Off plan property in spain und Buying off plan property in spain: Buying off-plan property in Spain – who pays the instalments during the build?
When buying from a developer, the Spanish mortgage only comes into being at completion. Everything paid to the developer before that is equity — across 18 to 36 months. Buying off-plan property in Spain means carrying that gap, and that gap is what we solve.
Until when do you fund the instalments yourself when buying from a developer in Spain?
You usually pay the developer's instalments yourself until completion, because the Spanish mortgage only comes into being at the escritura. Across the 18 to 36 months of construction they count as equity, typically 20 to 30 per cent of the price. One of the 30+ banks we approach pays each stage payment directly.
What developer brochures do not explain
The Spanish mortgage only comes into being at completion, at the escritura. Everything paid to the developer during the 18- to 36-month construction phase counts as equity.
How do you finance a new build in Spain? The Spanish mortgage only comes into being at completion, at the escritura. Everything paid to the developer during the 18- to 36-month construction phase counts as equity — so the construction phase is the part that has to be solved.
Who pays the developer instalments during construction? One of the 30+ banks we approach pays each stage payment directly to the developer (equity first); Perini knows this bank — which one is settled in the conversation. Brokerage under § 34i GewO.
Is there a second route?
Yes: borrowing against unencumbered German property, up to 80 % of the lending value. That capital covers the instalments and the Spanish unit stays unencumbered. At completion a Spanish bank takes on the balance — in practice around 60 to 70 % of the lower of price and valuation. Which route carries belongs in the free first conversation, before you sign the private contract. The Spanish banks.
Why do off-plan purchases in Spain fail during the construction phase? When buying off-plan property in Spain, you usually pay the developer’s instalments yourself — and that is why new-build purchases fail.
A Spanish mortgage only comes into existence once the property is completed, signed off and entered in the Registro de la Propiedad.
Until then standard banks release nothing, and after handover the Licencia de Primera Ocupación still has to follow: one to three months by statute, usually three to six in practice, occasionally up to two years.
Across a build period of 18 to 36 months the buyer has to bridge the developer's instalments from their own capital, typically 20 to 30 per cent of the purchase price.
Of the 30+ lenders we approach per case, one pays those instalments directly to the developer during construction (Perini Market Check). The alternatives are your own capital or borrowing against an unencumbered existing property — both belong before the private contract.
A Spanish new-build purchase runs through reservation, private contract and several construction-milestone instalments. In total, often 20 to 30 per cent of the price — spread across two to three years. For that phase, Spanish banks as a rule offer no financing: they will not lend against a property that does not yet exist.
The mortgage comes at the end, at the escritura, once the property is completed, licensed and registered — for non-residents, in practice in the region of 60 to 70 per cent of the lower of price and valuation.
This is why new-build projects rarely fail at the bank. They fail in the construction phase — for buyers whose wealth is not in the account but in a property back home.
Two legal systems, one purchase
During construction, one of the 30+ banks we approach pays the developer instalments directly, or the instalments are raised against existing German property, where security and law stay German.
Construction period (Construction phase): Route 1: one of the 30+ banks we approach pays the developer instalments directly once the equity is in. Route 2: the instalments are raised against existing German property — security and law stay German, the Spanish unit cannot yet be charged. Brokerage under § 34i GewO.
Spain (Completion)
At the escritura a Spanish bank takes on the balance — or the developer's mortgage share is taken over by subrogación.
Where it does not work (Limits): If the equity for the first step is not there and there is no unencumbered property to borrow against, what remains is your own funds or buying a completed unit. We say so in the first conversation — not after the private contract.
New-build cases from our advisory work
Author & regulatory separation. Content author: Siegfried Perini.
Mortgage brokerage in Spain and Portugal is carried out under the § 34i GewO licence held by Olga Nikushkina; in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary. This information does not replace legal or tax advice. The legal review of developer contracts belongs with a Spanish lawyer.
Costa Blanca case reports: Anonymised financing cases.
All cases: new-build & construction phase: Case reports on this topic.
Frequently asked questions
How do you finance a new build in Spain?
The Spanish mortgage only comes into being at completion, at the escritura. Everything paid to the developer during the 18- to 36-month construction phase counts as equity — so the construction phase is the part that has to be solved.
Who pays the developer instalments during construction?
One of the 30+ banks we approach pays each stage payment directly to the developer (equity first); Perini knows this bank — which one is settled in the conversation. Brokerage under § 34i GewO.
Is there a second route?
Yes: borrowing against unencumbered German property, up to 80 % of the lending value. That capital covers the instalments and the Spanish unit stays unencumbered. At completion a Spanish bank takes on the balance — in practice around 60 to 70 % of the lower of price and valuation. Which route carries belongs in the free first conversation, before you sign the private contract.
Looking at a new-build? Let us work through the construction phase.
In a free first conversation we establish how much equity the construction phase really demands, what a German bank can raise against existing property, and what is left at completion — before you sign the private contract.
Related pages
Non-resident mortgage on foreign income: will a Spanish bank fund a new-build?
Read the page.
Off-plan property in Spain: what to check before you sign the private contract?
Read the page.
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.