Mortgage readiness check — how realistic is your financing?
5 questions on income, equity, debt-to-income ratio, age and paperwork status. At the end: a rough read — green, amber or red — for Spain and Portugal separately.
How realistic is my mortgage as a non-resident?
Five factors typically decide the pool of banks and the loan-to-value: type of income (employed or self-employed), equity ratio, debt-to-income ratio (the 35% rule), age at the end of the term, and the status of your paperwork — above all the NIE or NIF. Employed applicants usually reach up to 70% loan-to-value in Spain and up to 80% in Portugal; self-employed applicants in Spain typically face around 60% and a higher equity requirement. The check below places your situation in about a minute — including the lever that helps most at amber or red. Does not replace a bank review and is not a financing commitment.
Your situation in 5 questions
Each answer counts points. At the end: a rough traffic light — not a bank review, not a financing commitment.
A rough self-assessment, not a bank review and not a financing commitment. Actual feasibility depends on the bank's full review — including the property (e.g. a finca on rústico land: only 50–70% loan-to-value), creditworthiness in detail, and current terms.
Keep this result — and the matching checklist
The check gives you a read. For the bank meeting, the right paperwork counts. We'll send you the PDF checklist for Spain, Portugal or both — free, no sales pressure.
More resources
Mortgage calculator
Monthly instalment, total cost and equity requirement for your exact figures.
Open calculator → ChecklistRequirements in detail
All documents for employed and self-employed applicants, plus the 35% rule worked through.
Learn more → Special caseAge limit for a mortgage
Why a no often turns into a yes once a younger co-signer joins.
Learn more →Five questions, one rough compass
The check doesn't replace a bank review — it shows which of the five levers is most likely holding things back. At amber or red, it's rarely the whole constellation that's the problem, but usually one single factor: often the debt-to-income ratio, because many non-residents underestimate their existing German obligations at first glance. Green means: the constellation fits the standard pattern. Amber means: financeable, with a narrower, targeted pool of banks. Red means: difficult with the standard route, but not automatically impossible — usually it needs a specialised structure, such as a second-charge mortgage on a German property as additional equity.