Four key risk areas for professionals in Spain’s property market
Outdated tools and fragmented systems still shape how cross-border property transactions are handled in Spain. In many cases, the risks are growing more visible.
Cybercrime targeting the Spanish property sector is up 32%, yet around four in five solicitors still rely on unsecured email as their main form of communication. For a process involving large sums and multiple counterparties, that creates a number of pressure points.
Communication is still email-first
From initial instructions to identity documents, most legal professionals continue to exchange sensitive data via standard email.
When something goes missing, it’s rarely clear who has seen what, who’s waiting on whom, or where responsibility lies. This lack of visibility, combined with increasing levels of spoofing and impersonation, raises both operational and reputational risk.
Fraud risk is rising
Spain has seen a sharp increase in property-related cyberattacks, driven by a combination of foreign buyer activity, large transaction sizes, and uneven identity verification practices.
When payment details are shared manually, and confirmed over the phone, there is often little protection against interception. A single spoofed email can redirect funds permanently.
Transactions are slow and hard to track
Older systems and disconnected teams make it difficult to keep transactions moving. Buyers ask for updates, notaries wait on paperwork, and agents need confirmation from banks or lawyers. With no shared view of progress, coordination becomes manual, and small gaps often slow the entire process.
Completion days remain vulnerable
On the day of completion, many professionals still rely on paper forms, phone calls, and goodwill. That makes the process vulnerable to delays or failures, particularly when timing is tight or documentation is unclear.
These risks aren’t new, but as volumes increase and cross-border activity grows, the pressure to modernise is becoming harder to ignore.
Redpin and our latest product Redpin Payments, which launched first in Spain, provide a secure, integrated platform for managing the end-to-end transaction process. Instructions, identity checks, approvals, and payments all take place in one environment, without unsecured emails or manual handoffs.
Modernising the process doesn’t have to be disruptive, but it does need to be deliberate.
