Tag: Spanish Banks
Reduce Your Mortgage?
by guest on Mar.11, 2010, under Blog
Are you one of the many British ex-pats with Spanish mortgages. If you are then you may be wondering, like so many people, whether it’s possible to do anything about it. Tina and Glynis asked themselves the same question and the answer they found was surprising. What many people don’t know is that under EU law the Spanish and EU foreigners have to be treated the same.
But it seems that legal teams have discovered the Spanish banks may be charging foreign nationals over and above the rate the Spanish themselves pay for their mortgages.
Whilst mortgage rates were lower than in the UK for a good many years, British buyers felt they were getting a good deal and signed up without asking too many questions. Add to this the pressure from sales agents to get the whole transaction done before you get back on the plane and you end up with thousands of people stuck in expensive mortgage deals and unaware they can do something about it.
Earlier this year we went to our bank to ask why, when interest rates had plummetted, we were still paying the same amount each month. We can help you lower your mortgage payment,they said, and within 10 minutes we had a new repayment plan which cut our monthly repayments almost in half fixed for 3 years and within a week we had been to the notary and done the deal. There was a catch however, they had deferred 40% of the amount outstanding for those 3 years so after that time we are back to square one. Friends of ours also recently gained temporary respite from high repayments by re-negotiating their mortgage to interest-only fixed for 2 years.
Recently we met Simon, he pointed out that whilst we and our friends thought we had got a better deal, we were still paying 1.25% over base rate whereas the Spanish pay 0.5%. As Spain is an EU country this amounts to discrimination. Over time this makes a huge difference. The same could apply to your mortgage interest rate. Isn’t it time you found out?
Spanish Mortgages
by guest on Feb.01, 2010, under Blog
Mortgages in Spain
How to get a home loan for Spain
Mortgages or home loans (hipotecas) are available from most Spanish banks (for residents and non-residents), foreign banks in Spain, and overseas and offshore banks. In recent years, Spanish and foreign lenders have arranged a record number of spanish mortgages, the average amount borrowed being around 250000
The amount you can borrow depends on various factors such as your income, trade or profession, whether you’re an employee or self-employed, and whether you’re married, and if so, whether your partner works. Lenders may also have a maximum lending limit based on a percentage of your income, but this isn’t required by law.
Most banks offer mortgages of up to 8 per cent, although non-residents can usually borrow a maximum of 60 per cent only. To obtain a mortgage from a Spanish bank, you must usually provide proof of your monthly income and major outgoings (e.g. loans or commitments). There are no self-assessment mortgages such as in the UK and mortgages without proof of income (although advertised in the expatriate press) are difficult to find and virtually non-existent. If you want a Spanish mortgage to buy a property for commercial purposes, you must provide a detailed business plan in Spanish. Note that a mortgage can be assumed by the new owner (called subrogación) when a property is sold, which is a common practice in Spain.
La Vida Mortgages on the Costa Blanca in Spain can give you all the expert advice you need for your property purchase in the Costa Blanca region of Spain
