Stages of the mortgage process and timeframes for each phase

Understanding how long it takes to get a mortgage approved requires analysing each of the stages through which the application passes, from the initial submission of details to the final signing of the loan.

1. Feasibility analysis and submission of documentation (3 to 7 days)

The first phase begins when the client submits their financial file. The institution evaluates repayment capacity, employment stability, debt level and credit history held in the Central Information Risk Database of the Banco de España (CIRBE).

If the documentation is complete from day one (payslips, tax return, work history record and bank statements), initial pre-approval or risk analysis usually takes between three and seven working days.

2. Official property valuation (3 to 7 days)

Once financial pre-approval has been obtained, it is essential to value the property to determine the maximum loan amount the bank will grant, which generally equals 80% of the purchase price or valuation figure. The surveyor's visit and the issuance of the report by an accredited valuation firm usually takes between three and seven working days.

3. Risk approval and issuance of the FEIN (5 to 10 days)

With the valuation report integrated into the file, the risk department carries out the final validation and issues the European Standardised Information Sheet (FEIN). This document constitutes the bank's binding offer and details the interest rate, fees, tied products and repayment schedule.

Preparing this binding offer usually requires an additional five to ten working days.

4. Notarial processing and reflection period (10 to 14 days)

Real estate credit regulations establish a mandatory reflection period to ensure the transparency of the transaction:

• 10 calendar days across most of the national territory (14 days in Catalonia) from the time the bank uploads the documentation to the notary platform until the day of signing.
• During this period, the buyer must attend the chosen notary office to complete the preliminary advisory deed at no additional cost.

Factors that influence how long it takes to get a mortgage approved

There are several variables that can speed up or delay the final response from the bank.

Employment profile and type of income

Employed staff on permanent contracts with seniority tend to receive faster decisions than self-employed workers. The latter must provide more extensive accounting documentation (quarterly VAT returns, personal income tax, corporate tax and balance sheets), which requires a longer analytical assessment.

Legal and mortgage status of the property

If the property being purchased has pending land registry charges, attachments or issues in the Land Registry, the procedure is paused until the legal issue is resolved. In the specific case of officially protected housing (VPO) in the Comunidad de Madrid, it is necessary to process sales authorisations or the corresponding declassification (descalificación) with the regional administration, which adds extra time to the process.

Digitalisation and volume of the financial institution

Institutions with automated analysis systems process applications faster than banks with manual, centralised decision structures. Likewise, marketing campaigns by certain banks can overload their risk departments at specific times of the year.

How to speed up the granting of a mortgage loan

To avoid unnecessary delays that might put the deadlines agreed in the deposit agreement (contrato de arras) at risk, it is advisable to take several preparatory steps:

1. Gather documentation in advance: Have your ID (DNI), employment record, last three payslips and latest income tax return ready before starting bank visits.
2. Request a Land Registry extract (Nota Simple): Check whether the property has any encumbrances before valuation so they can be resolved in time.
3. Submit the application to multiple institutions: Processing the transaction in parallel avoids depending on the pace of a single bank.
4. Respond quickly to requests: Provide additional clarifications or supporting documents as soon as requested by the underwriter.

The role of professional advice in the application process

Having specialist support simplifies the preparation of the financial file and avoids the most common mistakes that lead to applications being rejected or stalled in risk departments.

Through our mortgage credit intermediaries, at Sky Real Estate we manage the negotiation process and online monitoring with financial institutions, reducing response times and coordinating the necessary steps with the notary until the signing of the title deeds.