Expat from Costa del Sol returns from trip to find her home has been ‘sold’

The Swedish expat in Mijas who was shocked to find out that her Costa del Sol house had been sold using a false power of lawyer after she returned from her trip abroad.

The woman had lived peacefully on the coast in the same place for more than 20 years. She had no reason to suspect, that last December while she had been abroad, a group of fraudsters was completing the sale her villa by using counterfeit documents.

A notary had approved a power-of-attorney that the woman hadn’t signed. The house was then transferred to a third party. According to Olive Press the perpetrators forged not only her identity documents, but also the notarised authority that granted them the full right to sell the house. report.

Strangers bought her house while she was away

She returned to Spain and found that strangers had moved into what used to be her home. Fraudsters had changed the locks and her belongings were missing. The new “owners”, however, claimed to have legally purchased the property. The nightmare started then.

She approached the Guardia Civil and they opened an investigation. They discovered a well-orchestrated operation that involved falsified documentation and a suspected international collaboration. The Guardia Civil handed this case over to a police unit that deals with fraud and property crimes.

According to sources close to the investigation, the fake power was drafted in Marbella before being used in Fuengirola. Investigators now are working to track down the notary, who approved the documents. They also want to know who was behind the shell buyer that briefly bought the property and then sold it on to another buyer.

Beware! Beware!

Olive Press said that this was not an isolated case. Legal experts in the region have reported a recent rise in property fraud cases that involve foreign residents who leave their assets unattended. 

The Costa del Sol has become a prime target for criminal gangs who exploit the trust issues, distance and complex legal system. With forged powers of attorney, counterfeit IDs, and fabricated signatures, they push through fraudulent sales or secure remortgages—often without raising so much as an eyebrow until it’s far too late. 

These operations have been meticulously planned and executed in a quiet manner. They are devastating when they end. Personal consequences have been devastating for the Swedish ex-pat homeowner, in particular because she is also a mother.

She would have lived there for more than 20 years

This was not just a house—it was her home, the space where she had built a life over more than 20 years. Returning to find her home occupied by strangers, her possessions missing, and her deed void was a shocking experience. This was the worst kind of violation. It has taken a heavy emotional toll. What was supposed to be a simple matter of ownership turned into a long and exhausting legal battle.

Her lawyer is now engrossed in the slow and painstaking process of unravelling fraud. But reversing a property transfer in Spain—even one based on forged documents—is neither quick nor straightforward. Each step is slowed down by mountains of paper, delays in the official system, and an inertia that comes with a system that’s not meant to be fast. Until the courts intervene, the house remains legally in the name of a second buyer—someone who might have purchased it in good faith or perhaps as part of the broader scheme. Nobody knows for certain.

She is left without a roof above her head. Stripped of legal rights to her own home, she’s stuck in a paralysing state of limbo—watching from the sidelines as the slow wheels of justice turn.