Whether you can get a mortgage of 100% or not depends on how the property you’re looking to purchase comes up on the valuation. The Costa del Sol is currently crawling with independant mortgage brokers offering people 100% mortgages – don’t believe a word of it. They all use the banks, and the banks will NOT lend more than 80% of the valuation to anybody. The only chance is if the property can be bought (and declared) significantly below the bank’s (usually these days rather conservative) valuation.
The broker cannot even begin to find you a mortgage until you’ve found a property to put the mortgage on, and too many of them charge an up-front fee to people who are already very tight for cash then can’t produce the goods. If this happens you lose out – nobody can guarantee you a mortgage.
I would suggest speaking to a bank manager (there are a few who are approachable and fluent in English), and telling him what you want to do. You then need to hunt down a property in need of some modernisation that can achieve the necessary valuation – tricky once you factor in costs and agent’s commissions. They’re few and far between, but they do exist.
You’re the bloke who was asking about VPO around Marbella, aren’t you? I don’t know a good bank manager you can speak to down that way, but I’m in Benalmadena and can highly recommend our local man in La Caixa bank, if you like.
Have had success recently with both CAM Bank and Banca March in Marbella. They don’t seem to mind. Older properties in established areas which have lots of lovely m2 on the escritura tend to come out very well + if you can work out the bank’s valuation formula then you’re also on to a winner. Factors to gear up the valuation with these 2 banks include: 1) decent amount of m2 on escritura, 2) front line golf, 3) furnished.
NB: With Banca March it helps if you’re also under 30 years of age too…
NNB: Also agree with BP that brokers’ 100% is not true very often.
I agree with Bert that banks are shy of going beyond 80 per cent of valuation. However, in my experience they will do so for the right borrrower. The right borrower tends to be somebody with a Spanish job contract and a work history. In the Valencia area, the CAM bank is famously generous.
The key to getting a high percentage mortgage lies with the mortgage valuation. Individual bank managers are frequently able to appoint an independent valuer, or ‘tasador’, known to be flexible and then indicate to the valuer the preferred valuation.
In this way, a bank can offer a mortgage that is higher than the buying price while still staying below 80 per cent of valuation. Much depends on the experience and contacts of your bank manager as well as head office policy.
hi all, thanks for the information, very useful and gives me a better insight(pardon the pun) 😆 into things. Yes Bert, im the one asking about VPO so you got me – im the one with no money, no depsoit, and sick of paying extortiante rent for a 1 bed 45m2 apartment!! 😉
i suppose before i do anything I need to find a property that will fit the criteria above mentioned, although I do really need to work aout a budget as well, so that i can actually start looking. i do have a spanish contract and have been working a year and a half for the same place so that hopefully will help but dont really know what i can achievably afford.
another question, i know i have to pay 7% vat , are the other 3-4 % costs necessary to add into the equation and if so are there any further costs to add I should know about?
From experience buying a resale, its the things like paying to change the water/rubbish collection etc into your name, paying commision on any bank transfers and paying for obras (work licences) if any work needs doing that you won’t find there!
We were advised to add 10% onto the cost of the property, but in the end it was nearer 7%; tax and notary bill