Can You Pay 10% Now and 90% at Completion? Why French Off-Plan Works Differently

If you have ever thought about buying an off-plan (VEFA) property in France, you have probably had a perfectly reasonable thought: ‘I’ll put down 10% to secure the apartment, then pay the remaining 90% once the building actually exists and I can see what I’m getting.’ It is the most sensible instinct any serious buyer can have. Pay when you can inspect what you are buying. In an ideal world we would all conduct property transactions this way — preferably with keys handed over first and bank transfers sent later, rather like ordering a coffee. In France, that tidy 10/90 structure simply is not how things work.

This is not because French developers are unusually greedy or because the notary system is broken. It is because French off-plan property operates within a carefully regulated legal framework, the Vente en l’État Futur d’Achèvement (VEFA) regime, which defines specific payment milestones and protects both buyer and developer throughout the build. Understanding how it actually works is essential for any non-resident buyer, because it affects cash flow, mortgage structuring, risk management and — in our experience — one of the main sources of preventable confusion in the whole French ski-property purchase process.

This guide walks through the VEFA system in plain English: what the statutory payment stages are, why the 10/90 approach usually is not possible, what the realistic alternatives are if you want to keep most of your capital in reserve, how mortgage financing fits into the schedule, and — perhaps most importantly — what protections you have as a buyer at each stage of the process. If you are weighing a French new-build ski property purchase, this is the article we recommend you read before signing anything.

VEFA literally means ‘sale in a state of future completion’ and refers to the specific legal framework under which virtually all new-build property in France is sold while still under construction. It is not a loose contractual arrangement but a regulated category of property transaction, codified in the French Code de la Construction et de l’Habitation, with statutory protections for buyers that are among the most comprehensive in European real estate. The developer must register the project, provide financial guarantees, adhere to the regulated payment schedule, deliver specific documentation at each stage, and honour explicit completion guarantees that protect the buyer even if the developer fails.

There are two main sub-types of VEFA to be aware of: vente en l’état futur d’achèvement classique (the standard regime, used for most ski-property purchases) and vente à terme (a rarer structure where payment is deferred until completion but the price is agreed upfront). Most French ski-property sales operate under the classic VEFA regime, which is what we focus on here. The classic regime defines the milestones at which the buyer must make payments, and these milestones are not negotiable at the individual contract level — they are set by law.

The key reason buyers cannot simply negotiate a 10/90 structure is that VEFA statutory law requires payments to be tied to construction milestones rather than to delivery alone. The buyer’s money funds the construction progressively, which is what protects the developer from cash-flow collapse and allows the project to complete on schedule. From the developer’s perspective, a 10/90 structure would mean the developer has to finance 90% of the build from their own balance sheet, which is not how French new-build development economics work and is not legally required under the VEFA regime.

This is important to understand because it sometimes leads foreign buyers to assume they are being pressured or mistreated when in fact the payment schedule is a statutory protection that works in their favour more often than against it. The system is designed to keep both sides protected and to ensure the project completes — and it does, with remarkable reliability, compared with the horror stories one hears from less-regulated off-plan markets elsewhere in Europe.

The standard VEFA payment schedule in France is defined by law and applies to essentially all French new-build ski property. The capped stages are as follows: 5% at reservation (the initial deposit, held in escrow by the notary), another 5% on signing of the authentic deed at the notary, 35% when foundations are complete, 70% total when the building is weather-tight (hors d’eau, hors d’air — literally ‘out of water, out of air’, meaning walls and roof complete and sealed), 95% total on completion of the building, and 100% on handover of the keys. These are the legal maxima — developers cannot charge more than these percentages at each stage, but can charge less and often do.

For a €600,000 apartment, the schedule looks roughly like this in practice: €30,000 at reservation (5%), another €30,000 at the notarial deed signature (bringing the total to 10%), €150,000 when foundations are complete (bringing the total to 35%), another €60,000 when the superstructure is complete (bringing the total to 45%), another €150,000 when the building is weather-tight (bringing the total to 70%), another €120,000 at a later phase (bringing the total to 90%), €30,000 on completion (bringing the total to 95%), and a final €30,000 on handover (bringing the total to 100%). The exact phasing and intermediate stages vary slightly between projects but the overall structure is legally defined.

The reservation deposit (5%) is held in a regulated escrow account by the notary — not paid directly to the developer — and is refundable if the notarial deed is not signed within the statutory period for reasons not attributable to the buyer. From the notarial deed onwards, funds are released to the developer against verified construction progress, with a project monitor (often the notary or a separate technical supervisor) confirming that each stage has been reached before the next tranche is released.

The protections that come with this schedule are significant. The developer is legally required to hold financial guarantees (garantie financière d’achèvement) that ensure the project will be completed even if the developer fails commercially. Your money is tied to measurable construction progress. And the final tranches are held back until completion and handover, which gives you leverage if there are snagging issues or incomplete elements at delivery.

The most common first reaction from non-resident buyers — particularly British and American buyers accustomed to different off-plan systems — is to push back on the staged payment structure and ask whether the developer can agree to a pure deferred arrangement. The short answer is that in genuine VEFA transactions, this is not legally possible: the developer has a statutory right and obligation to receive the scheduled payments, and both sides are bound by the framework. The slightly longer answer is that in practice, a small number of edge cases exist where variations can be negotiated.

One edge case is the vente à terme structure mentioned earlier, where payment is fully deferred until completion but the sale itself is recorded differently from a classic VEFA. These transactions are rare and typically involve small projects or specific developer circumstances. The price reflects the cash-flow burden on the developer and is usually meaningfully higher than a standard VEFA equivalent. For most ski-property buyers this route is not available and not attractive.

A second edge case is partial mortgage financing with bridge arrangements — for example, using a French mortgage that disburses against the VEFA milestones while the buyer holds their own capital until completion, then refinancing at handover. This structure is widely used in practice and is effectively how many non-resident buyers manage the cash-flow profile of a VEFA purchase. It is not a 10/90 structure per se, but it gets close to the same economic effect by letting the buyer keep their own capital invested elsewhere until the mortgage is drawn.

Finally, some developers offer small timing concessions — a slightly delayed reservation deposit, a grouped payment at two adjacent milestones, a modest discount for early full payment. These are contract-specific and depend on the developer’s cash-flow situation. They do not change the statutory framework but can smooth the experience at the edges. Our general advice is not to fixate on the 10/90 idea; understand the actual French system, work within it, and use French financing tools to manage the cash flow cleanly.

French mortgage financing integrates cleanly with the VEFA payment schedule. When a non-resident buyer takes a French mortgage on a VEFA property, the bank disburses the loan against the construction milestones — the bank pays the developer directly at each stage as the payment becomes due, and the buyer only needs to provide the upfront equity portion and the notary fees at the initial stages. For a 75% LTV mortgage on a €600,000 apartment, the buyer provides €150,000 of equity plus notary fees (roughly €12,000-18,000 for new-build), and the bank funds the remaining €450,000 progressively as the build progresses.

During the construction phase, most French mortgages operate in ‘intérêts intercalaires’ mode — the buyer pays interest only on the drawn-down portion of the loan, not on the full loan amount. This means the monthly mortgage cost is relatively modest during construction and rises to full amortising payments only at handover. For a buyer with a €450,000 mortgage at 4% fixed, the intérêts intercalaires phase might run €400-1,200 per month depending on drawdown progress, rising to €2,200-2,500 monthly after handover. This is meaningfully different from coastal off-plan markets where full mortgage payments often start at the notarial deed signature.

The practical consequence is that the cash-flow burden during the build is much smaller than the headline numbers suggest. A buyer with their €150k equity plus notary fees in place at signature will typically face 18-30 months of modest intérêts intercalaires payments followed by the start of full amortising payments at handover. This is a very manageable profile for most professional buyers, and it is the reason why French VEFA purchases are so popular among non-residents despite the statutory staged structure.

Non-resident mortgage rates in 2025 run 3.4-4.5% fixed for typical profiles, meaningfully lower than the 2023-24 peak. Our mortgage calculator models the full VEFA cash-flow profile including intérêts intercalaires, notary fees, VAT reclaim, and monthly amortising payments after handover. It is the fastest way to see what a specific purchase actually looks like in monthly cash-flow terms — and, in our experience, it meaningfully reduces the intimidation factor of the VEFA process for first-time non-resident buyers.

One of the strongest arguments for VEFA over comparable off-plan systems elsewhere in Europe is the layered protection the buyer receives at each stage. The reservation deposit (5%) is held by the notary, not the developer, and is refundable under defined circumstances. The notary verifies title and developer compliance before the authentic deed signature. The developer is legally required to hold garantie financière d’achèvement (financial completion guarantees) that ensure the build completes even if the developer fails commercially. Each milestone payment is tied to verified construction progress by the notary or project monitor.

On completion, the buyer has the right to a réception (formal acceptance inspection) where any snagging issues are recorded and must be remedied by the developer. For the year following handover, the buyer has a garantie de parfait achèvement (one-year perfect completion guarantee), which requires the developer to remedy any defects identified during that first year. Structural issues are covered by the garantie décennale (ten-year structural guarantee), a mandatory insurance policy that covers major structural defects for a full decade after handover.

These protections are legally mandatory and are enforced by the notarial and insurance systems rather than by individual contract negotiation. It is essentially impossible to buy a VEFA property without receiving all of these protections, because the notary will not register the transaction unless they are in place. For non-resident buyers accustomed to thinking of off-plan as a high-risk category, the French system is a pleasant surprise: the risk of project failure, developer walk-away, or delivery defects are all meaningfully lower than in most European alternatives.

The one risk that is not fully covered by the statutory system is project delay. Developers are legally required to commit to a completion date and deliver against it, but delays of 3-9 months are not uncommon and are generally not compensable beyond modest statutory penalties. Buyers should plan their cash flow and personal use around a realistic delay buffer rather than the contractual date alone.

Let us walk through a specific worked example to make the VEFA mechanics concrete. Consider a buyer looking at a €650,000 two-bed new-build apartment in Courchevel or Méribel, with a projected 24-month build time and a 75% LTV mortgage. At reservation, the buyer pays €32,500 (5%) into the notary’s escrow account plus roughly €14,000 in notary fees. At the authentic deed signature (typically 2-3 months later), the buyer’s equity commitment rises to the full 25% of €162,500, and the mortgage is formally drawn down. At this point the buyer’s total cash-out is roughly €176,500.

Over the following 24 months, the mortgage funds the construction milestones directly to the developer, and the buyer pays only the intérêts intercalaires on the progressively drawn-down loan — starting at roughly €400/month and rising to roughly €1,500/month as more of the loan is drawn. Total intérêts intercalaires cost over the 24-month build period is typically €15,000-25,000 depending on rate and drawdown timing.

At handover, the buyer makes the final 5% tranche (€32,500), receives the keys, completes the réception inspection, and begins full amortising mortgage payments of roughly €2,400/month. If the property is entered into a classified managed rental programme, the buyer also begins the 20% VAT reclaim process, which typically returns roughly €108,000 over the following 12-18 months. The effective after-VAT net cost of the apartment ends up at around €542,000 rather than €650,000, which meaningfully improves the investment economics.

The summary: a €650,000 purchase requires around €176,500 of upfront equity plus a manageable monthly build-phase cost, with an effective post-VAT price roughly €108,000 below the sticker price. This is the economic reality of a well-structured VEFA purchase, and it is why the system — once understood — is much more attractive than the 10/90 mental model many buyers start with.

Our practical advice for any buyer approaching a French VEFA purchase is simple and fits in three headlines. First, understand the statutory framework before you sign anything. Read the Contrat de Réservation carefully, make sure the payment schedule matches the legal milestones, and ask the notary to explain anything you do not understand. Second, arrange your financing early. Getting a non-resident mortgage pre-approval in place before you commit to a specific project eliminates most of the cash-flow uncertainty and puts you in a stronger negotiating position with the developer. Third, plan your personal cash flow with a realistic delay buffer. Assume the project will complete 3-6 months later than the contractual date, and make sure you can comfortably handle the extended intérêts intercalaires period.

Working with a specialist agent during the purchase process makes a significant difference. The Domosno team has been placing non-resident buyers into French VEFA ski property since 2005, specialises specifically in the mechanics of the French system, and is happy to walk you through the steps in detail. We coordinate with French mortgage brokers, notaries and tax advisors so that the process is as smooth as possible from reservation to keys. Our buying process guide walks through the full sequence step by step, and our mortgage calculator models your specific cash flow profile.

The French VEFA system is one of the most regulated, buyer-protective off-plan frameworks in Europe. Once you understand how it actually works — and specifically once you stop trying to force it into a 10/90 mental model that does not match the legal reality — it is a remarkably good system for acquiring new-build ski property at attractive effective prices. The protections are real, the mortgage integration is clean, and the tax treatment is favourable. The key is to engage the system on its own terms.