Mortgage loans in Spain for non-residents, including Poles

Spanish banks currently offer exceptionally competitive financing terms. Taking out a mortgage to purchase real estate is an attractive option both for those who do not plan to commit all their own capital and for those who want to take advantage of some of the lowest interest rates on loans in Europe.

If you are planning to purchase real estate using a mortgage loan due to a lack of sufficient funds, it is extremely important to properly plan the dates for signing individual agreements throughout the entire purchase process.

Indicating the need for loan financing at the reservation agreement stage allows you to avoid the stress associated with a situation where the bank’s decision has not yet been issued, and at the same time you are bound by specific deadlines for signing subsequent agreements. This does not apply to people who have sufficient funds to purchase real estate.

Can a Polish citizen apply for a loan in Spain?

In the case of non-resident customers who have documents certifying their income, Spanish banks grant loans without any major problems. As a non-resident, you can apply for a loan for 50% – 60% of the property value. The bank grants a loan for a given percentage of the property value – however, it should be remembered that taxes, transaction fees, and legal services must be added. Depending on whether it is the primary or secondary market, these will constitute an additional cost ranging from 8% to 13%.

An independent appraiser values the property, and in most cases, it is lower than its actual market value. However, this should not be interpreted as meaning that we are overpaying for the property – this is a strategy adopted by banks. They offer loans for around 50-60% of the value of the property, and in reality they often lower its value in order to have collateral on a higher percentage and thus reduce their risk. Either way, in both cases – even if the appraiser values the property higher than the market price – the bank accepts the lower of the two values.

We therefore recommend that you calculate your loan at 50% of the property value, which will avoid disappointment, and if the amount granted is higher, it will be a pleasant surprise.

What are the loan terms and conditions in Spain in 2026?

The maximum loan term is 20 years, which also depends on the age of the borrower. The loan terms currently offered by banks (analysis from March 2025 based on the current offer of Banco Santander and Banco Sabadell) are as follows:

• 50-60% of the property value,
• 20 years – loan repayment period,
• 2% to 3% interest rate in the first year of the loan,
• Euribor +1.5% interest rate from the second year of repayment (customers from outside the euro zone receive loan offers with a variable interest rate from the second year of repayment),
• 1% to 1.5% commission for opening a mortgage loan,
• 0.25% during the first 3 years, and then 0% commission for early partial or full repayment.

The bank will also require us to purchase life insurance and home insurance through its insurance agency, but these are usually very attractive market rates.

Is it possible to negotiate the loan opening amount in Spain?

The loan origination fee may be reduced if we take advantage of various offers from the bank, e.g., by having two credit cards, from which we are required to spend a minimum amount per month or year, or by opening a savings account with the bank. Each bank offers a range of additional services, and by using them, we can reduce the fee by a few points.

What documents do we need to submit to the bank when applying for a loan in Spain?

Depending on the customer’s personal and professional situation, different documents are required, but we will always need:

• tax returns for the last 2 years (PIT),
• a statement from BIK (Credit Information Bureau) for each borrower,
• bank statements for the last 6 months (showing regular income and installment loan repayments – if any),
• an extract from CEIDG for business activity or the last 3 pay slips for an employment contract,
• in the case of employment, information about the date of commencement of activity or length of service is required,
• a bank statement or other certificate of funds in an account/deposit (or other financial product) that will be used to purchase the property as a down payment,
• “nota simple”, i.e., registration data of the property that the customer is buying,
• reservation agreement for the property being purchased,
• completed asset declaration,
• completed financing application,
• applicant’s NIE number (N.I.E. – Número de Identidad de Extranjero), i.e., the so-called Foreigner Identification Number.

Depending on the bank, we may be asked to provide the indicated documents translated by a certified translator. These are very rare cases, as local banks have been actively granting loans to Poles for two years and have special forms adapted to read individual items of tax returns.

How does the process work and how long does it take to obtain a loan in Spain?

For convenience, it is better to allow between 6 and 8 weeks. Once the bank has all the customer’s documentation, it needs about a week to analyze it and give the customer an automatic scoring result. If the result is positive, it must still be approved by an analyst or branch manager (depending on the mortgage amount), which can take another few or even several days.

The bank then orders a property valuation (at the borrower’s expense), which takes another week, and then, if there are no additional complications, we have to add 2-4 weeks for the preparation of the loan agreement.

What is FEIN?

Once the loan has been granted, we will receive the so-called FEIN (European Standard Information Sheet), which is a binding mortgage offer. In this document, the bank provides detailed information on the terms and costs of the mortgage. This means that during this period, the bank will not be able to change even a single comma in the characteristics of the mortgage specified in the documents. The Bank of Spain stipulates that banks must provide this document free of charge and at least 10 days before the purchase agreement is signed so that the future borrower can “make a comparison and make an informed decision” before finally signing the mortgage.

The FEIN for a mortgage is a binding offer, but only for the bank. According to the Real Estate Credit Law, the FEIN is “a binding offer for the entity during the agreed period for signing the contract, which must be at least ten days.” FEIN has been in existence since June 2019, when a new mortgage law came into force, obliging banks to provide customers with transparent information. If you sign FEIN (certificate of receipt) and later decide not to take out this mortgage, the bank will not be able to penalize or charge you for it.

This means that, as a step prior to signing the mortgage agreement (and thus the purchase), the bank and the customer must report to a notary (the customer may come in person or be represented by their lawyer) 10 days in advance of the date of signing the final deed of purchase in order to formalize the deed of acceptance of the mortgage terms. After the 10-day period has elapsed, we can proceed to sign the deed of purchase and the mortgage.

On the final day of purchase, two deeds are signed simultaneously in the presence of a notary. First, a notarial deed of purchase and sale of the property is drawn up, followed by the establishment of a mortgage on it. During the procedure, the lending bank transfers a bank check covering the agreed mortgage amount for the property.

After the notarial procedure and settlement of the taxes due, the ownership right and mortgage encumbrance will be entered in the relevant property register. The borrower will be obliged to repay the loan together with the agreed interest, with the purchased property serving as collateral in the event of non-payment.

Mortgage in Spain: how are payments made?

If the seller has a mortgage on the property, the mortgage will be repaid on the same day before a notary. The buyer’s bank will issue one check for the mortgage repayment, and if there is still a difference, a second check will be issued to the seller for the remaining amount.

All payments in a purchase and sale transaction are made by certified bank checks, which literally means that the amount for which the check was issued is “frozen” in the account until it is cashed, guaranteeing security for both parties to the transaction.

An increasingly common alternative is also a real-time bank transfer (known as an instant transfer), which allows for immediate crediting of funds. Despite this, a certified bank check remains the most commonly used and standard method of settling notarial transactions in Spain.

Transfers are used to pay the first reservation agreement, where in most cases we pay 10% of the property price, or for other minor settlements of accounts – if so decided by the lawyers representing both parties.

Banks charge a commission for issuing a certified/guaranteed check, which, depending on the bank, is approximately 0.4% – 0.5% of the amount. We recommend negotiating with the bank to keep the commission as low as possible. If the payment for a given property is made through a law firm, we can always ask for help and rely on their long-standing cooperation with a given bank to reduce the commission to the minimum possible.