We have just signed the loan offer, the notary sets a signing date, and the bank is slow to transfer the funds. This delay, sometimes a few days and sometimes several weeks, can jeopardize a tight purchase schedule. Understanding what happens between the acceptance of the mortgage and the actual transfer at the notary’s office helps avoid unpleasant surprises on the day of the sale deed.
Reflection period and validity of the loan offer: two distinct timers
Before even discussing the release of funds, there is often confusion between two regulatory deadlines that run in parallel. The first is the 10 calendar day reflection period. It starts the day after the loan offer is received. It is impossible to sign before the 11th day, even if the entire file is ready.
The second timer concerns the validity of the offer itself: the offer remains valid for 30 calendar days from its receipt. After this period without acceptance, the bank can withdraw it. In practice, when we understand the deadline for releasing the funds of a mortgage, we realize that the useful window between the 11th day and the 30th day is shorter than one might think.
Specifically, if the offer arrives on a Monday, it can only be accepted from the Friday of the following week. And if the notary is slow to set an appointment, we risk nearing the 30-day limit, which forces the bank to reissue an offer, with a new reflection period.
Four months to unlock: the constraint that no one monitors
Once the offer is accepted, the bank has a maximum period of four months to release the funds, provided that the real estate transaction is concluded within this same timeframe. This regulatory ceiling remains little known to buyers.
In practice, the funds are transferred well before this deadline, often a few days before the signing of the authentic deed. The notary sends a request for funds to the bank, which transfers the money to the notary’s escrow account.
What actually delays the transfer
Delays almost never come from a banking technical issue. They are related to missing documents or unresolved conditions. Here are the most common blockages:
- The borrower insurance certificate has not been sent to the bank, or the insurance contract has not yet been validated by the lending institution.
- The notary has not yet received the updated mortgage statement or is waiting for an urban planning document from the town hall.
- The bank requires proof of personal contribution not yet deposited into the designated account.
- In the case of a long sale, the compromise provides for a postponed signing date, and the bank waits for this date to trigger the request for funds.
The bank transfer itself rarely takes more than 48 working hours once the order is given. The real delay occurs upstream, in the coordination between the notary, the bank, and the insurer.
Old purchase, VEFA, renovation loan: the unlocking process works differently
We often talk about the unlocking as a single event, but the mechanics change depending on the type of real estate project.
Purchase in the old
This is the simplest case. The funds are released in one go, directly to the notary, just before or on the day of the signing of the sale deed. The repayment of the loan starts the following month.
Purchase in VEFA or construction
For a purchase in VEFA (sale in future state of completion) or a construction via a CCMI, the unlocking is progressive. The bank releases the funds in installments, as the construction progresses. Each request for funds corresponds to a stage: foundations, waterproofing, completion.
During this period, the capital is not yet repaid. We pay interim interest calculated on the amounts already released, which can increase the bill if the construction is delayed. Feedback varies on this point depending on the banks, some offering a total deferral.
Renovation loan
A dedicated renovation loan works on a reimbursement basis. The bank releases the funds upon receipt of the invoices from the contractor or company. No invoice, no transfer. This process of successive releases extends the total time for making the money available.
Anticipating the notary’s request for funds: what speeds up the unlocking
The notary usually sends the request for funds to the bank between five and ten working days before the scheduled signing date. If the bank already has all the documents in hand, the transfer is made within 48 hours. If a document is missing, we can easily lose a week.
To save time, we can act on three concrete levers:
- Send the borrower insurance certificate to the bank as soon as it is received, without waiting for the advisor to request it.
- Check with the notary that all administrative documents (mortgage statement, diagnostics, urban planning documents) are complete before setting the signing date.
- Ensure that the personal contribution is transferred to the account designated by the bank at least one week before the signing.
A complete file submitted in advance reduces the unlocking time to a few days. Most delays observed in practice come from a forgotten document, not from slow banking processing.
The last point to keep in mind: if the signing date is postponed for a reason unrelated to financing (seller unavailable, servitude discovered late), the bank does not release anything until the notary sends the updated request for funds. It is better to inform your bank advisor as soon as a delay is anticipated, to avoid an order for transfer being issued and then blocked due to a lack of a confirmed notarial appointment.