Problems in this market almost always give warning signs. Red flags that should make you stop in your tracks:
- A price well below the provincial index without a documented explanation. Bargains do exist; bargains without paperwork, they don’t.
- Artificial urgency: “There’s another buyer; reserve it today with €3,000 via Bizum.” A signal like this, without a deposit agreement and outside of escrow, is a gift given in the hope of a return.
- Unclear ownership: the seller isn’t the owner, they’re ‘holding it’ on someone else’s behalf, or the owning company doesn’t appear in any of the documents they show you.
- Income that exists only on paper, or screenshots from an app with no tax returns or bank statements to back them up.
- Silence regarding encumbrances, penalties or planning permission — precisely the things that become costly to discover too late.
Protection lies in method, not suspicion: basic documentary verification (ownership, encumbrances, licence, penalties), [certified] income(/certificado)d or discounted, comparing the price against the index with a sample, and never accepting money outside of escrow. This is exactly the process that the secure settlement takes care of for you — including the part where someone with experience checks the paperwork before you get carried away.
→ Full guide: Buying a VTC licence in 2026: the definitive guide
LAST REVIEWED · Jul 19, 2026 — VTC360 guide: general criteria, not advice for your specific case.