You arrive with the money
No financing condition in the contract, no waiting on a Spanish approval. That is an argument on price — and with a developer, doubly so.
Germany · capital raising
German Property as Security Mortgage: raise up to 80 % and buy in Spain
The German bank will happily provide the capital. It simply has no interest in what becomes of it in Spain — and the Spanish side cannot see the German one. Cases get lost in between.
This route requires a property in Germany. If yours is in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK or Scandinavia, your own lender releases the capital at home and we finance the Spanish side on top — equity from home.
Can I raise capital against my German property to buy in Spain?
Yes — an unencumbered German property can be charged up to 80 per cent of its lending value, and the funds carry no restriction on use. The real gain is not the interest rate but the position it gives you in Spain: the Spanish property stays free of charges, so you buy as a cash buyer — no financing condition, no tasación risk, no waiting on a Spanish approval. The difficulty is one of responsibility. The German bank provides the capital but takes no interest in what happens to it in Spain, while the Spanish side cannot see the German security at all. The two halves have to be timed against each other, because the Spanish private contract and the German land charge do not run to the same clock. Holding both together is the case — under §34i GewO with BAFA notification.
How much equity can you actually release?
The calculation is simple in principle: lending value × up to 80 %, minus whatever is still owed on any existing charge. A German property valued at €500,000 with no existing loan can typically release up to €400,000 in fresh capital through a land charge — the bank secures itself against the German property, and that capital becomes your equity or purchase price for Spain.
Three things move that number in practice: an existing first-charge loan reduces the room left within the 80 % ceiling; the bank's own lending value can sit below market value, particularly for holiday-home-type properties; and your income still has to service the new instalment on top of anything already running. We calculate the actual releasable amount against your specific property and existing charges before you commit to a figure.
What this structure can do
Calculator
Mortgage calculator
Monthly instalment, total cost and equity requirement for your exact figures.
Mortgage calculator →One assessment, not two
The Spanish non-resident review falls away: no sworn translations, no Spanish debt-ratio test, no second valuation.
Germany carries it
The lender values what it knows: your German property. It never has to price the Spanish one — one reason approval tends to come faster.
Purpose decides
Holiday property abroad? The list of lenders gets shorter — not empty. Knowing that list is the work.
Why this is a Perini case
Unspectacular and decisive: this structure has two legs, and most providers have one. A German broker completes the capital raising and hands you back to yourself. A Spanish agent knows the property but not the German lender, its lending values or its purpose rules.
We hold both legs: § 34i GewO for mortgage credit intermediation in Germany (register no. D-W-132-ZUCB-95), BAFA notification for cross-border activity in Spain; in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary, and a presence on the ground since 2019.
- Sequence. The German approval belongs before the Spanish reservation, not after.
- Evidence. The planned purchase is the purpose that carries the loan. Document it before it is demanded.
- Tax. Whether holding and charging the German property is wise is for your tax adviser. We supply the financing side and flag where the question lands.
- It is not a commitment. All figures are orientation from our brokerage practice — not a commitment and not a guaranteed condition. Whether a case works depends on the property, the valuation and your standing: subject to credit assessment, case by case, no legal entitlement.
Worked example · Marbella
Buying in Sierra Blanca — the equity comes from the German house
Both legs: capital raising in Germany, mortgage in Spain
A couple from North Rhine-Westphalia own an unencumbered house in Germany and want a villa in Sierra Blanca. The Spanish bank finances 70 % — the rest, including costs, should not come out of the portfolio.
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Property in Germany · market value | €2,800,000 | free of charges |
| Villa Sierra Blanca · purchase price | €4,000,000 | |
| Purchase costs (approx. 12 %) | €480,000 | |
| Spanish mortgage (70 % of the price) | €2,800,000 | secured on the villa |
| Remaining requirement (equity share + costs) | €1,680,000 | |
| Capital raised against the German property | €1,680,000 | = 60 % of market value |
Not one euro out of the portfolio, no sale in Germany. Two jurisdictions, one purchase — and one person answerable for both.
And the other side of it: Total debt €4,480,000: €2,800,000 secured on the Spanish villa, €1,680,000 by land charge on the German house. The German lender requires proof of residential use of funds; that proof decides how the loan is classified.
Note: This worked example is based on typical financing constellations from our practice. All amounts, persons and property data are anonymised or illustrative. It is not a customer testimonial. Every financing is assessed individually against personal standing, the property valuation (tasación) and the lender's own criteria.
Region: Property finance in Marbella
Free guide
German property as security, purchase in Spain — the guide as a PDF
How the structure works, what breaks it, which documents the lender wants to see and in which order to proceed. Free, by email, no upfront cost.
What is inside:
- Loan-to-value · up to 80 % of the German lending value
- Security · land charge in Germany — the Spanish property stays unencumbered
- Pitfall · proving residential use of funds
- The bracket · both legs, one point of contact
Open the PDF directly — no form · German property as security, purchase in Spain (PDF)
All figures are orientation from our brokerage practice — not a commitment and not a guaranteed condition. Whether a case works depends on the property, the valuation and your standing: subject to credit assessment, case by case, no legal entitlement.
Frequently asked questions
Can I raise capital against my German property to buy in Spain?
Yes. Capital raising against an unencumbered German property is an established product: the bank secures a land charge and the funds are available for the purchase abroad. Not every lender accepts every purpose.
What is the most common reason for refusal?
The purpose of the loan. German lenders distinguish between real-estate loans and consumer loans and often require evidence of residential use of the funds. Where the money is for a holiday property abroad, the list of willing lenders gets shorter.
Who takes responsibility for the Spanish side?
Usually nobody. The German bank finances against German security and takes no interest in the Spanish purchase; the Spanish adviser cannot see the German side. Cases disappear in that gap.
Does the German property have to be unencumbered?
Unencumbered is simplest. An existing charge doesn't rule out raising capital — the existing loan and the new one together just have to stay within the bank's lending limit, and not every lender accepts existing charges.
I no longer live in Germany. Does this still work?
In principle, yes — but the pool of lenders gets smaller. Country of residence, income currency and type of work all play a role. This is our core specialty: financing with a cross-border dimension.
Can I use the funds freely?
Formally, capital raised this way isn't tied to a purpose. In practice the bank asks what it's for — and classification as a real-estate loan depends on the answer. Saying "free use" when you mean a holiday property narrows the field of lenders unnecessarily.
Isn't a Spanish mortgage cheaper anyway?
Sometimes. That's why we run both paths against each other instead of selling one: German capital raising, Spanish financing — or a combination. Which one wins out in the end depends on your creditworthiness, the valuation and the term.
Both legs, one point of contact
Send us the key facts of your German property and the planned purchase in Spain. We will price both routes against each other before you commit to one.
Have both sides checkedRelated: Spanish or German bank? · all three structures