Spanish banks require an official property appraisal before approving a mortgage. What the report contains, how the valuation works, and what happens if the figure comes in just below what you need.
When we bought our home in Calella de Palafrugell, the first appraisal came in €1,000 below the threshold the bank had set for the mortgage. We had to ask the valuation company for a review of the report. Fortunately, that came through within 48 hours.
We had already signed the arras contract. The completion date was fixed. On paper, it was €1,000. In practice, it was the question of whether the mortgage could go ahead at all.
That experience changed how we think about appraisals — and how we advise buyers to approach them.
A tasación is an official Spanish property appraisal carried out by a valuation firm registered with the Banco de España. The appraiser visits the property, takes measurements, and produces a formal report.
The report contains two key figures: the valor de tasación (appraised value) and the valor hipotecario (mortgage value). In most cases these are identical. The bank uses the mortgage value as the basis for the maximum loan amount.
A tasación is required for every mortgage application in Spain and is paid for by the buyer. Costs typically range from €300 to €500, depending on the property value and type.
When we bought, we treated the tasación as a formality. The property was found. The price was agreed. The mortgage seemed on track.
Then the report arrived with a figure just below the purchase price, and we realised the bank was nowhere near finished with its calculations. Until that moment, the property was a home. From the point the appraisal landed, it was a number.
What surprised us was not that an appraiser saw a different value than we did. What surprised us was how much weight that single number carried. The property had not changed. The purchase price had not changed. Only the report had changed. And yet the financing changed with it.
In hindsight, the appraisal itself was not the problem. The problem was that we thought it was just a formality.
A difference of €1,000 on a purchase of well over half a million turned out to matter. Not because the amount was large, but because the bank had set a minimum threshold.
We were close to that threshold. Without knowing it.
The appraiser works to fixed legal standards. For existing properties, the method is almost always comparison: looking at recent comparable sales in the area. In our case, TINSA used eight comparable apartments in Calella as reference points, with asking prices that varied considerably. After adjustments for size, condition, location and age, those comparables produced the final appraised value.
What many buyers do not realise: the bank always takes the lower of two figures — the appraised value or the purchase price — as the basis for financing. If the appraisal comes in below what you are paying, your required equity contribution increases immediately. How banks calculate the maximum loan for non-residents is explained in how much you can borrow as a non-resident.
This is where things get tense in practice.
You have three options. You can ask the appraisal firm for a revision, demonstrating that comparable properties were overlooked or that adjustment factors were applied incorrectly. In our case, that worked within 48 hours. You can commission a new appraisal from a different firm — that costs additional time and money, but is sometimes the only route. Or you can renegotiate the purchase price with the seller, though in a competitive market that is rarely realistic.
What we see in the coordination work we do: a gap of a few percent is not unusual on the Costa Brava, where asking prices sometimes exceed the market average. A revision is usually the first step, not a second appraiser. But a revision only works if there are substantive grounds — an appraiser does not adjust a report simply because a buyer needs a higher figure. Speed matters too, especially when arras are already running.
Understanding whether revision is possible requires reading the comparable properties section of the report itself. Our mortgage documents checklist lists everything a bank typically requests, including the appraisal report.
For us, it felt like one purchase. For the bank, it was two separate properties securing two separate loans.
Spanish banks increasingly require that a parking space is bought under a separate deed, independent of the property. This affects the appraisal: both are valued independently, each with its own mortgage value in the report.
In our case, the apartment and the parking space had separate registration numbers, separate surface areas and separate mortgage values. Together they came above the purchase price — but that only became clear once the appraisal report arrived.
This is also why the documentation for these transactions is more extensive than buyers expect. Two fincas, two appraisals, ultimately two mortgages. That flows through into notarial costs, registration costs and the timing of completion. An overview of what banks typically request is in our mortgage documents checklist.
We coordinate mortgage processes for international buyers in Spain alongside our ACI-certified mortgage partner. That includes monitoring the tasación: flagging early if the appraised value and purchase price are close, and coordinating a revision if needed.
Casa Connecta does not provide mortgage advice. That is the role of our ACI-certified partners, operating under Spanish law (Ley 5/2019). Our role is coordination: preparing the file for the bank and managing communication between you, the mortgage partner and the bank throughout the process.
If you have questions about your situation, send us a message via the contact form. We respond within one working day.
→ Full guide: Spanish mortgage for non-residents
Casa Connecta does not provide mortgage advice. Mortgage advice is provided by ACI-certified partners operating under Spanish law (Ley 5/2019).
Questions about your buying process? Email us at [email protected]. We reply within 24 hours on business days, in your language.
