When money is tight, many people end up in a situation where they cannot pay their bills, sometimes including their mortgage. Whether the mortgage is on a primary residence or vacation home, defaulting on a mortgage can have serious consequences for the homeowner. These consequences vary by state, province, and country, so you must be sure to completely understand them.
Defaulting on a Spanish mortgage, for example, has very specific consequences. If you are not a Spanish citizen but own a home in Spain, you may think its still possible to easily walk away from the mortgage with no consequences whatsoever. This used to be true, especially for second residences or vacation homes. However, this is no longer the case, as Spanish banks can and will pursue non-residents to fulfill their mortgage obligations.
One option you have when you default on your Spanish mortgage is to turn over the home to the bank. Turning the home over to the bank will save you a lot of money, as the bank will not have court costs associated with pursuing you for the mortgage, and your interest will stop accruing sooner. But although this is an option, it must first be discussed with the bank. The bank has to accept your offer, and they are under no obligation to do so. Homeowners that have a true hardship as a reason for defaulting on a Spanish mortgage will likely be more successful in negotiating a home turnover. If your spouse dies or your income has dropped due to another cause that is no fault of your own, the bank may consider that a valid hardship and allow you to turn in your keys to the home.
If you cannot negotiate a home turnover with the bank that holds your Spanish mortgage, you will need to sell the home as soon as possible. Try to get a final sale price that will cover the remaining amount on your Spanish mortgage or one that will come as close as possible to paying it off, as the bank will still expect the full amount from you in any case. The bank will be most likely to aggressively pursue you for a large shortfall on the Spanish mortgage. But the bank can legally attempt to collect any amount from you. This means you may face liens on any assets you own, including your primary home and investments. Although it may take years to collect on the shortfall by going through the court systems, the bank that holds your Spanish mortgage will not give up until they do.
Even if defaulting on your Spanish mortgage is inevitable, you should work with the bank as much as possible as soon as you know you must default. Working with the bank that holds your Spanish mortgage can result in a fair settlement that benefits both you and the bank with as little impact on your other assets or financial holdings as possible.
