How do you get a mortgage in Spain?
Let’s go through one of the questions buyers worry about most: who can get a mortgage in Spain, and how to get one.
Who can get a mortgage in Spain?
Both residents and non-residents can get a mortgage in Spain. The terms depend on your status.
- Residents (people who pay taxes in Spain) can get up to 80%, sometimes up to 90%, of the apartment’s price. Most banks base that percentage on the lower of two figures: the purchase price or the appraisal. Taxes and buying costs are paid out of your own money.
- Non-residents can expect financing of up to 70% of the property’s value. They also need to budget for the extra costs: the purchase tax, the notary, the Property Registry and paperwork come to about 11-12% of the price in Catalonia, and other regions have their own tax. A stable income matters. If your income isn’t in euros, the bank will discount it to allow for exchange-rate swings, and it may not accept income in some currencies at all.
Fill out the 5-minute questionnaire and Yulia will estimate, for free, how much of your own money you’d need. No documents needed.
Documents for a mortgage in Spain
To apply for a mortgage, you’ll need to prepare the following documents:
- Passport and NIE (foreigner identification number).
- Proof of income:
- for employees: an employment contract (ideally a permanent one) and your last 3 payslips;
- for the self-employed: tax returns and proof of social security contributions.
- Bank statements for the last 6 months.
- Tax returns for previous years.
- Vida laboral (your Spanish work history): a list of all your jobs.
- Documents for any other loans you have.
- The reservation contract for the apartment you’ve chosen and its official appraisal (tasación).
What matters to the bank?
- Work history and stable income. Many banks want to see at least 12 months of work history. If you’ve had gaps, it’s worth preparing an explanation in advance.
- Debt-to-income ratio. Your mortgage and other loan payments shouldn’t exceed 30-35% of your net income; sometimes the bank allows up to 40%.
- Savings. Even if the bank is willing to lend 90%, you need at least 10% of the price for the down payment and about another 11-12% for the tax and paperwork in Catalonia.
- Age. Most banks want the loan paid off by age 75, though each sets its own limit.
How can you speed up the mortgage process?
How long the bank takes to review your application depends on the bank and on how complete your documents are. Once it approves you, the bank issues a binding offer (FEIN), and you can sign at the notary no sooner than 10 calendar days later, or 14 in Catalonia: the law gives you that time to study the terms. A few tips to avoid delays:
- Get the full set of documents ready in advance.
- Apply to several banks at once and compare their offers.
- Give the bank accurate information: you’ll get fewer follow-up questions.
Want to save yourself time and stress? We help with the mortgage together with our partner mortgage broker: we work out how much of your own money you’ll need, choose and check an apartment the bank will finance, and explain which documents the bank will ask for and where to get them. Our partner mortgage broker handles the bank application. See how it works on the “Purchase with a mortgage” page.
