What if You Can’t Pay Your Spanish Mortgage
Saturday, January 16th, 2010In uncertain economic times, many people find themselves unable to make their mortgage payments. Whether the mortgage is on a primary residence or vacation home, defaulting on a mortgage can have serious consequences for the homeowner. These consequences vary by state, province, and country, so you must be sure to completely understand them.
Defaulting on a mortgage in Spain, for example, has very specific consequences. In the past, such defaulting used to be very simple. This was especially true if the homeowner was not a Spanish citizen and the home was a vacation home or second residence. However, this is no longer the case, as Spanish banks can and will pursue non-residents to fulfill their mortgage obligations.
If you find yourself unable to avoid defaulting on your mortgage in Spain, the bank may agree to take the home back. This option will save you money in court costs incurred by the bank when pursuing you for the balance, as well as additional interest on the mortgage during the court battle. You cant just turn the keys over to the bank without arranging it, however. The bank is under no obligation to let you out of the mortgage by taking the home back. The bank is more likely to accept the home back from you if you have had a true hardship that has affected your ability to make payments on your Spanish mortgage. Any homeowners that can prove such a hardship to the bank will be even more likely to succeed in negotiating a turnover.
If the bank rejects a home turnover offer from the homeowner, he or she will need to try to sell the home quickly. Try to get a final sale price that will cover the remaining amount on your Spanish mortgage or one that will come as close as possible to paying it off, as the bank will still expect the full amount from you in any case. The bank will be most likely to aggressively pursue you for a large shortfall on the Spanish mortgage. But the bank can legally attempt to collect any amount from you. The bank may collect money by placing liens on any and all assets of the homeowner. This may take years to do, but the bank will not give up without getting their money.
Defaulting on a Spanish mortgage is an extremely serious situation, so it is essential that the homeowner work as closely as possible with the bank as soon as it is evident that defaulting is going to be unavoidable. Working with the bank that holds your Spanish mortgage can result in a fair settlement that benefits both you and the bank with as little impact on your other assets or financial holdings as possible.