Once your mortgage application has been approved, the lending bank will send out your mortgage offer, typically via courrier to your home address, or more recently, electronically for a few banks. A new milestone on the road to the property has been reached, which brings you a step closer to moving in.
Carefully review your French mortgage offer
When a credit offer is issued, it is important to pay full attention to it. It is indeed a summary of your financing needs, with all the conditions that govern the loan. This mandatory document will endorse your commitment. Make sure you read it in full, and even several times. Send a copy to your mortgage broker upon receipt for them to check all conditions are as per those agreed with the bank. You must also send a copy to your notaire so that they can start preparing the final purchase documents.
A credit offer includes the identity of the lender and the borrower, the nature of the loan and its purpose. The detail will appear whether it is an acquisition, a construction or a renovation project. Obviously, the terms of the loan are notified. It is then possible to discover the overall effective rate, the total cost of credit but also the schedule, thanks to the depreciation schedule in the appendix.
The conditions for a possible transfer of the loan, or the costs inherent in partial or total prepayment are indicated. In summary, all information useful for decision-making is available in the credit offer.
Key events in the process of a mortgage offer in France
Receipt of a credit offer is the central event of this transition period between the signing of a preliminary contract and the arrival of the signature of the definitive sale contract.
After the deadline for reflection (the cooling-off period referred to below), another event punctuates this moment: the sometimes-required opening of a bank account at the bank issuing the loan. The opening of the account is generally carried out in the wake of the receipt of the credit offer, and will then continue during the acceptance phase of the offer, the time to gather the necessary documents.
Deadlines to be respected with a mortgage offer in France
Under French legislation, you cannot return your signed offer before the full 10 days cooling-off period are up – no matter how quickly you want to complete the transaction!
This will give you time to ensure the offer is initialed, signed and dated according to the instructions given by the bank, and for your mortgage broker to ensure all is correct. Any mortgage offer with a typo or writing crossed out will not be validated by the bank, and a new one will have to be re-sent.
The 5 Steps of the Property Purchase Process in France :
- Searching for a property in France and a French real estate loan
- The signing of the preliminary sales contract for purchase of French property
- The financing request & preparation of the credit file for a French mortgage
- The mortgage offer in France
- The deed of sale & signing preparation for purchase of French property