Between the signing of the loan offer and the moment the funds arrive in the notary’s account, several weeks can pass. This delay, often underestimated by buyers, is due to a chain of validations involving the bank, the notary, the insurer, and sometimes the seller themselves. Understanding each link in this chain allows for identifying where the process slows down and on which levers to act concretely.
Lemoine Law and borrower insurance: an overlooked lever before the release of funds
Since the Lemoine law came into effect on June 1, 2022, any borrower can change their loan insurance at any time, without waiting for an anniversary date. This possibility applies even between the issuance of the loan offer and the actual release of funds.
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In practice, this means that a buyer in a VEFA (sale in future state of completion), whose fund calls are staggered over several months, can substitute their borrower insurance after signing the offer. The goal: to reduce the overall cost of credit by obtaining a better insurance rate, which lowers the APR. The bank then has 10 business days to accept or refuse the substitution, provided that the new contract meets the equivalence of guarantees.
Many guides focus on negotiating the interest rate upfront. The question of how long it takes to unlock the funds of a mortgage also depends on this step: if an insurance substitution is initiated during the release period, the issuance of an amendment can extend the timeline by a few days. Anticipating this step, or reserving it for a later phase, is part of the arbitration to be made.
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Notary’s fund call and bank transfer: the real friction point
The notary issues a fund call a few days to a week before the scheduled date for signing the authentic deed. The funds must be in the notary’s account on the day of the signing. If the transfer arrives late, the signing is postponed, with cascading consequences on the release of the property and the moving schedule.
Typical transfer times in France are 48 to 72 business hours for a national transfer. For an international transfer or a large amount requiring compliance checks, this timeframe can extend to five business days.
What concretely blocks at the bank
The bank does not automatically trigger the transfer upon receiving the fund call. It first checks that all suspensive conditions are lifted, that the borrower insurance is in place, and that the file is complete. If a document is missing or if a piece has expired (home insurance certificate, for example), the process stops.
Field feedback varies on this point: some buyers receive the transfer within two days after the fund call, while others wait more than a week. The constraint does not solely come from the notary, but from the coordination between three parties (bank, notary, seller) whose internal circuits are not synchronized.
- The notary sends the fund call by mail or electronically, depending on the office. The chosen format can add one to two days.
- The bank processes the fund call through its back-office service, whose workload varies depending on the period (end of the quarter, summer, holidays).
- The seller may sometimes need to provide additional documents (updated diagnostics, release of mortgage) whose absence blocks the release on the notary’s side.
Release of funds in VEFA: a phased schedule to monitor
Buying off-plan introduces a different mechanism. Funds are not released all at once but in successive tranches, depending on the progress of the work. Each fund call from the developer triggers a request for partial release from the bank.
The typical schedule follows the regulatory milestones:
- A first payment upon completion of the foundations.
- Intermediate releases at the waterproofing stage, then at the airtight stage.
- The balance upon delivery of the property, after lifting any reservations.
Between each fund call, interim interest accrues on the amounts already released. This interest is added to the monthly payments or deferred, depending on the terms of the contract. The longer the construction takes, the higher the bill. Checking the developer’s projected schedule before signing the loan offer helps estimate the real cost of this interest.
Accelerating the release of real estate funds: what works and what is a myth
Several recommendations circulate to reduce delays. Not all are equally effective.
Prepare a complete file from the loan request
This is the most effective lever. An incomplete file is the primary cause of delays at the bank. Pay slips, tax notices, account statements, insurance certificates: each missing piece generates a back-and-forth that adds several days.
Follow up with the bank after the fund call
The available data does not allow us to conclude that follow-up systematically speeds up processing. However, it helps detect a blockage (missing document, reference error in the fund call) before it becomes critical. A call to the bank advisor the day after sending the fund call remains a reasonable precaution.
Choose a responsive notary
The speed of transmission of the fund call varies from one notarial office to another. Some offices fully digitize the process, while others still operate by mail. A fund call transmitted electronically saves one to two days compared to postal delivery.
The release of funds remains a stage where patience is often more useful than agitation. The real leeway for the buyer lies upstream: completeness of the file, choice of notary, anticipation of borrower insurance. Once the fund call is issued, the timeline largely depends on the bank’s internal circuits, over which the borrower has limited control.