Every summer, buyers visit the French Alps, find a property they want, and ask the same question: can we get pre-approved before we make an offer? The answer is yes — with an important caveat. What French banks call pre-approval is not the same thing as what buyers from the UK, US or Australia might expect. Understanding the difference, and knowing exactly how the condition suspensive d'obtention de prêt works, can protect your deposit and keep a transaction on track.
The Accord de Principe: What It Is — and What It Is Not
Many French banks are deliberately cautious about the phrase accord de principe (agreement in principle). Some refuse to use it altogether. The reason is straightforward: anything labelled an agreement creates an expectation of commitment, and French lenders are not willing to commit before a full underwriting review, property valuation and compliance check. What they will produce — usually within five working days of receiving your financial documents — is a simulation personnalisée: a personalised calculation showing how much they could lend, at what approximate rate, based on your stated income, assets and the loan-to-value ratio you are targeting.
This simulation is genuinely useful. It gives you a credible ceiling for your offer, shows sellers and agents that you have engaged a lender, and lets you test your borrowing capacity before you fall in love with a specific property. What it does not do is bind the bank to lend, satisfy the notaire as a formal commitment, or guarantee that the funds will actually be there. The bank can still decline at full underwriting stage — and non-residents face additional scrutiny at that stage that residents do not.
For most non-resident buyers, the practical route is through a specialist mortgage broker rather than approaching French banks directly. Brokers have pre-existing relationships with lenders who actively want non-resident business, and they can produce a credible simulation faster and with a clearer read on which banks are currently competitive for your profile. Before you start seriously viewing properties, understanding your deposit requirements and calculating your HCSF 35% borrowing capacity will set a realistic budget before any simulation is run.
The Condition Suspensive: Your Legal Protection Once You Sign
Where French property law provides genuine, statutory protection is through the condition suspensive d'obtention de prêt — the mortgage contingency clause built into every compromis de vente where the buyer is using finance. This clause, established under the Loi Scrivener and codified in the Code de la Consommation, makes the entire sale conditional on the buyer obtaining a mortgage matching the terms set out in the compromis. If those terms are not met, the buyer can withdraw and recover their full deposit — typically 5–10% of the purchase price — without penalty.
The condition suspensive d'obtention de prêt is not optional. Under French law, if you are financing any part of a purchase, this clause must be included in the compromis unless you explicitly waive it in writing. Waiving it — which some buyers do to strengthen competitive offers — means you lose your deposit if finance falls through.
The clause must specify three things: the loan amount, the repayment duration, and the maximum interest rate the buyer will accept. These parameters matter enormously. If the bank offers a loan below the amount specified, or at a rate above the maximum stated, the condition is not satisfied and the buyer has grounds to withdraw. The notaire drafts the clause based on information the buyer provides — so it pays to set the terms thoughtfully rather than defaulting to whatever number the notaire suggests.
For a thorough explanation of what the compromis itself contains and what to check before signing, see our guide to the compromis de vente.
Setting the Maximum Rate: Do Not Get This Wrong
The maximum interest rate you specify in the condition suspensive is one of the most consequential decisions in the entire buying process — and one that buyers routinely underestimate. The temptation is to put in the rate from your simulation, or even the best available market rate. The problem: if rates move between signing the compromis and receiving the formal offer, a clause rate set too close to current market levels could invalidate your protection.
In July 2026, 20-to-25-year fixed rates for non-resident buyers are running between 3.50% and 4.25%, depending on profile, lender and loan-to-value ratio. The Banque de France's taux d'usure — the legal ceiling above which banks cannot lend — stands at 5.29% for fixed-rate loans of 20 years or more from 1 July 2026, as published in the Banque de France quarterly update. A clause maximum rate of around 5.50% is currently realistic: high enough to cover any plausible movement in rates before completion, low enough to provide genuine protection if the bank's offer comes in badly off-market.
Some notaires suggest simply using the taux d'usure itself as the ceiling. That approach is pragmatic — it is the statutory maximum the bank can charge — though it leaves little room to test whether the bank's offer is genuinely competitive. Either way, never set the condition suspensive rate equal to your simulation rate. A margin of at least 1 percentage point above today's expected offer rate is standard practice.
How Long Does the Condition Run — and What Happens When Time Runs Out
French law sets a floor on the condition suspensive period: the buyer must be given at least one month from the date of signing the promesse to obtain their mortgage. In practice, 45 to 60 days is the market standard, and for good reason. After submitting a full mortgage application, a French bank typically needs two to three weeks to instruct and receive a property valuation, a further week for underwriting, and then issues the formal offer. Add in document-gathering for non-residents — payslips, tax returns and bank statements from foreign countries take longer to assess than domestic equivalents — and 45 days is tight. Sixty days is considerably more comfortable.
If the deadline approaches without a formal offer or a clear refusal, the buyer should alert their notaire immediately. An extension is possible, but it requires the seller's written agreement. Sellers are not obliged to extend, and in a competitive market some will not. Agreeing a 60-day period at the time of signing the compromis removes this risk entirely. Non-resident buyers, in particular, should always negotiate the longer window — the additional two weeks costs nothing and removes a potential deal-killer at the worst possible moment.
The French government's Service Public guidance on the condition suspensive confirms that the clause must include the duration of the mortgage condition, that the minimum is one month, and that both parties can agree a longer period directly in the compromis.
What Happens If the Bank Refuses
A formal written refusal from the bank, received before the condition suspensive deadline, triggers the buyer's right to withdraw and recover their full deposit. The notaire typically requires the refusal letter to be addressed to the buyer — not the broker — to identify the specific property and loan amount applied for, and to state clearly that the application has been declined.
Good faith is a legal requirement. The condition suspensive protects buyers who genuinely apply for the loan described in the compromis and are refused. It does not protect buyers who apply for different terms, deliberately provide false information to provoke a refusal, or simply change their mind about proceeding. French courts have upheld claims against buyers who manufactured a refusal to exit a compromis without forfeiting their deposit — a fact worth knowing before any attempt to use the clause as an exit strategy.
Some sellers and their notaires ask for refusal letters from two separate lenders before accepting that the condition has not been met. This is not a universal requirement under French law, but it is common enough in competitive markets that non-residents should be prepared for it. Having applied through a broker who works with multiple lenders makes obtaining a second letter faster and less stressful, if it comes to that.
After Approval: The Mandatory 10-Day Reflection Period
Once the bank issues a formal mortgage offer (offre de prêt), a mandatory 10-day reflection period begins during which the buyer cannot accept the offer. This is statutory under French consumer protection law and applies regardless of how urgently the buyer or the notaire wants to complete. Acceptance must happen on day 11 at the earliest, by returning a signed copy of the offer to the bank.
Only after acceptance does the notaire schedule the final signing date for the acte authentique de vente. In practice the 10-day window adds roughly two weeks to the overall pipeline — the bank needs a day or two to register acceptance and confirm funds availability, and the notaire then has to set a date that works for all parties. For a new-build (VEFA) purchase, the reflection period applies at the first stage payment, which typically precedes delivery by 12 to 36 months.
Adding everything up, the full non-resident mortgage timeline — from submitting documents for a simulation through to keys in hand — runs approximately 12 to 16 weeks for a resale purchase. Buyers who want to complete before the ski season opens in December should be starting mortgage conversations in August or September at the latest. Reviewing whether to fix or take a variable rate and understanding assurance emprunteur requirements early in the process can accelerate the underwriting stage considerably.
What to Have Ready Before You Start Viewing
The fastest way to move from viewing to signing is to have your financial documents assembled before you fall in love with a property. French banks require three months of payslips (or equivalent income evidence for the self-employed), three months of bank statements for all accounts, the most recent two years of tax returns, a copy of your passport, and evidence of the deposit funds. Non-residents must also provide proof of residence in their home country and, in many cases, a translated schedule of existing liabilities.
Running a mortgage calculation before viewing will give you a working sense of monthly payments at current rates. Pairing this with an understanding of how French banks count rental income in affordability assessments — particularly relevant if you plan to put the property into a managed rental programme — will sharpen your borrowing estimate considerably before you engage a lender formally.
The summer viewing season is a productive time to buy: resort traffic is lower than peak ski season, properties are easier to inspect, and completion before Christmas is achievable if the mortgage process starts promptly. The condition suspensive is not a bureaucratic hurdle — it is a buyer-friendly mechanism that aligns legal completion with your ability to finance it. Used correctly, it costs you nothing. Misunderstood, it can cost you a deal.
Browse current new-build ski properties or resale listings across the French Alps, or speak to the Domosno team about financing options before your next viewing trip.
