Learning the language might not be essential to finding a property in Spain but having a grasp of Spanish would certainly help you feel more in control of the whole process.
Equally if you are thinking of moving to Spain, getting a headstart with learning how to deal with practicalities such as getting your utilities connected or setting up a bank account really helps.
A Spain based immersion course that you could treat as a holiday is one way of learning Spanish fast and one company based around Barcelona claims to offer a unique approach.
Live, Learn, Breathe Spanish invites people to stay in the homes of their Spanish teachers and take classes every day, followed by fun afternoons putting their lessons into practice.
"The main selling point of our service is that potential home buyers can come on our courses to find out about the area where they are looking to buy a property, or if they have already bought a property they can get ahead in integrating into the new culture," says Marta Puig, the company's owner.
"Or because the one-to-one tuition can be tailored to the pupil's interest - cookery, culture, finance etc - the morning's lessons might be tailored towards dealing with estate agents, and the afternoons spent practising such interactions."
For more fun, the morning might be spent learning cooking terms, and then the afternoons at the local market, or in the kitchen of the teacher's house cooking supper for the family.
A course with 15 hours tuition a week and full accommodation costs 853 euros and is based at a choice of homes in the Barcelona area. Courses in Catalan rather than Spanish are also available.
Click here to find out more about the courses.
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