15/10/2026
🏡 **Buying a property in Spain? PLEASE speak to a mortgage adviser before paying a deposit!**
I spoke to a prospective client today who had found his dream property on the Costa del Sol for €475,000.
He'd already paid a €6,000 reservation deposit and was about to commit to a much larger payment.
He'd been reassured that getting a Spanish mortgage wouldn't be a problem.
After all, he only wanted to borrow 50% of the purchase price, owned a valuable UK property with substantial equity and ran a successful limited company.
Sounds straightforward, doesn't it?
**Unfortunately, no.**
What hadn't been considered was that:
❌ Spanish banks don't necessarily recognise all the dividend income received by UK company directors. They commonly use just 50–80% for affordability purposes.
❌ Existing UK mortgages, car finance and other loans all count towards Spanish mortgage affordability.
❌ Borrowing against your UK property to fund a Spanish deposit can create significant problems.
❌ Having substantial equity in your UK home doesn't automatically mean you can afford a Spanish mortgage.
❌ Recently cleared debts, outstanding tax matters and incomplete company accounts can all affect an application.
In this particular case, the clients had recently arranged substantial additional borrowing against their UK property at a very high interest rate, cleared significant debts and hadn't yet finalised their latest company accounts.
Having reviewed the circumstances, I advised them **not to proceed with the property purchase at this stage**.
They may lose their €6,000 reservation deposit, which is obviously disappointing.
But that is considerably better than potentially losing tens of thousands of euros by committing to a purchase without having a mortgage approved.
We've now discussed a plan to get their finances into a stronger position over the next 6–12 months, so they can hopefully revisit their Spanish property plans with greater confidence.
**Sometimes the best mortgage advice I can give someone is to tell them NOT to proceed.**
If you're thinking about buying a property in Spain, particularly if you're self-employed or a UK limited company director, please speak to an experienced mortgage adviser BEFORE you start committing money.
Spanish mortgages are very different from UK mortgages, and a little forward planning can make an enormous difference.
**Locations Mortgage Solutions**
Helping you make informed mortgage decisions in the UK and Spain.
