Spanish mortgage for property in Spain: what must be right before the bank request so the bank does not refuse?
We arrange financing that classic branches cannot provide — but not every case can be financed. Most exclusion reasons are fixed before you apply. Here they are, openly. That saves you time and spares us a refusal after the first consultation.
When does financing a property in Spain not work?
Financing a property in Spain usually does not work if the equity is missing, the property is not bankable, the tasación is below the purchase price, the ownership or planning situation is unclear, or the income cannot carry the instalment in the long term. Four of these reasons are fixed before the first bank request. In these cases a bank comparison changes the terms, not the outcome.
Financing a property in Spain depends above all on equity, the property and the tasación
Financing rarely fails because of the bank alone, but because of missing equity, a property that is not bankable or a tasación below the purchase price. These reasons are usually fixed before the application.
Mostly equity, property or tasación — rarely the bank: Rarely the bank alone: missing equity, a property that is not bankable or a tasación below the purchase price. These reasons are usually fixed before the application.
Can I recognise this in advance? Yes. The most common exclusion reasons can be checked before the bank request — and this page lists exactly those, openly.
Some things can be solved — such as equity from a German property: Some things can be solved (equity from a German property), some cannot (an instalment above your income). A bank comparison changes the terms, not your budget.
The five most common reasons and two more: all checkable before the bank request
Not marketing, but the reality from our brokerage practice. Each point is linked to the page where it is covered in detail.
The equity is missing (equity): Spanish banks usually lend non-residents up to 70% of the lower of purchase price and tasación. You provide the remaining around 30% plus around 10–13% purchase costs yourself. If these funds are missing, no bank comparison helps. Two kinds of no →
The property is not bankable (property): The most common case: a finca on suelo rústico without a legalised house registered for residential use in the Catastro. Pure farmland without legal buildings is rarely financed in the classic way. Finca on suelo rústico →
The tasación is below the purchase price (valuation)
The lower of purchase price and tasación is always what gets financed. If the bank values the property lower than what you pay, the difference becomes additional equity — not a larger loan. Tasación explained →
The ownership or planning situation is unclear (legal status): Missing or contradictory entries in the Registro, pending legalisations, legacy planning issues: as long as the legal status is unresolved, hardly any bank will continue its review — and a second attempt does not change that. What the bank checks before approval →
The income cannot carry the instalment in the long term (income)
If the monthly instalment exceeds your income in the long term, the case cannot be solved by choosing a different bank. A comparison improves the terms, not the budget — do the maths honestly before you apply. Requirements for non-residents →
The term is not viable because of age (age & term): As a rule of thumb, many banks set the end of the loan at around 75 years of age (75 minus age = rough term). With two borrowers, the younger one usually counts. If the viable term is not long enough for the necessary repayment, it gets tight. Case reports in retirement →
The financing does not fit the developer's payment structure (new build): With a new build, most Spanish banks only pay out on completion of construction — not the developer instalments due during the construction period. Anyone who cannot advance these instalments themselves and does not find one of the few banks that will fund them cannot buy this way. Stage payments during construction →
What can be solved — and what cannot
Property and legal questions are either resolvable or an exclusion — the choice of bank does not change that.
Missing equity, on the other hand, can sometimes be structured: anyone who owns a fully or largely paid-off property in Germany can release capital there and use it as equity in Spain. How that works is explained under Using a German property as security and Special financing. The one limit that we cannot move either is the calculation itself: if the instalment exceeds the income in the long term, the purchase is not viable — and saying so honestly is part of our work.
Frequently asked questions
Is a second or third attempt with another bank worthwhile if the first bank refuses?
For a refusal based on creditworthiness, yes — that is why we compare. If the refusal is due to the property (legal status, tasación) or to the calculation (equity, income), another attempt at a different Spanish institution changes nothing.
How much equity do I need as a non-resident to finance a property in Spain?
Spanish banks usually lend non-residents up to 70% of the lower of purchase price and tasación. You provide the remaining around 30% plus around 10–13% purchase costs yourself.
What happens if the tasación comes in lower than the purchase price?
The lower of purchase price and tasación is always what gets financed. If the bank values the property lower than what you pay, the difference becomes additional equity, not a larger loan.
Not sure whether your case works?
Describe it briefly — we will tell you honestly whether and how it works before you put time into a hopeless application.
Related pages
Two kinds of no →
Raising capital through property for Spain: stage payments during construction, capital from paid-off property, a German property as security.
Finca on suelo rústico →
Buying a finca in Spain: why banks only lend 50 to 70% on suelo rústico and what Catastro and Certificado Urbanístico mean.
Tasación explained →
Mortgage lending on property in Spain: the bank finances the lower of purchase price and tasación. What that means for your own funds.
Inheritance tax on property in Spain: what do parents and children pay?
Inheritance tax on property in Spain: which region decides and why the real limit lies in Germany.
Property prices Spain: what is actually paid at the notary?
Property prices Spain: the notaries' data shows the notarised purchase prices down to postcode level; in Q1 2026 they were 29% below portal prices.
Financing a house in Spain: how much can my net income carry?
Financing a house in Spain: with a 33% debt service ratio and 70% loan-to-value, €10,000 net a month carries a purchase price of up to around €827,500.
Costs of buying in Spain
Purchase costs Spain: ITP, notary, land registry, lawyer and bank costs in one overview — with a sample calculation and a regional ITP comparison.
Rental licence Spain
Regional licence, national registration number — and what the owners' association may decide.
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.