Equity release: can you borrow in one euro country and buy in another?
The debt-free property sits in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country — the purchase is in a different one. The security stays where it is — the capital may travel. From around €500,000 of loan.
Does equity release take place in the country where the property stands?
Yes, it happens where the property stands, and the capital may fund a purchase in another euro country. As a rule up to 50 % of the bank valuation of the debt-free property is possible, with a loan of around €500,000 or above. That works in several euro-area countries, not in every one.
Why this route usually stops at the border — and here does not
The debt-free property is charged where it stands, and the capital released may go into a property project in another euro country. That works in several euro-area countries, not in every one.
Can I raise the money in one country and buy in another? Yes. The debt-free property is charged where it stands — in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country; the capital released may go into a property project in another euro country. That works in several euro-area countries, not in every one — which ones is clarified in the call.
How much is possible — and from what amount? As a rule up to 50 % of the bank valuation of the unencumbered property. The capital-release loan should be around €500,000 or above; that is the loan, not the property value.
What must the property bring?
It must be debt-free — or the residual balance is redeemed as part of the new financing. It can sit in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country. A third party's property, a parent's for example, can also serve as the security. How the lending value is set.
Can I use equity release on a mortgage-free property in one country to buy in another euro country? Yes — equity release on a debt-free property in one euro country can fund a purchase in another.
The security is a debt-free property in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country; it is charged where it stands — as a rule up to 50 per cent of the bank valuation — and the capital released may go into a property project in another euro country.
That works in several euro-area countries, not in every one; which ones is clarified in the call.
It removes the condition on which this route otherwise ends: on a capital release used inside Spain the money has to stay there.
On this route the loan should be around €500,000 or above — that is the loan, not the property value.
The property is free of charges, or the residual balance is redeemed as part of the new financing; a third party's property, a parent's for example, can serve as the security. Repayment runs to age 75, and with two borrowers the younger one's age counts.
The hard limit on capital release is rarely the amount. It is the place.
Anyone charging a paid-off property in Spain hears the same sentence from the few banks that write this at all: the capital has to be used in Spain and the use has to be evidenced — the funds may not leave the country. Whoever wants to buy elsewhere with it fails on that condition, not on the valuation.
On this route that condition falls away. What is charged is a debt-free property in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country, within the same frame — as a rule up to 50 % of the bank valuation.
The capital released may fund a property project in another euro country. That holds for several euro-area countries, not for every one; which ones is clarified in the call. Everything else — valuation, land registry, underwriting — runs as it does on any other mortgage.
The key figures
As a rule the loan is up to 50 % of the bank valuation of the existing property and starts from around €500,000. If the use stays in the country of the security, it starts earlier, in Spain at around €300,000.
As a rule up to 50 % of the valuation (Amount): The calculation runs on the bank valuation of the existing property, not on the price you expect on the market. On an existing property no purchase price confirms the value — hence the larger margin.
From around €500,000 (Size): That is the loan, not the property value. If the use stays in the country of the security, capital release starts earlier — in Spain at around €300,000.
Free of charges — or the balance is redeemed (Property)
A small residual balance is no obstacle: it is redeemed as part of the new financing and only reduces the capital released.
Repaid by 75 (Age): With two borrowers the younger one's age counts. That decides the term and therefore the instalment — it is not an exclusion based on the older borrower's age.
What is this not?
It is not the classic German route: a debt-free German property goes up to 80 per cent of the lending value from around €150,000 without a tied purpose, which is a different product with a different limit and minimum.
The classic German route. A debt-free German property goes up to 80 per cent of the lending value, without a tied purpose, from around €150,000 — releasing capital without earmarking.
If the purchase is abroad, that is the well-trodden route: release equity from your German property to buy abroad. It is a different product from the structure on this page — different limit, different minimum.
Use in the same country. If the capital stays in Spain, the classic route through a Spanish bank applies — from around €300,000, with the use evidenced locally.
Not a commitment. Whether the chain holds is decided case by case: valuation, credit standing and both financings together.
Authorisation: § 34i GewO, intermediary register D-W-132-ZUCB-95, registered since 2016, with notification under § 34i (4) GewO for other European countries. The brokerage runs from Germany; no separate licence in the country of the property is needed for this route. For competitive reasons we name specific banks only within a mandate.
Frequently asked questions
I own a mortgage-free property in Spain and want to buy in another euro country. Does that work?
Yes. The security is a debt-free property in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy or another euro-area country; it is charged where it stands, and the capital released may go into a property project in another euro country. It works in several euro-area countries, not in every one — which ones is clarified in the call.
The rest of the frame is the same as on any capital release: as a rule up to 50 per cent of the bank valuation, the property free of charges or the residual balance redeemed as part of the new financing.
Is there a minimum amount?
Yes. On this route the capital-release loan should be around €500,000 or above. That is the loan, not the property value. Below it, the cost of valuation, notary and land registry does not carry the structure.
How is this different from a capital release used inside Spain?
Only in where the money may go — and in the size. On the route through a Spanish bank the capital has to be used in Spain and evidenced there, and the funds may not leave the country; there the loan starts at around €300,000. If the capital goes into another euro country, it is around €500,000.
And if the property is in Germany?
Then there are two routes, and they belong to different lenders. The classic one: a debt-free German property can be charged up to 80 per cent of the lending value, without a tied purpose, from around €150,000.
Or it is the security on the route described here, when the capital goes into another euro country — then as a rule up to 50 per cent of the bank valuation, from around €500,000. Which one carries depends on the project; the two can also be combined.
My property is not fully paid off. Does that rule it out?
No. Either it is free of charges, or the residual balance is redeemed as part of the new financing. The 50 per cent is then calculated on the unencumbered property — the smaller the residual balance, the more of the released capital remains.
Can my parents' property serve as the security?
Yes, a third party's property can be charged. The owner on the title takes out the loan and is liable with their property for their share; in practice this usually results in several separate loans. Anyone named as a borrower needs to hold at least 10 per cent of the title on the relevant property.
Up to what age does such a loan run?
As a rule it is repaid by age 75. With two borrowers the younger one's age counts — a partner ten years younger adds ten years of term and lowers the instalment accordingly.
Tell us where the property is — and where you want to buy
The property, the country, a rough value, any residual balance and the planned project are enough for a first assessment. You will know whether the chain holds before you file an application anywhere.
Related pages
How the lending value is set
Mortgage lending value: calculate the value a German bank will use — free calculator, the formula behind it and why it sits below the purchase price.
releasing capital without earmarking
German real estate as security: release capital without a tied purpose — up to 80 % of the lending value, loans from around €150,000.
release equity from your German property to buy abroad
Equity for a purchase in Spain or Portugal: your paid-off German property is the cheapest source — up to 80 % loan-to-value.
Mortgage document checklist Germany (PDF): which real estate documents does every bank want?
The person first, then the money, then the property: ID and registration, proof of income, equity and existing loans, then the property documents.
Mortgage advice for Germany: which route fits if your residence or income is abroad?
Advice costs you nothing; we are as a rule paid by the financing bank. Brokerage of consumer mortgage loans under §34i GewO by Olga Nikushkina.
German property for sale: how do you value it before you buy?
A listing is a sales document; the bank works from the lending value, which regularly sits below the purchase price. Seven points decide it.
Editorially responsible: Olga Nikushkina — owner, §34i GewO (German mortgage brokerage), adviser register D-W-132-ZUCB-95. Specialised in German property financing with an international dimension: non-residents, foreign-currency income, cross-border workers, expats. Siegfried Perini is entered in the German intermediary register under this licence as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice (§ 11a GewO), active in real estate since 1992. Not legal or tax advice.