Mortgage costs more today than just a few months ago. So far this year, the average interest on mortgages granted has gone from 1.44% in January to 1.70% in June, according to data from the Bank of Spain. And the forecast is that banks will make these products more expensive in the coming months: the interest that the European Central Bank charges entities that ask for financing increased from 0% to 0.50% in July (it is very likely that it will rise again in September), which will lead banks to transfer this additional cost to the price of their mortgage loans.
In this context, finding a low-interest mortgage will be increasingly difficult: Gone are the days when variable rates were close to 0% and fixed rates were around 1%. Even so, according to the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com, it is still possible to get one of these products at a competitive price. To do this, yes, it is necessary to negotiate with several banks or delegate that task to a mortgage broker.
According to the analysts of this comparator, the main mistake that many future buyers make is to request the mortgage only from their usual bank. Loyalty is not convenient if you want to get a low interest: the applicant must go from “flower to flower” and get proposals from several entities (three or more is recommended). In this way, you can compare different options and find out if a bank offers you better conditions than yours.
It is advisable to ask for a mortgage both from traditional banks, such as BBVA or CaixaBank, as well as from lesser-known virtual entities: Openbank, Pibank, COINC… The latter usually offer mortgages with very competitive prices, because they have a smaller client base. and they need to improve their conditions to attract applicants.
Another trick to get better conditions is to negotiate with banks. According to HelpMyCash, many entities lower the interest they offer at first if the client enjoys a good economic situation. Those banks, however, won’t lower their rates right off the bat: you have to negotiate directly with the person handling the application and ask them to offer a lower price.
Having offers from other banks can also be used as an asset to achieve a better price. The ideal, in these cases, is to present the best proposal to all the entities with which you have contacted to see if they are willing to present a counter offer. In the event that one does, this process can be repeated several times until the least possible interest is achieved.
In general, this search, comparison and negotiation process allows you to obtain a lower interest, but it requires time and a certain left hand with the banks. If the applicant does not have one or the other, they can consider the option of hiring a mortgage broker, who is a professional who does precisely that: negotiate with the entity and get the best possible mortgage for their customers.
Given their experience in the mortgage market, brokers know which banks it is advisable to request financing from in order to obtain the best possible price, which saves the client time and money. In addition, in most cases, they are able to negotiate a lower interest rate than the applicant could get if they applied for the mortgage on their own.
According to HelpMyCash, there are two types of brokers in Spain: free ones and paid ones. The former do not charge the customer anything (their commission is paid by the bank), but their service is less complete and is simply based on finding good deals, but without advice. Payment intermediaries, on the other hand, charge an average fee of around 5,000 euros (only if the mortgage is signed), but they do offer advice and can get the loan even if the applicant’s profile is delicate, for example, if they are self-employed or have few savings.
