The Spanish mortgage process for non-residents: steps and timeline

How long does it take to get a mortgage in Spain?

For a non-resident, our experience is six to ten weeks from a complete file to signing at the notary. The clock starts only when the lender has everything it needs: identification, income evidence, tax returns, bank statements and the origin of the funds. Before that, allow time to obtain an NIE, open a Spanish account and prepare translated documents.

The end of the process has a legal minimum that nobody can shorten. Under Law 5/2019, the lender must deliver the binding offer and the other pre-contract documents at least ten calendar days before signing, and you must see the notary before the signing day. Everything else depends on preparation.

The timeline at a glance

Week 0 is when your file is complete, often the week the arras contract is signed.

Before you reserve: what should you do first?

The most useful weeks are the ones before you choose a property:

1. A feasibility review. Spanish lenders typically finance 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation for a non-resident, against 80% for a resident. As a working reference, the new instalment plus what you already pay at home should stay within about 30–35% of net income.
2. The NIE, the foreigner identification number the notary needs for the deeds. Through a consulate it can take weeks; our NIE and bank account guide sets out the routes.
3. A Spanish bank account, which most lenders require for the mortgage payments.
4. A budget with taxes. Plan on a 30–40% contribution plus purchase taxes and costs, paid from your own funds. The purchase costs calculator gives the taxes by region, and the Spanish mortgage calculator the instalment.

If you are still deciding where to buy, the areas guide compares prices and taxes along the coast.

Reservation and the arras contract

A reservation takes the property off the market. The arras contract then fixes the price, the completion date and a deposit, commonly around 10% of the price. With penitential arras, article 1454 of the Civil Code lets the buyer withdraw by losing the deposit and the seller by returning it doubled. Catalonia has its own rules; our guide to arras and mortgages in Catalonia explains them.

The mortgage timetable must fit inside the arras deadline, not the other way round. A completion date thirty days away leaves no room for a non-resident file. Ask your lawyer for a financing condition that covers both a refusal and an offer reduced by a low valuation.

Application and documents: weeks 1 to 3

Lenders ask the same questions of every non-resident file: is the income real, will it last, and what is it worth in euros? A complete file is read in days. An incomplete one comes back with questions, and each round can cost a week.

Three things slow most foreign files:

• Translations. Payslips, tax returns and employment contracts may need translating. Ask which ones before you pay for them.
• Apostilles. Some foreign public documents need the Hague Apostille, issued in the country that produced them. Start early.
• Origin of funds. Anti-money-laundering rules require the lender and the notary to trace your deposit. Statements in your own name, with the source explained, prevent weeks of questions. Our guide to moving money to Spain covers the paper trail.

The non-resident mortgage checklist lists what to gather before you apply.

The valuation: why does it matter so much?

The lender has the property valued by an approved valuation company, whose valuer visits it. You pay for the valuation: Law 5/2019 assigns that cost to the borrower, while the notary, registry and agency costs of the mortgage fall on the lender. Under article 3 bis of Law 2/1981, the lender must also accept a valuation you provide, if it was certified by an approved valuer and has not expired.

The figure matters because Spanish lenders apply the loan percentage to the lower of the price and the valuation.

Worked example. A non-resident buys a €400,000 resale home with 70% financing:

Taxes and costs come on top in both columns. Order the valuation as soon as the price is agreed, so any shortfall appears while there is still time to react.

Approval, then the FEIN and the FiAE

After the valuation, the lender’s risk team approves or declines the loan. Approval is not yet the offer. Article 14 of Law 5/2019 sets out what you must receive at least ten calendar days before signing:

• the FEIN, the European Standardised Information Sheet: your personalised offer, binding on the lender for the agreed period, which must be at least ten days;
• the FiAE, the Standardised Warnings Sheet, which flags the key clauses: the reference index, any interest-rate floor, early termination for non-payment, the allocation of costs and whether the loan is in a foreign currency;
• for a variable-rate loan, a separate document showing the instalments under different interest-rate scenarios;
• a copy of the draft contract;
• clear information on costs and, if the lender requires insurance, on the policy;
• a notice that you are entitled to free, personalised advice from the notary you choose.

Article 3 makes the law mandatory, so the ten days cannot be waived to sign sooner. Use them to read the documents and ask questions.

The transparency meeting at the notary

During those ten days you visit the notary you have chosen. Article 15 requires you, or someone representing you for that purpose, to appear no later than the day before signing. The notary checks that the documents were delivered on time, explains the clauses, answers your questions and asks you to complete a test on the information received. It is all recorded in a notarial act, the acta de transparencia, which carries no notary fee.

If the documents were late or you do not appear, the notary records it and cannot authorise the mortgage deed. The advice is given in person, so if you will not be in Spain, the power of attorney must cover this meeting expressly. Our guide to buying with a power of attorney explains how to grant one from abroad.

Signing day: purchase and mortgage together

The purchase deed and the mortgage deed are normally signed one after the other, before the same notary, on the same day. The seller receives the price, partly from the loan the lender pays out and partly from your funds, and you receive the keys. Your contribution and the taxes must already be in Spain, so do not schedule the last transfer for the day before.

After signing: taxes and registration

Purchase taxes are paid within the deadline set by each region. Under article 254 of the Mortgage Act, the Land Registry will not register a deed until the taxes it triggers are paid. Once the deed is presented, article 18 gives the registrar a maximum of fifteen days from the presentation entry to register it. An agency or your lawyer usually handles both steps.

What can you do from abroad?

What usually makes it take longer?

• Documents without translation or apostille, discovered after the file has gone to the lender.
• Unexplained money: transfers through several accounts, or gifts without supporting documents.
• A valuation below the price, which reduces the loan and can reopen the approval.
• An arras deadline that is too short, which turns a normal delay into a risk to your deposit.
• Names that do not match across passport, NIE and bank documents.
• A power of attorney that arrives late, or does not cover both the mortgage and the notary meeting.

Checklist: before you sign the arras

• My feasibility review assumes 60–70% financing, not 80%.
• I have counted taxes and costs on top of a 30–40% contribution.
• My NIE is issued or in progress, and the Spanish account is arranged.
• My income, tax and bank documents are gathered and translated where needed.
• The origin of my funds is documented.
• The completion date allows six to ten weeks from a complete file, plus a margin.
• The financing condition covers a refusal and a low valuation.
• I know whether I will sign in person or by power of attorney.

How RCG coordinates it

RCG Finance is a real-estate credit intermediary registered with the Bank of Spain under number E760, with an office in Salou. We prepare the file once, present it to the lenders that finance non-residents and keep the valuation, the offer and the notary on one timetable, while our partner lawyer handles the legal side. We only charge if we get your mortgage. The lender makes the final decision, so we do not promise approval or dates.

What to do next

Size the cash with the purchase costs calculator. When the numbers work, our non-resident mortgage service puts the file in front of the right lenders.