The Spanish mortgage vocabulary you need to know

If you plan on buying a home in Spain, it’s likely that you will need to apply for a mortgage in order to be able to do so and afford the property.

Getting a mortgage can be a complicated process in any language, but it can be even more daunting if you’re trying to navigate all the ins and outs in another language, such as Spanish.

If you’re a Spanish resident or plan on living here you will most likely be getting a mortgage from a Spanish bank, therefore you’ll have to navigate the process in Spanish. You may be lucky that you have a mortgage advisor at the bank who speaks English, but you should still be aware of the all the terms as the translations may not always be familiar to you.

Here are some of the most common words associated with mortgages or hipotecas as they’re known in Spanish. 

READ ALSO: Why 2025 looks set to be a good year to take out a mortgage in Spain 

Amortización – Mortgage repayment
This refers to the process of paying off your home loan in regular monthly payments over a fixed period of time.
If you make extra payments to your mortgage, it’s called Amortización parcial and if you pay off your mortgage before the set timeframe of the mortgage, it’s called Amortización anticipada.

Avalista – Guarantor
A  guarantor is someone who will officially pay your mortgage repayments if you can’t. 

Carencia – Grace period
A set duration of time after the due date of a mortgage payment that forgives the borrower of any penalties as long as the payment is made during that period.

Certificado de deuda cero – Zero debt certificate
This is a certificate which proves that there are no unpaid debts to Social Security or the Tax Authority or which show you no longer have a mortgage with the bank or financial institution.

Cláusula de vencimiento – Early maturity clause
This clause in the mortgage contract stipulates when and how the borrower can accelerate the payments to pay off their mortgage. 

Código de buenas prácticas bancarias – Code of good banking practices
The code that banks in Spain have to adhere to according to law to help restructure debt to borrowers who are struggling to make payments. There are some specific conditions attached to the enactment of this clause. 

READ ALSO: Which foreigners are most likely to have mortgages approved in Spain?

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Comisión – Bank fees or charges for financial services.

Comisión por cancelación o por reembolso anticipado – Early repayment or cancellation fee 
The fee you’ll pay if you repay your loan early. 

Crédito hipotecario – Mortgage credit.
This is a medium to long term loan granted by the bank for the purchase, expansion, repair or construction of a property. Often in these cases the property is used as collateral for the loan, and often a change of creditor is not allowed, meaning you cannot look for more favourable loan conditions elsewhere. 

Crédito preconcedido – Pre-approved credit  

Cuota hipotecaria – Mortgage repayment amount
The amount you’ll pay back each month.  

Ejecución hipotecaria – Foreclosure 
The action of taking back property that was bought with borrowed money. 

Elevar a escritura pública – Execute into public deed
The act of signing a deed or contract and the it being registered at the Property Register. 

Entidad de crédito – Financial institution
This refers to the bank or that grants you the mortgage.  

READ ALSO: How to claim back mortgage expenses from Spanish banks 

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Escritura de compraventa – Deed of sale
A notarised deed that is registered in the Property Registry, to show a property exists and who it’s owned by. 

Hipoteca inversa – Reverse mortgage  
This allows homeowners to borrow money using their home as security for the loan. Usually given to persons over the age of 65, upon their death the debt must either be paid by their heirs in order to keep the home, or the property might be taken as collateral to pay for the debt. 

Hipoteca multidivisa – Multi-currency mortgage
This type of morgage is usually used by those who have access to currency with a low interest rate, such as Swiss Francs.

IRPH (Índice de Referencia de Préstamos Hipotecarios) – Mortgage Loan Reference Index
The official reference index which will affect variable interest rates for home loans. 

Período de revisión – Review period
The period in which the banks review and change variable interest rates using the Euríbor or the IRPH. 

Plazo de amortización – Repayment period  
The total amount of time you will repay your mortgage. 

Prestamista – Lender  (the bank or financial institution)

Préstamo hipotecario – Mortgage loan
Referring to the loan you have agreed to and signed with your bank. 

Prestatario – Borrower  (the person borrowing money for the purchase of a property)

Reembolso anticipado – Early repayment. (also know as Amortización anticipado)

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Reestructuración de una deuda – Debt restructuring
Usually done in the case of the borrower having trouble repaying the mortgage. 

Refinanciación – Refinancing  
To ease the weight of individual repayments, refinancing a loan enables you to pay it back over a longer period but in smaller instalments, meaning you end up paying a higher amount of interest over time. 

Reunificación de deudas – Debt consolidation
Adding up all different sources of debt into one loan with the purpose of decreasing individual products’ interests. 

Subrogación préstamo hipotecario – Mortgage loan subrogation
When a mortgage is moved to a different financial institution for more favourable conditions and lower interest rates.

TAE (tasa anual equivalente) – APR (annual percentage rate)
This refers to the total cost of your borrowing for a year and includes the standard fees and interest you’ll have to pay.

Tarjeta de crédito – Credit card

Tasación (o valor de tasación) – Appraisal (or appraisal value)
This is how much the bank thinks that your property is worth.

TIN (tipo de interés nominal) – TIN (nominal interest rate) 
The interest rate before taking inflation into account. 

Tipos de interés fijo – Fixed interest rate

Tipos de interés variable – Variable interest rate