Spain Real Estate News

Suffering said:
Saturday, March 17, 2012 @ 10:13 PM

And what about the thousands of youngsters here in Spain who have their parents are guarantors to their mortgages? They cannot hand the keys back to the bank and walk away. If they stop paying their mortgage the bank with repossess them and their parents. Here in Spain being bankrupt is for life, yes life. That means that if you become bankrupt you will be chased for ever if you get a job to pay off your debt. Spanish banks should hang their heads in shame for what they have done to their young people. Immigrants who had money thrown at them can walk away as they can go home and don't care about not being in Spain after the amount of cash they received from their overvalued mortgages. Shameful.

Suffering said:
Saturday, March 17, 2012 @ 10:16 PM

And what about the thousands of youngsters here in Spain who have their parents are guarantors to their mortgages? They cannot hand the keys back to the bank and walk away. If they stop paying their mortgage the bank with repossess them and their parents. Here in Spain being bankrupt is for life, yes life. That means that if you become bankrupt you will be chased for ever if you get a job to pay off your debt. Spanish banks should hang their heads in shame for what they have done to their young people. Immigrants who had money thrown at them can walk away as they can go home and don't care about not being in Spain after the amount of cash they received from their overvalued mortgages. Shameful. The Gov. should allow in certain cases that the people who have paid for years and not can prove that they cannot pay any more then they should be allowed to hand the keys back and walk away debt free. Poor and homeless and having to probably live with their parents in their late 30's but still, they can try to start again and not have the burden of their mortgages hanging over them for ever more. How does our bank think we feel with a 100k mortgage when a flat upstairs sold last week for 15,000 euros. SICK TO THE STOMACH that we have 26 years left to pay that's what. The bank scammed us with an overvaluation and stole money in the excess, we didn't see a cent of it and are now stuck with the mortgage or my parents in law will loose their home as well. SHAMEFUL SPAIN!!!

Kevin said:
Sunday, March 18, 2012 @ 11:13 AM

I agree with you suffering but I would imagine like me when I bought in 2003 you thought what a great investment you had made. And if the trend continued you would not be complaining but would belanguishing in the profit you made. We have all had a big kick in the nuts-not only in Spain thiugh, it is a world wide problem-a Global reccession. It will get better but it will take a long time and it will not be as good. My house is about to be reposessed and there is nothing I can do about it. I have a tenant in but the rent doesn't cover the mortgage and I can't afford to top it up any longer as I like many others have seen a vast drop in income. The ridiculous thing is that the bank will not accept the reduced payement and have frozen the account so are now getting nothing as we are in litigation. Spanish mentality for sure. Why not get something rather than nothing.
Spanish beaurocricy. With that mentality its no wonder the country is broke!

Finisterre said:
Sunday, March 18, 2012 @ 4:07 PM

Suffering, that is an appalling situation and I absolutely agree that you should be able to drop off the keys and stop paying. In the end this should be a matter for the government to decide: which are more important, people or banks?

Sadly, disgustingly, all the evidence so far is that banks are considered more important; better ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of people than allow a single bank to lose its imaginary assets and fail. I know it's unfashionable these days to talk of revolutions but frankly, the cracks in our pathetic facade of democracy are getting wider.

Kevin, sympathy to you too. I suspect British banks would do the same though; they are all the same merciless profit-driven entities.

galiciafan said:
Sunday, March 18, 2012 @ 6:35 PM

Suffering and Kevin, you have my sympathies as do all the many thousands in your situation. The situation regarding mortgages in Spain in not just. Elsewhere when you borrow against a property to finance the purchase, the property is the surety for the loan, not the person who takes out the loan. If circumstances change and you can't afford the payments, then the bank can forclose and you lose your home but not your future or your childrens future as can happen here in Spain. It is shamefully wrong that when you are down, that the bank can kick you in the teeth by taking your property and selling it for just 60% of its appraisal value, making you even worse off. You are still left with a lot of debt after that small amount has been deducted from the outstanding mortgage but now you have no assets either. This debt could be passed on to your inheritors who certainly won't be happy either when their security is threatened. It is certainly time that the Government changed the law. Let the banks take the responsibility for properly assessing a persons ability to pay the mortgage in the first place before saddling people with huge debt as inducement to sell properties- yes that would make it more difficult to get a mortgage, but isn't that protection better than the alternative - the later loss of home and future?
And another point, it is always made to sound such a wonderful benefit when you are offered a 100% mortgage but as anywhere else in the world, property prices are subject to market influences and can go down. With a 100% mortgage, you have no leeway and will be forced into negative equity immediately. At least with an 80% mortgage, you have to experience a 20% drop in the market before negative equity occurs.

Andy said:
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 @ 2:05 AM

I feel for you being affected by the unfair situation. Unfortunately it seems that if problems occur NOTHING can be done except file for bankruptcy (UK). I have been in a position where: I cannot sell, I cannot rent legally (because of equity), I cannot give the keys back, I cannot remortgage (because of equity) and I cannot get consent to lease - so what the hell are you supposed to do? Luckily we managed to sell with a small loss, but the situation is absolutely crazy...
Consent to lease at the same rate and delayed repayment options should be provided as a safeguard on all mortgages, so if you get into trouble - you can rent your property out (with little red tape), delay repayments whilst you work out what to do or wait for the market to pick up - it would avoid thousands of repossessions