Profession

Property valuers in Spain: approved appraisal firms

A valuation for a Spanish mortgage must come from an approved appraisal firm registered with the Banco de España. What the rules say and how to check one.

Checked on against the official sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

In Spain, a valuation (tasación) that has legal effect for a mortgage must be made by an appraisal company approved under Real Decreto 775/1997 and entered in the Banco de España’s special register. For a home loan, Ley 5/2019, article 13, requires the property to be valued by an appraisal company, an appraisal service of a credit institution, or an approved professional, independent of the lender or credit intermediary. These are national rules and apply in every region. A private estimate of what your home might sell for is not covered by that reservation, as far as the texts we read show.

What an approved appraisal company is

Real Decreto 775/1997 sets the legal regime of the “homologación” (approval) of appraisal services and companies. Article 1 says approval is compulsory for valuations of real estate to have effect in listed cases, including:

  • property given as security for loans that sit in the cover pool of mortgage securities (Ley 2/1981);
  • the technical provisions of insurers;
  • the assets of real estate collective investment institutions and pension funds;
  • “cualquier otra en que la normativa exija que la valoración haya de realizarse por una sociedad o servicio de tasación”.

Under article 5.2, once the conditions are met, the Banco de España enters the company in the relevant special register “de oficio”, gives it a registration number and orders the entry to be published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE). Article 14 provides separate special registers, including one for professionals tied to the companies; that list holds personal data and we do not use it.

The rule for a mortgage

Ley 5/2019 on real estate credit contracts (article 13) says property offered as security must be valued by one of three kinds of appraiser, independent of the lender or intermediary, “de conformidad con” Orden ECO/805/2003. That order’s article 1 sets the method for calculating the appraisal value for the financial purposes it lists and the content of the reports. It does not make an appraiser compulsory for a private estimate.

For the borrower, the practical point is that the texts we read tie the valuation used for the loan to one of those three kinds of appraiser. For the rest of the mortgage rules, see how a mortgage works in Spain.

How to check an appraisal company

  1. Ask for the company’s full name and Banco de España registration number, which the register gives to every approved company.
  2. Go to the Banco de España’s registers page (link above) and use its register search. We could not open the search tool during our reading: it runs as a web application and its form fields were not visible to us, so follow the instructions on the Banco de España page itself.
  3. Check that the name and number on the register match those on the valuation report.
  4. If the company does not appear, ask the lender or the company to explain in writing before relying on the report.

The Banco de España also publishes lists of registered entities in downloadable form. We did not open those files and we do not copy or republish any list.

The Banco de España’s terms of use

We read the legal notice on bde.es. It says:

  • “libre uso privado de la información obtenida directamente de ella”;
  • reproduction “debe ser realizada fielmente, sin manipular ni alterar los contenidos”;
  • “siempre debe ser citada como fuente el Banco de España”;
  • in English, the site “does not grant any general licence to use”;
  • a linked page “shall appear in its own window and shall be the only element on the screen”, and pages must not appear inside the frame of another website.

We found nothing in that notice about robots, scraping or databases. For that reason this page links to the register in the ordinary way and does not frame it, copy it or reproduce its lines.

What it costs

The sources we read give no official fee or scale for an appraisal, and we give no figure. Fees are set by the company, and who pays is part of the mortgage terms. Ask the lender, in writing, whether the valuation is charged to you and how much before you instruct it. For other costs of buying, use the purchase costs calculator.

Which professional to consult

For a loan, the mortgage lender tells you which approved company it uses or accepts. For a structural opinion on a building, an architect or technical architect is the professional, since an appraisal gives a value, not a technical survey. A property lawyer can read a valuation clause in a loan offer.

Frequently asked questions

Does Spanish law require a valuation for every purchase?

Not that we read. The compulsory valuation by an approved company applies where a rule requires it, notably property given as security for the mortgage cases listed in the texts above.

Is an appraisal company the same as a bank’s valuation department?

Not exactly. Ley 5/2019 article 13 lists three kinds: an appraisal company, an appraisal service of a credit institution, and an approved professional, all independent of the lender.

Where do I look up an appraisal company?

In the register of the Banco de España, through its registers page. Search the name or number yourself.

Can I copy the register’s lines?

The Banco de España allows free private use, with faithful reproduction and citation of the source. Anything beyond that is not granted by the notice we read.

Does Payotte recommend valuers?

No. Payotte does not list, rank or select valuers in Spain.

Sources