Marbella · Málaga province
Mortgages in Marbella for Foreign Buyers
We are independent credit intermediaries arranging non-resident mortgages for buyers in Marbella, from Puerto Banús and the Golden Mile to Nueva Andalucía, Elviria and the villa developments in the hills behind the town. We take your case to several Spanish banks, compare what comes back, and handle it all in English. You pay us nothing.
- Independent, not tied to one bank
- No fee to you
- Everything in English
What makes a Marbella mortgage different
Marbella is the most internationally traded property market in Spain, and Spanish banks know it. The major lenders all run desks that handle non-resident files as routine work rather than as an exception, which generally means quicker decisions and staff who have seen your situation before. That is a genuine advantage over buying somewhere the branch sees one foreign applicant a year.
What Marbella also has is a very wide spread of values within a short distance. A two-bedroom apartment inland of the N-340 and a villa on the Golden Mile are different propositions to a risk department, and they are not always assessed by the same part of the bank. Above a certain loan size your file stops being a standard retail mortgage and starts being reviewed by a private banking or premier team, with different criteria, different paperwork and sometimes a materially better rate. Knowing where that threshold sits at each lender is a large part of what we do here.
How much you can borrow in Marbella
The loan-to-value bands are national rather than local: as a non-resident with straightforward employed income you should plan on 60–70% of the bank's valuation, and 50–60% if you are self-employed or your income is complex. Marbella does not change those numbers. What it changes is the gap between the price and the valuation.
In a market with this much international money, agreed prices can run ahead of what a Spanish valuer will certify, particularly for recently renovated properties and for anything sold furnished. The bank lends a percentage of its own valuation, not of what you agreed to pay, so a valuation coming in below the price is met entirely from your own cash. On a high-value purchase that shortfall can be a large number arriving late in the process.
Worth doing early: if you are buying at the top of a building's range, or the property has just been flipped, ask us to sound out the likely valuation before you sign a reservation contract. It is a short conversation and it is the single most common way Marbella purchases come unstuck.
Costs on top of the deposit
Marbella sits in Andalucía, so the regional rates apply: 7% transfer tax on a resale, or 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty on a new build, with notary, registry, legal fees and the mortgage valuation on top. Budget roughly 9–11% for a resale and 12–14% for a new build, in cash, alongside your deposit. The full cost breakdown is on our main page.
Two Marbella-specific points. First, furniture packages are common here, and how the contract splits the price between property and contents affects both your tax bill and the amount the bank will lend against. Second, many of the newer developments are sold with a community fee and IBI that are high in absolute terms; lenders count those in affordability, so they reduce what you can borrow.
Buying off-plan in Marbella and Benahavís
A large share of current Marbella stock is new build or off-plan, much of it in Benahavís and the hills above San Pedro. Off-plan works differently: you pay staged amounts to the developer during construction and the mortgage is only drawn at completion, which may be two years away. Your staged payments must be protected by a bank guarantee or insurance policy — that is a legal requirement, and it is worth checking the document exists rather than assuming it does.
The developer's own bank will usually offer to subrogate its construction loan to you at completion. That is convenient and it is sometimes competitive, but it is one offer rather than the market, and it is worth comparing before you accept. A mortgage offer issued today will not be the offer available when the building finishes, so the useful exercise is establishing what you would qualify for, not locking a rate.
Common questions about Marbella mortgages
Can I get a mortgage on a luxury villa in Marbella?
Yes, though above roughly the €1m mark the file usually moves to a lender's premier or private banking arm rather than a retail branch. That is often good news — the criteria are more flexible and the pricing can be better — but the bank will look harder at your overall wealth, not just your salary, and will typically want a broader picture of your assets and liabilities.
Very large or unusual properties can also be harder to value, because there are fewer comparable sales. Expect the valuation to take longer than it would on an apartment.
Do I need a Spanish bank account to buy in Marbella?
Yes, in practice. You will need one to pay the notary, the taxes and the ongoing utilities and community fees, and the lender will want your mortgage payments to come from an account it can see. Opening one requires your NIE and proof of income, and it is best done early rather than in the week of completion.
Can I get a mortgage if I am buying through a company?
Sometimes, but it narrows the field considerably and it changes the tax analysis substantially. Fewer Spanish banks lend to non-resident corporate buyers, the loan-to-value is usually lower, and the structure only makes sense in specific circumstances. Take tax advice on whether it is right for you before you take mortgage advice on whether it is possible.
Will a bank lend on a property I plan to rent out?
Yes. Spanish lenders will generally lend on a second home you intend to let, but most will not count the expected rental income towards affordability — they assess the mortgage against your existing income as though the property earned nothing. If you are relying on rental yield to make the numbers work, that is worth knowing at the outset.
Separately, holiday letting in Andalucía requires registration with the regional tourism register, and some communities of owners restrict it. That is a legal question for your lawyer rather than a mortgage question, but it affects the plan.
Free assessment
Find out what you can borrow in Marbella
One short form and we will tell you which banks are likely to lend to you, at what loan-to-value, and what it will cost — before you commit to a property or pay a reservation deposit. You pay us nothing; the lender pays our commission on completion.
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