New build paid in full, inspection pending: financed instead of a two-year wait
A buyer had paid for the new build entirely from his own funds — and was waiting for the completion inspection. Without it, no land registry entry; without the registry entry, no mortgage.
Can you still get a mortgage on a new build that is already paid in full, while the inspection is pending?
Yes, even someone who has already paid in full can subsequently raise part of the committed capital as financing, up to 70 % of the tasación. Timing is decisive, ideally before the completion inspection. Once the building is signed off, only a short window remains, and a remortgage of an existing asset typically reaches up to 50 %.
The structure behind it
The starting position wasn't unusual, just uncomfortable: the purchase price was settled, the building stood finished, and the municipality was taking its time. Based on the information the client had when he came to us, he would have had to wait roughly two more years before the completion inspection, including the Licencia de Primera Ocupación, went through. Until then: no registry entry, no mortgage, no access to the capital already committed.
Standard Spanish banks don't help at this point. They only pay out once the completion inspection has happened — exactly the event the client was already waiting for. Anyone who can't or won't wait finds no partner there.
How much of the committed capital can be raised afterwards?
Even someone who has already paid in full can subsequently raise part of the committed capital as financing, up to 70% of the tasación.
We arranged the financing for him. Even someone who has already paid in full can subsequently raise part of the capital committed as financing — up to 70% of the tasación, even if the equity used was considerably higher. The money isn't lost, it's parked.
When is the right time to arrange the financing?
Ideally before the completion inspection, because once the building has been signed off only a short window remains for financing and registration.
Timing is decisive. Ideally before the completion inspection. Once the building has already been signed off, our experience shows only a short window remains for financing and registration — the bank sets the exact terms. Miss it, and you're no longer a buyer arranging financing but the owner of a paid-off property: only a remortgage of an existing asset applies then, typically up to 50% instead of up to 70%.
Case status: closed — financing arranged
Anonymised case report from our own brokerage practice. Property details, amounts and personal information have been omitted or altered to protect our clients. Every financing case is assessed individually; no claim to an identical outcome follows from any single case.
Of the 30+ institutions we approach per case, one pays the developer instalments before the building has been signed off (Perini market check, as of 14.07.2026). This is exactly where new-build purchases by non-residents fail — not on creditworthiness, but on the documentation required upfront.
Frequently asked questions
What was the starting position in this case?
The starting position wasn't unusual, just uncomfortable: the purchase price was settled, the building stood finished, and the municipality was taking its time. Based on the information the client had when he came to us, he would have had to wait roughly two more years before the completion inspection, including the Licencia de Primera Ocupación, went through.
Why don't standard Spanish banks help before the completion inspection?
Standard Spanish banks don't help at this point. They only pay out once the completion inspection has happened — exactly the event the client was already waiting for. Anyone who can't or won't wait finds no partner there.
Can someone who has already paid in full still raise financing?
The money isn't lost, it's parked.
Related pages
How stage-payment financing works
Stage payments in Spain: the developer wants instalments during construction; the Spanish bank pays at handover. One of the 30+ lenders we approach closes that gap.
Perini market check
Spanish banks compared: of 15–20 lenders approached, one pays stage payments, two lend against a paid-off property. Which lender finances non-residents.
Fuerteventura property: Low-barrier instead of large, €570,500 for a bungalow in Caleta de Fuste
Anonymised case from Fuerteventura: a low-barrier bungalow in Caleta de Fuste, €570,500 financed. Mortgage financing for non-residents in Spain. §34i.
Fuerteventura property for sale: how much will a bank lend to non-residents?
A developer new build runs differently: the stage payments fall due before a mortgage can even exist — see financing a new build during construction.
Content by Siegfried Perini — local brand representative since 2019, active in real estate since 1992, entered in the German intermediary register (§ 11a GewO) as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice. Point of contact for German-speaking buyers in Spain and Portugal. Brokerage by Olga Nikushkina, mortgage credit intermediary under § 34i German Trade Regulation (GewO); in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary.