Money · 2 July 2026 · 7 min read
Spanish mortgages for Irish buyers: what the banks will and won't do.
First, the good news. Spanish banks lend to Irish buyers every week. You do not need to be resident, you do not need a Spanish income, and being an EU citizen makes the process simpler than it is for British applicants.
Now the part the property listings never mention: the terms are different from home, and the process rewards people who start early.
How much they will lend
As a non-resident, expect a maximum of 60 to 70% of the purchase price or the bank's valuation, whichever is lower. That last clause matters. If you agree €300,000 and the bank values the place at €280,000, the loan is calculated on €280,000 and your deposit just grew.
So on a €300,000 apartment, plan for a deposit of €90,000 to €120,000, plus the roughly 9 to 10% in taxes and fees, which Spanish banks will not finance. Call it €120,000 to €150,000 of your own money. If that number works, keep reading.
What they look at
Spanish banks care about one ratio above everything: your total monthly debt repayments, including your Irish mortgage and the new Spanish one, should stay inside roughly 30 to 35% of your net income. They assess what you keep after tax, not your headline salary.
The paperwork list for an Irish PAYE applicant usually runs: passport and NIE, your last three to six payslips, an Employment Detail Summary from Revenue, six to twelve months of bank statements, a statement for any existing mortgage, and a credit report. Self-employed? Two to three years of accounts and Form 11s. Everything gets translated, so clean, complete documents save you weeks.
Rates, terms and the fine print
You will be offered variable (Euribor plus a margin), fixed, or a mixed rate. Most non-resident buyers take fixed for the certainty, but compare at least three banks, because margins for non-residents vary more than they do at home. A decent broker does this in one pass and typically earns their fee on the rate alone.
Terms usually run up to 25 years, with the loan finishing by age 70 to 75. A 55-year-old buyer is looking at a 15 to 20 year term, which pushes the monthly payment up. Factor that in before you fall for a place.
Setup costs are lighter than they used to be. Since 2019 the bank pays the mortgage taxes, notary and registry fees on the loan. You pay the property valuation (a few hundred euro) and usually an arrangement fee of around 1%.
The timing trap
Here is where buyers get hurt. When you sign the arras (deposit) contract, you typically commit to completing within 30 to 60 days, and your 10% deposit is on the line. A Spanish mortgage takes four to eight weeks from full application. If you only start the mortgage after signing the arras, you are racing your own deadline with your deposit as the stake.
The fix is simple: get approval in principle before your viewing trip. It costs nothing, it tells you your real budget, and it turns you into the kind of buyer sellers take seriously.
Where we come in
We work with finance people on the coast who arrange non-resident mortgages for Irish buyers day in, day out. They know which banks suit which profile, and they run the paperwork in both languages. If borrowing is part of your plan, we will connect you before you book a single viewing, so the money is sorted before the pressure starts.