The system for obtaining a Spanish mortgage is built quite obviously, therefore, subject to the necessary number of conditions, it is quite possible for a foreigner to get it from a bank. However, before starting the purchase process and the procedure for registering the mortgage itself, it is important to contact specialists who will carefully study the financial situation of each specific client, orientate on the real possibilities of obtaining and advise on the necessary documents for each individual case.
Russians and mortgages in Spain
Some Russian real estate companies note an interesting feature: if you compare buyers from Europe and from Russia and Ukraine, you can see that 90% of Europeans buy real estate in Spain without a mortgage. Russians and Ukrainians are very similar when choosing an object: if they do not like objects in the segment of 500,000 euros on hand, then they often switch to viewing real estate for 1 million euros, having issued a mortgage for the missing amount. Last year, 60% of buyers from Russia and Ukraine took out mortgages. There is also the possibility of obtaining a mortgage in Spain for citizens of Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, etc.
In Spain, a mortgage can be issued for up to 30 years and usually the minimum payment is 50% of the value of the property. Of course, you can apply for a mortgage in the amount of up to 60% of the appraised value of housing, but it is worth remembering that then the buyer must not only pay the missing 40%, but also purchase taxes and taxes for a loan in the amount of 12% of the cost of housing. Therefore, even with a 60% loan, the buyer still pays a little more than 50% for the object.
Conditions for obtaining a mortgage
The conditions for obtaining a mortgage may periodically vary depending on the package of documents provided, the age of the borrower, etc. The main requirement is the legal purity of the acquired object, which must be registered in the local register of real estate (Registro de Propiedad). The percentage for non-residents is a stable 2.5%. The amount of payment per month on the loan should not exceed 30-35% of the borrower's monthly income. Early closing in the first five years will be 0.5% of the early repayment amount, and after this period it will be 0.25%. In Spanish banks, unified conditions for early closure of all banks have been preserved, since they were established by the Central Bank of Spain during the crisis. This is very convenient, because you do not need to waste time looking for a bank where conditions for early closing will be better than in others.
There are no obvious regional differences in the process of obtaining mortgages for foreigners. True, in Marbella, all documents - even for opening an account - require an apostille. But such a requirement appeared only because it was in this city that there were many scandalous stories with money laundering to citizens of the former USSR, therefore the requirements for the documents provided became more stringent. And this does not depend on the particular bank In Marbella - the same bank on the Costa Blanca or Barcelona does not put forward such strict documentary requirements.
How banks decide on a mortgage
There are no special requirements for the real estate object for which the mortgage is being issued, but it is the presence of this object that is important, since banks do not give mortgages for a bare plot. Therefore, before issuing a mortgage, an independent assessment of the object is carried out: if the object is located in the hinterland of the country, it is an old housing stock that requires repair, then such an object will be valued significantly lower than the market value. That is, the mortgage is issued based on the assessment of the object.
In turn, the bank can cut the percentage and give not 60%, but, for example, 40%, as it sees the risk for itself - in case of non-payment of the mortgage by the owner, the bank will not be able to sell it quickly and return all the funds issued under the mortgage ... Therefore, Spanish banks must take into account the liquidity of the property in case it has to resell this property himself. On the other hand, if this is an old house that is being demolished or is about to undergo major repairs, but at the same time it is located on the first line of the sea, then the bank will always issue a mortgage, since the value of such an object, due to its location, will always be exclusive.
The legality of funds is the key to obtaining a mortgage
When applying for a mortgage in Spain, it is very important to prove the legality of the funds - it is confirmed by tax returns, which are mainly fulfilled by Russians by the document "Personal Income Tax Form 2", issued for the current and previous years. Over the past 5-6 years, Spanish banks have become very strict, so without personal income tax, even an account cannot be opened. Therefore, very much before going to Spain to select real estate, take care of the legalization of their income: realtors still complain about occasional cases when the buyer has money, but cannot prove how he earned it. Therefore, even having a specific object for making a purchase, such people are not able to acquire it precisely because they cannot prove the legality of their income. But such cases are now rare.
You can confirm income with the following documents: a contract for the sale and purchase of real estate in your country, a certificate of inheritance, a document confirming income from renting out your real estate, a statement of account movements for the last 6 months, a letter of recommendation from a bank, an extract from a credit bureau stories, internal passport with registration. For questions of obtaining mortgages by foreigners, it makes sense to contact the leading banks in Spain: BBVA, Santander, Sabadell, La Caixa, Bankia, Bankinter and CaixaBank.
Price range of mortgage properties in Spain
Today's choice of residential real estate in Spain is very diverse: from inexpensive studio apartments in the price category of about 40,000 euros to elite luxury villas worth several million euros. Now on the Costa Blanca, there is an active construction of new complexes in the price range of about 120,000-250,000 euros, which are in demand both among buyers from the European Union and citizens of Russia and Ukraine.
Resale properties are also very popular with buyers, as this is a great opportunity to buy affordable housing on the Mediterranean coast at very reasonable prices. The largest percentage of the requested loans falls on real estate worth 120,000-700,000 euros, followed by housing at a price of 65,000-80,000 euros. Mortgages are issued for the purchase of housing both in the secondary market and for objects from construction companies.
Thank you for your help in preparing the material:
Marina Kostina, co-founder of Damlex Realty
Natalya Mishurova, Lead Account Manager
Natalia Salnikova, Director of Calipso Costa Blanca
Evgeny Voevodin, Director of Planeta Spain
Alexander Dashevsky, director of Espana Tour
