How much can you discount when investing in discounted property?

It depends on the asset and the route, and we do not publish an average percentage because we have no citable source for one. What is fixed are the legal thresholds of the judicial auction: a bid from 70 per cent of the auction value is approved directly and, if the debtor presents no improvement, the award can be approved from 50 per cent.

Which route has more discount, the auction or the bank-owned flat?

The judicial auction usually offers more potential margin, because the price is set by a collection procedure rather than a seller, but it brings surviving charges, possible occupancy and timelines. The bank-owned flat has less uncertainty and resembles a normal purchase, with less margin. It depends on how much analysis you are willing to do.

How much money do you need to start?

There is no official minimum, but at auction you need cash for the 20 per cent deposit on the value of the asset before bidding, and for the balance within twenty days of the close. A bank-owned flat is closer to a normal purchase and allows financing on standard timelines.

How is it different from real estate crowdfunding?

In crowdfunding you contribute to a pool and do not choose the specific asset. Buying at a discount directly lets you choose a specific property, with its data, and decide whether to enter and at what price, in exchange for more analysis and risk concentrated in a single asset.

Can a private individual invest in discounted property?

Yes. Anyone can register on the BOE auction portal and bid, or buy a bank-owned flat. The more professional routes, such as buying the discounted debt, are also starting to be accessible. The hard part is accessing the information in time, which is what the platform organises.

Do you inherit the property's debts?

At a judicial auction, charges and entries ranking ahead of the claim being enforced survive and the buyer assumes the liability arising from them. Later ones are cancelled by court order. And some debts never appear in the registry extract, such as association fees or unpaid property tax.

How long does a deal like this take?

There is no single timeline, because the court procedure sets it, not the buyer. There are legal milestones: the auction accepts bids for twenty calendar days, the balance of the price is due within twenty days of the close, and eviction through the enforcement route must be requested within the year following acquisition.

Investing in discounted property in Spain

The four routes to invest in discounted property in Spain: judicial auctions, bank-owned flats, foreclosed homes and discounted debt (NPLs).

Ángel Visedo Tomás, Fundador de InvertirDeudaUpdated 8 October 2026

What investing at a discount means

Investing in discounted property is buying an asset for less than it is worth on the market. That margin does not appear by magic: it arises when someone needs to sell quickly. A bank that wants to clear unpaid loans off its balance sheet, a court enforcing collateral, an owner with a debt they cannot pay. In all those cases the property can change hands below its value, and that is where the opportunity lies for the investor who can analyse it.

The key is not the discount percentage you see advertised, but the real difference between what you pay and what the property is worth once you can use it, after costs and risks. Buying a problem asset cheaply is not buying cheap: it is taking on those problems in exchange for a price.

Where the discount actually comes from

It is worth understanding the mechanism before the figure, because the mechanism tells you when a discount is real and when it is just a low starting price.

Tied up capital: a repossessed property on a bank's balance sheet consumes own funds and forces provisions. Clearing it has value to the institution even at a lower price.
Court time: an enforcement takes months, sometimes years. Whoever buys takes on that wait, and the price reflects it.
Information asymmetry: the seller knows what sits behind the asset and the buyer usually does not. The discount is, in part, the price of that uncertainty.
Condition and occupancy: a property you cannot visit, that needs work or that is occupied is worth less today, and not on a market whim.
Charges that survive: at a judicial auction, charges ranking ahead of the claim being enforced are not cancelled on award and are assumed by the buyer. Part of the apparent discount is debt that becomes yours.

The four routes to buying at a discount

In Spain there are several ways to access discounted property, and it is worth understanding how they differ, because each has its own level of discount, risk and complexity.

1. The judicial auction

A court sells the property to pay a debt, usually an unpaid mortgage. It is held electronically on the BOE auction portal, accepts bids for a non extendable twenty calendar days and is awarded to the best bid that clears the legal thresholds. It is one of the routes with the most potential discount, and the one that most demands knowing the procedure: bid thresholds, prior deposit and the charges that survive. We cover it step by step in the guide to buying a flat at a judicial auction, and the real costs in the one on costs, taxes and charges.

2. Bank-owned flats

Properties the bank already holds on its balance sheet, usually because it took them over after a default. The purchase resembles a normal one, with a deed, the chance to view and in some cases financing from the seller itself. In exchange the margin is usually smaller: the bank sells in an orderly process and has already absorbed the hardest part of the discount. We look at it in the guide on bank-owned flats.

3. Foreclosed homes

Properties under an attachment for an unpaid debt. For an investor the usual route is the auction of the asset or buying the debt behind it first, not a direct purchase from the owner, because the attachment prevents selling free of charges. The guide on buying a foreclosed home covers it.

4. Buying the discounted debt (NPL and auction assignment)

The most professional route: instead of waiting for the property to reach the market, you buy the unpaid debt behind it, an NPL, or acquire the auction award assigned by whoever held the right to it. You enter the chain earlier and control more variables, but the analysis is far more demanding and the outcome may not be the property at all, but a settlement with the borrower. The guides on what an NPL is and on auction assignments explain it.

Not just anyone can offer a remate assignment: only the enforcing creditor or a subsequent creditor who bids at the auction. An ordinary bidder cannot assign.

Remate assignment, in the glossary

How much you really discount

Why you will not find an average percentage here

Figures of the kind 30 or 50 per cent average discount on appraisal circulate widely. We do not publish them because we have no source we can cite, and an average without a source is worth the same as no figure at all. What we can give you is the method: how to work out the real margin on a specific asset, with that asset's numbers. It is less eye catching and it is the only thing you can decide on.

There are percentages that are not a matter of opinion, because they sit in the statute and shape the whole deal. In a judicial auction of real estate the deposit to bid is 20 per cent of the value of the asset, with a minimum of 1,000 euros (article 669.1 of the Civil Procedure Act, as worded since Organic Act 1/2025), and the court clerk may adjust it, so the auction notice governs. A bid equal to or above 70 per cent of the auction value is approved directly; below that, the debtor has ten days to present someone offering at least 60 per cent, and failing that the award can be approved from 50 per cent (article 670). Those numbers are the real floor of most deals.

How to calculate an asset's real discount

Set the property's exit value today, not its appraisal or its price three years ago. Real comparables on that street and in that condition.
Subtract the price you will pay. That difference is the headline discount.
Subtract the tax. For real estate the base is the Cadastre reference value unless the agreed price is higher, so buying cheap does not make the tax cheaper.
Subtract the prior charges that are not cancelled and the debts that follow the property: association fees, property tax, municipal charges.
Subtract the cost of making it usable: refurbishment, utilities and, if occupied, the procedure to recover possession.
Subtract time: every month the asset does not produce is opportunity cost and running expense.
What is left is your real margin. Weigh it against the risk you take, and only then decide.

Worked example, illustrative figures

A flat you could sell today for 140,000 euros. You win it at auction for 95,000: on paper, a 32 per cent discount. Now subtract. If the Cadastre reference value were 140,000 and the region's transfer tax rate were 8 per cent, the tax is 11,200 euros. Add 900 of registry and agency fees, 12,000 of a prior charge that is not cancelled, 6,000 of refurbishment and 7,000 between the procedure to recover possession and eight months of property tax, association fees and opportunity cost. Total cost: 132,100 euros. The real margin on 140,000 is 7,900 euros, under 6 per cent, not the 32 of the headline. The figures and the tax rate are invented to illustrate the method, but the order of the subtraction is always that one.

The risks to always look at

Prior charges: at a judicial auction, charges and entries ranking ahead of the claim being enforced survive, and by the mere act of bidding the bidder accepts assuming them.
Occupancy: an occupied property takes time to clear, costs money and sharply reduces the liquidity of the deal.
Timelines: court procedures are long and you do not control their calendar.
Valuation: the property can be worth less than expected, especially if you could not view it inside.
Liquidity: selling an asset with a court history takes longer than selling a normal flat, and the buyer knows it.

The rank of the charge

The position the debt holds in the order of payment is one of the factors that most determines the risk and the real discount. The senior creditor is paid first when the collateral is enforced, and at auction what decides whether a charge is cancelled or lands on you is its rank relative to the claim being enforced, not its amount. Reading the order of the entries in the registry extract is the basic analysis of this way of investing.

Occupancy, and the one year clock

If you are awarded an occupied property, the law lets you request the eviction of those who can be considered occupants in fact or without sufficient title, but within one year of acquisition. After that year, eviction can only be sought in ordinary proceedings, which is another budget and another calendar. It is one of the quietest expensive mistakes in this market.

How much capital each route needs

There is no official minimum ticket, but each route has a different payment structure, and it pays to be clear on it before choosing.

Judicial auction: you need cash for the 20 per cent deposit before bidding and for the balance within twenty days of the close. That calendar does not fit an ordinary mortgage.
Bank-owned flat: the route closest to a normal purchase, with financing available and standard conveyancing timelines.
Foreclosed home: the outlay depends on whether you come in via the auction or by buying the debt first.
NPL and auction assignment: the price comes out of the negotiation with the holder of the claim, and the capital you need afterwards to see the court process through counts too.

The four routes to buying at a discount: what you buy and how you pay
Route	What you buy	How you pay
Judicial auction	The property, by bidding on the BOE auction portal for a non extendable twenty calendar days	A 20 per cent deposit before bidding and the balance within twenty days of the close
Bank-owned flat	A property the bank already holds on its balance sheet, with a deed and the chance to view it	Standard conveyancing timelines, with financing available
Foreclosed home	The asset at its auction or, earlier, the debt behind the attachment	Depends on whether you come in via the auction or by buying the debt first
NPL and auction assignment	The unpaid debt or the assigned award; the outcome may be a settlement with the borrower	A price negotiated with the holder of the claim, plus the capital to see the court process through

How to choose the asset: you decide which one

Here is the difference from other ways of investing in property. In real estate crowdfunding you put money into a pool and do not choose the specific asset: you trust the manager to choose well and accept the vehicle's illiquidity. Investing in discounted property directly is the opposite: you see a specific asset, with its debt, collateral, judicial phase and occupancy, and you decide whether to enter and at what price.

Neither approach is better in the abstract. The pool spreads risk across several assets, demands less work and spares you the operational side; direct buying gives you control, choice and a margin you do not share, in exchange for analysis, time and risk concentrated in a single property. What matters is knowing which one fits you before putting money in, and not confusing the two because both are advertised as property investment.

Tax, in short

The purchase is normally taxed under transfer tax, a ceded tax whose rate each autonomous region sets, or under VAT where the transferor is a business or professional and the supply is taxable. For real estate the taxable base is the Cadastre reference value unless the agreed price or the declared value are higher. The municipal capital gains tax is owed by the transferor, unless that is a non resident individual, in which case the acquirer becomes the substitute taxpayer. We develop this in the guide on costs, taxes and charges.

Discount is not return

A 40 per cent discount on paper is not 40 per cent of profit. Out of that margin come taxes, fees, the charges you inherit, the cost of resolving an occupancy and the wait of the timelines. The discount is the starting point of the analysis, not the result.

How to start

How to start investing in discounted property, from the route to the decision

Choose the routeAuction, bank-owned flat, foreclosed home or discounted debt, whichever fits your profile.
Learn to read the assetDebt, collateral, charges, rank, occupancy and procedure phase.
Calculate the real costNot just the price: add taxes, fees, charges and the time until you can use the property.
Compare with today's valueSet it against your current valuation of the property and decide whether the margin compensates the risks.
Start with what you understandDeals you understand well and assets you can go and look at, even from the street.
Write down the gapsThe list of what you do not know about each asset is as informative as the list of data.

Where we fit in

At InvertirDeuda we put in front of the investor the data on real discounted assets that usually only large funds saw: the debt, the collateral, the rank of the charge, the judicial phase and the occupancy. We do not sell the asset or run a pool for you. And when a data point is missing, we say so: you will see No data, not an estimate dressed up as a fact.

See what each plan includes

Investing in discounted property carries a risk of loss and uncertain timelines. This guide is informational and is not financial or legal advice: for a specific deal, analyse the data and consult a professional.

Tell me about new assets in my province

New assets enter the catalogue every week: mortgage-backed debt, judicial auctions and foreclosure assignments. We send you the ones in your province, with the judicial stage explained, no account needed.

Frequently asked questions

How much can you discount when investing in discounted property?: It depends on the asset and the route, and we do not publish an average percentage because we have no citable source for one. What is fixed are the legal thresholds of the judicial auction: a bid from 70 per cent of the auction value is approved directly and, if the debtor presents no improvement, the award can be approved from 50 per cent.
Which route has more discount, the auction or the bank-owned flat?: The judicial auction usually offers more potential margin, because the price is set by a collection procedure rather than a seller, but it brings surviving charges, possible occupancy and timelines. The bank-owned flat has less uncertainty and resembles a normal purchase, with less margin. It depends on how much analysis you are willing to do.
How much money do you need to start?: There is no official minimum, but at auction you need cash for the 20 per cent deposit on the value of the asset before bidding, and for the balance within twenty days of the close. A bank-owned flat is closer to a normal purchase and allows financing on standard timelines.
How is it different from real estate crowdfunding?: In crowdfunding you contribute to a pool and do not choose the specific asset. Buying at a discount directly lets you choose a specific property, with its data, and decide whether to enter and at what price, in exchange for more analysis and risk concentrated in a single asset.
Can a private individual invest in discounted property?: Yes. Anyone can register on the BOE auction portal and bid, or buy a bank-owned flat. The more professional routes, such as buying the discounted debt, are also starting to be accessible. The hard part is accessing the information in time, which is what the platform organises.
Do you inherit the property's debts?: At a judicial auction, charges and entries ranking ahead of the claim being enforced survive and the buyer assumes the liability arising from them. Later ones are cancelled by court order. And some debts never appear in the registry extract, such as association fees or unpaid property tax.
How long does a deal like this take?: There is no single timeline, because the court procedure sets it, not the buyer. There are legal milestones: the auction accepts bids for twenty calendar days, the balance of the price is due within twenty days of the close, and eviction through the enforcement route must be requested within the year following acquisition.