Investment approach
Questions to ask a mortgage broker in Spain before you start
There are eight points a broker must disclose in writing before starting. What to ask about status, money, your profile and timing, and how to estimate what the bank will actually lend.
A mortgage broker in Spain, by law an intermediario de crédito inmobiliario (a real-estate credit intermediary), must tell the client eight things in writing before starting: who they are, their number in the register and how to check it, which banks they work with, what their service costs and what commissions the banks pay them (art. 35 of Ley 5/2019 on real-estate credit contracts). So the first questions to a broker are not about the interest rate but about the broker.
What to ask about the broker's status
Start with what the law already obliges them to disclose. If the broker dodges these answers, there is no need to go on.
- Which register are you on, and under what number? Without a register entry one cannot act as a mortgage intermediary (art. 27). The register is kept by the Banco de España for those operating in several regions, or by the autonomous community for those operating in one (art. 28).
- Do you work for one or two banks, or for the whole market? A broker tied to particular banks must name them (art. 35.1.c).
- Do you give advice, and is it independent? This too is a mandatory disclosure item (art. 35.1.d).
- How do I file a complaint if something goes wrong? The out-of-court complaints procedure is part of the mandatory information (art. 35.1.f).
The Banco de España warns outright: with an unregistered intermediary the client loses the protection of the transparency rules and cannot complain to the bank's Servicio de Reclamaciones (complaints service) (Banco de España). How to compare going through a broker with going straight to a bank is analysed in the article broker or bank directly.
What to ask about the money
The law requires the broker's remuneration to be stated in advance and, if the amount cannot be given, the method of calculation (art. 35.1.e).
| Question | What the broker must answer | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| How much the client pays and for what | The amount or the method of calculation | art. 35.1.e |
| Whether the bank pays the broker | Whether there is a commission and its size, if known | art. 35.1.g |
| Whether the client's fee is deducted from the bank's commission | Yes, no or in part | art. 35.1.h |
| How to compare the commissions of different banks | The client's right to ask for information on them, if the broker is not tied to banks | art. 35.2 |
| Whether the fee will enter the TAE (the annual percentage rate of charge) | The broker passes it to the bank to calculate the TAE | art. 35.3 |
Ask for the answers in the contract with the broker, not in correspondence. Separately, ask whether you pay only when the loan is granted and what happens to an advance if the deal falls through through no fault of yours.
What to ask about your profile
Here you test whether the broker understands your case. The Banco de España's guideposts are general: banks usually do not lend more than 80% of the tasación (the bank's valuation), and the debt burden, as a rule, should not exceed 30–35% of income (Banco de España). For non-residents and income in another currency the terms can be stricter, with more in the article on a mortgage for a non-resident.
Questions:
- What share of the tasación will actually be lent with this profile, and on what base: the price or the valuation?
- Which documents are needed, in what translation and with what apostille?
- How will the bank count income from a business or from abroad?
- What happens if the tasación comes in below the price? How the valuation works is explained in the article on the tasación.
How much the bank will actually lend: a worked example
Worked example, not a forecast. A family's net income of 8,000 € a month, a flat for 600,000 €, a tasación equal to the price, an assumed rate of 4% over 25 years.
| Limit | Calculation | Maximum loan |
|---|---|---|
| 80% of the tasación | 600,000 × 80% | 480,000 € |
| Payment of 30% of income, 2,400 € | 4% annuity, 300 months | about 454,700 € |
| Payment of 35% of income, 2,800 € | 4% annuity, 300 months | about 530,500 € |
The bank will take the smaller of the limits. At the 30% threshold the loan hits the income limit, about 454,700 €; at 35% it hits the valuation, 480,000 €. Your own funds toward the price will need to be between 120,000 and 145,300 €, and on top of that ITP (transfer tax) in Catalonia at 10% on the part of the price up to 600,000 € (ATC), another 60,000 €. It is convenient to work out your own case in the calculator.
What to ask about the bank's offer
What you compare is the total cost and the obligations, not the rate.
- What does the bank require you to buy together with the loan? Tied sales are generally prohibited, but the bank may require insurance covering the liability under the loan and home insurance. Even so, it must accept another company's policy on equivalent terms, without charging for the check and without worsening the loan terms (art. 17 Ley 5/2019).
- What are the fees for early repayment and for a change of rate?
- When will the bank hand over the FEIN, the FiAE and the draft contract? The FEIN is the standardised European information sheet and the FiAE the standardised warnings sheet. No later than ten calendar days before signing (art. 14).
What to ask about timing and arras
The costliest mistakes happen at the junction of the mortgage and the arras contract (the reservation deposit contract). Ask how long the path usually takes from submitting documents to the notary for your profile, when the bank will order the tasación, whether pre-approval can be obtained before choosing a flat (its limits are in the article on pre-approval) and what term the broker considers realistic for the date in the arras. The wording of a condition for the case where the bank refuses is prepared by an abogado (lawyer).
When a broker does not fit
A broker adds little if the profile is standard, income is in euros and there is time to gather two or three offers from different banks yourself. A broker is not suitable at all if they do not name the register, promise approval before seeing documents, demand prepayment on day one or offer to "tweak" income: false information given to a bank creates risk above all for the borrower.
Questions and answers
What must a mortgage broker disclose before starting?
Their identity, register and number, links with banks, the nature of the advice, the cost of services, the complaints procedure and commissions from banks. The list is set out in art. 35 of Ley 5/2019, and the information is given on paper or another durable medium.
How do I check a mortgage broker's registration?
Ask for the number and the register: the Banco de España or the autonomous community's register. The law obliges the broker to state how the entry can be checked.
Can a broker be paid by both the client and the bank?
Yes, but they must disclose both amounts and say whether the client's fee is deducted from the bank's commission. These are points g and h of art. 35.
Must a buyer take out life insurance with the bank that gives the mortgage?
The bank may require insurance backing the loan, but it must accept another company's policy on equivalent terms. Declining its policy must not worsen the loan terms.
What percentage of a flat's value will the bank lend?
By the Banco de España's guideline, usually no more than 80% of the tasación, provided the payment fits within 30–35% of income. For non-residents the share can be lower; the exact figure comes from the specific bank.
