Spanish mortgage lender letter

If you’ve just received a letter from a Spanish mortgage lender, it’s understandable to feel worried, especially if you’re not originally from Spain or aren’t confident with the language. These letters can look official and intimidating, often mentioning legal terms or amounts of money that are hard to make sense of.

The good news is, you’re not alone. At Gascón Bernabéu, our English-speaking solicitors in Spain regularly help people who find themselves in this exact situation. Whether you still live in Spain or have since returned to the UK, we can explain what the letter means, what your options are, and how to respond calmly and effectively.

Why you may have received a letter from a Spanish mortgage lender

If you’ve just received a letter from a Spanish mortgage lender, it’s completely understandable to feel anxious or unsure of what to do next.. These letters can look official and serious and are often written in legal Spanish that can be difficult to understand.

Most of the time, these letters are about a mortgage you once had on a property in Spain. You may have bought a home there years ago and fallen behind on the payments, or the bank repossessed and sold the property after the mortgage went into arrears. The letter is typically from the bank or its legal representatives, reaching out to discuss the outstanding balance or to inform you of the next steps.

Sometimes, it may just be an update, a request for missing documents, or a notice about changes to your mortgage. If the letter includes words like “oferta vinculante” (binding offer) or “requerimiento de pago” (payment demand), it’s best to get it translated and reviewed by a solicitor before responding.

Why am I being contacted now?

Many people took out mortgages with Spanish banks during the property boom. In some cases, repayments became unaffordable and properties were eventually repossessed. After repossession, the bank usually sells the property at auction, but often the sale price doesn’t cover the full mortgage amount.

This can leave a remaining balance, and some banks choose to contact borrowers years later, sometimes through law firms based in the UK, to recover what’s still owed. While this can be worrying, it doesn’t automatically mean legal action is about to begin. Often, there are ways to resolve the matter without going to court.