Apple, iOS feature availability: languages of Live Translation with AirPods. Checked 1 November 2026.