Same Salary, Less Mortgage: Spain vs. Germany
Two buyers, the same salary. In Germany one gets full financing — in Spain the other has to put almost a third of the price on the table in cash. The reason is not the interest rate and not the much-quoted percentage rule. It is something hardly anyone tells you before it is too late.
Picture two buyers. Same job, same net income, same savings. One buys a flat in Munich, the other buys the same flat — identical price, size and condition — on the Costa Blanca. In Germany the bank waves the financing through, right up to the last euro of the price if need be. In Spain the second buyer gets a cold shower: suddenly he is expected to bring well over €100,000 out of his own pocket before anything happens at all.
Why this happens is almost always explained wrongly. It is not the interest rate. And it is not the much-quoted "35% of income in Spain, 40% in Germany" rule. Anyone who tells you that has missed the real problem — and you pay the bill. Here is what actually happens.
The 35/40% rule explains almost nothing
You read it everywhere: German banks allow up to around 40% of net income for the instalment, Spanish banks only 35% (the "regla del 35%"). Sounds like the big difference. It is not.
Because both countries work from the same affordability logic around 35%. Germany's 40% is merely the top of that very range. In Spain the 35% is also measured against your total debt service — all ongoing obligations combined, not just the new instalment. A few percentage points either way never explain why the same salary carries tens of thousands less mortgage in Spain. Three entirely different things do — and they hit hard. To see what your income really carries in Spain, run the mortgage readiness check.
100% versus 70% — the difference that hurts
This is the blow hardly anyone sees coming. A property purchase in Germany can be financed, for a solid borrower, up to 100% of the price. Full financing is possible; at best your equity only covers the purchase costs.
A Spanish bank, by contrast, typically finances non-residents up to 70% of the price — and, here is the catch, on the lower of the purchase price and the tasación (the bank's own valuation).
Let's do the maths. Property: €400,000.
- Germany: in the extreme, the bank finances the full €400,000. Equity for the price: €0.
- Spain: 70% of €400,000 = €280,000. You put €120,000 of equity on the table for the price alone — before a single cent of purchase costs is due.
€120,000 versus €0. That is not the percentage rule. That is the difference.
When 70% is suddenly less
That little qualifier — "on the lower of price and tasación" — is really a trapdoor. If the Spanish bank values your dream property below the purchase price — which happens constantly with international buyers and in sought-after coastal spots — the 70% is calculated on the lower figure.
Example: you buy at €400,000, but the bank values it at €370,000. Now you get 70% of €370,000 = €259,000, not of €400,000. Your equity gap jumps from €120,000 to €141,000 — €21,000 more, out of nowhere, exactly when you can least absorb it. Why valuation and purchase price drift apart, and what you can do about it, is covered in tasación versus purchase price.
10 to 13% nobody finances
And then the purchase costs land on top — steep in Spain, and financed by no bank. Depending on the region you end up at roughly 10 to 13% of the price. Transfer tax (ITP) alone ranges from 6.5% in the Canaries through 7% in Andalusia and 9% on the Costa Blanca up to a tiered 13% in the Balearics — plus notary, land registry and gestoría.
Add it up: on our €400,000 Costa Blanca property, the €120,000 deposit is joined by around €40,000 in costs. That is €160,000 in cash — 40% of the price — that you must have liquid. Work out your own region with the full breakdown under property purchase costs in Spain.
The silent brake
The fourth factor hits buyers over 50 in particular — and it is almost always overlooked. Spanish banks generally require that age plus term not exceed 75 (more lenient houses go to 80).
Buy at 55 and you rarely get more than a 20-year term. And a shorter term means, at the same affordable monthly instalment, a smaller loan. The very same borrower who could count on a long term and a high loan in Germany loses further volume in Spain through the age cap — on top of everything above.
A real difference — but a completely different one
Now to the point almost everyone throws into one pot. Yes, there is a sharp legal difference between the two countries. But it is not about how much you get — it is about your rights when the bank assesses you incorrectly.
Germany transposed the EU Mortgage Credit Directive (2014/17/EU) with strong consumer rights: if the bank assesses your creditworthiness incorrectly, § 505d BGB provides that the rate drops to the market rate and you can exit without a prepayment penalty. A bank error becomes expensive for the bank. Spain transposed the same directive in Ley 5/2019 (LCCI); the solvency assessment (Art. 11) is mandatory, but the consequences of getting it wrong are mostly supervisory — noticeably weaker for you as the borrower.
Worth knowing. But it is a difference in your rights in a dispute, not a reason for a lower loan. Anyone who blends § 505d with the 35% rule to explain why you borrow less in Spain is simply explaining the wrong thing. For the head-to-head of the two banking routes, see Spanish or German bank.
What it means for you — and the route almost nobody uses
Never plan your Spanish purchase with a percentage rule. Plan with the real levers: 70% loan-to-value on the lower value, 10–13% costs on top, the age cap on the term. Know it in advance and you don't walk into the cash trap.
And there is a way out that elegantly sidesteps the whole 70% ceiling: if you own a lightly encumbered property in Germany, you can raise capital against it up to 80% of its lending value and finance the Spanish purchase that way — often faster, because no Spanish bank assessment, no tasación and no age brake come into play at all. For many of my clients this is exactly what turns "a third in cash" back into "doable". How this combination of a Spanish mortgage and a German top-up works, I show you on your real figures.
I work through both routes with your real figures — and tell you honestly which one frees up the most credit from your equity. For a first approximation, use the Spanish mortgage calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get less mortgage in Spain than in Germany?
How much equity do I need for a property in Spain?
What is the tasación and why is it a risk?
Is there an age limit for a mortgage in Spain?
Is there an alternative to the Spanish bank's 70% cap?
Loan-to-value and cost figures are common market magnitudes of banking practice, not statutory limits; they vary by bank, property and region. Personal professional assessment, not legal or investment advice. Sources: Perini's own brokerage practice (non-resident loan-to-value 70%, German purchase up to 100%, as of 07/2026) · regional Spanish ITP rates (Canaries 6.5%, Andalusia 7%, Valencia 9%, Balearics tiered up to 13%, as of 07/2026) · common age cap of age + term ≤ 75 · § 505d BGB · Ley 5/2019 (LCCI), Art. 11 · Directive 2014/17/EU.
Personal advice
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