Mortgages & Home Finance Mortgages For Buying Houses Abroad

Date Published:

02/06/2008

It's Not What You Know

Not only is the broker system in Spain totally different from that of the UK, but the mortgage products available in the Iberian peninsula are also very different. Products such as buy-to-let-mortgages and endowment policies haven't arrived in the Spanish dictionary yet.

And, in a similar vein to the UK a few decades ago, whether you get a mortgage or not can often depend on the personal relationship that you have with your bank manager, and if you are a non-resident purchaser who has just set up your first ever Spanish bank account, it is unlikely that you’ll have any form of relationship with your bank manager, let alone a personal one. This is where you are much better off turning to a mortgage broker in Spain who will use their bank relationships to your advantage and their command of the Spanish language to negotiate the finer details. However if the mortgage advice business is unregulated and there are plenty of chancers touting for custom, how easy is it to seek out a reliable source of information?

In theory anyone can become a mortgage adviser in Spain without even a sniff of a qualification. That’s why the best advice is to only deal with a company that works out of an office, has a registered SL company (similar to a UK limited company - ask to see their opening license) and a landline rather than a mobile telephone. Find out if the mortgage brokers are qualified to give advice; if they say they are UK qualified you are perfectly entitled to ask to see copies of their certificates. Also, what if you receive bad advice? Do they have a complaints procedure or Professional Indemnity Insurance so that you are protected? Few have, but it’s worth doing your homework and seeking out the professionals. You’d be foolish to trust anyone else with such an important part of the purchase process.

As Spain continues to soar in popularity as a second home destination, one would hope that the mortgage system will grow and improve as well. However, in the meantime it’s a bit of a minefield out there, so keep your eyes open.

Spanish Mortgages Direct had to be different. We only employ UK qualified mortgage advisers holding Financial Planning Certificates and / or CeMap - the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice. Nobody with anything less can work for us. In addition, as a subsidiary of The Oakwood Group, a financial services group whose UK mortgage division is fully regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), we aim to adopt group best practice standards and comply with UK regulations, despite the fact that we operate within an unregulated market. We are therefore able to offer our customers greater reassurance as well as a full complaints procedure, should they ever require one.'

As Spain continues to soar in popularity as a second home destination, one would hope that the mortgage system will grow and improve as well. However, in the meantime it's a bit of a minefield out there, so keep your eyes open.

The views represented in this article are those of the author and not of Channel 4. The purpose of the article is to provide general information only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal or other advice.You should not rely on any information provided in this article and you should always seek out independent professional advice relevant to your own particular circumstances.