We have just signed the loan offer, the compromise is finalized, and yet the money is still not on the notary’s table. The release of funds from a mortgage loan remains the stage where delays most often occur, sometimes due to a missing document in the file, sometimes because of a simple scheduling conflict between the bank and the notary’s office.
Notary’s call for funds: the trigger the bank is waiting for
In practice, the bank does not release anything on its own initiative. It is the notary who sends a call for funds to the lending institution, specifying the date of signing the authentic deed, the exact amount to be released, and the details of the escrow account.
Without this document, the file remains pending, even if the loan offer has been accepted for several weeks. We regularly see buyers following up with their bank advisor when the blockage actually comes from the notary’s office, which has not yet received all the diagnostics or the urban planning compliance certificate.
When we talk about release of funds from a mortgage loan, we are therefore referring to a mechanism involving three parties (borrower, bank, notary) where each one depends on the responsiveness of the other two. Anticipating this coordination avoids most delays.
Interim interest in VEFA: the hidden cost of gradual release
Competitors often mention interim interest in a single sentence. On the ground, it is the item that surprises first-time buyers in the sale in the future state of completion (VEFA).
Why the amount rises quickly
In VEFA or construction (CCMI), funds are not disbursed all at once. The developer or builder calls for successive installments: foundations, waterproofing, air-tightness, completion. With each call, the bank releases a fraction of the loan.
Interim interest applies to the capital already released, not to the total loan amount. But since the calls for funds can sometimes stretch over more than a year, the cumulative bill can represent several thousand euros even before moving in.
Total or partial grace period
Two types of grace periods can be negotiated with the bank:
- The partial grace period: only interim interest is repaid during construction, without touching the capital. This is the most common option.
- The total grace period: nothing is paid during the construction phase, but the interest is capitalized and added to the loan amount. The final cost of the loan increases.
- The classic amortization deferral: repayment of the capital starts on a fixed date, regardless of the progress of the construction. Less common, it requires careful scheduling.
Feedback on this point varies among banks. Some accept the total grace period without an interest rate surcharge, while others apply an increase. It is in one’s best interest to ask this question as soon as the file is being prepared, not at the time of the first fund release.
Suspensive conditions and blocking documents: what concretely delays the release
The accepted loan offer is not enough. The bank requires that all the suspensive conditions of the compromise be lifted before transferring the funds. Among the most common:
- The borrower insurance certificate, with the share validated by the lending institution. A change in contract in external delegation can add several days of processing.
- The proof of personal contribution transferred to the designated account. Some banks refuse a transfer from a savings account not held with them, which generates an additional back-and-forth.
- The loan guarantee (mortgage, lender privilege, or guarantee type Crédit Logement). The process with the guarantee organization takes an average of one to two weeks, sometimes longer during busy periods.
- The urban planning certificate or the absence of municipal preemption, documents that the notary must obtain from the town hall.
Just one missing document is enough to freeze the process. Submitting each document as soon as it is received, without waiting for a follow-up, remains the best way to shorten the overall timeline.
Mortgage rates and fund release: what the current context changes
Since mid-2025, the stabilization of rates around 3 to 3.7% depending on the duration has revived credit production. According to data relayed by Crédit Agricole e-immobilier, average rates in 2025 range between 3.5 and 3.7%. Finance for All indicates that the decrease in rates between late 2023 and mid-2025 (from 4.5% to 3%) allowed a couple to borrow about 40,000 euros more compared to the previous period.
This resurgence of activity has a concrete effect on the release: banks are processing more files simultaneously, which can lengthen internal validation times. At the same time, the digitalization of exchanges (electronic signatures, dematerialized transmission of documents to the notary) partially compensates for this increased volume.
For the borrower, the practical consequence is simple: lock in their rate via the signed loan offer, then finalize the guarantee and insurance file without delay, so that the notary can send the call for funds as soon as the deed is ready.
Purchase in the old and signing at the notary: the release in one go
In the old market, the mechanism is more straightforward. The notary sets the date for signing the authentic deed, sends the call for funds to the bank, and the transfer is made in one go to the notary’s escrow account. The buyer has no interim interest to manage since the capital is released and the loan amortization starts immediately.
The classic trap remains the discrepancy between the planned date and the actual date. A postponement of signing (seller not ready, urban planning document delayed) may require requesting a new call for funds with a new date, which restarts the administrative circuit on the bank’s side.
The most effective precaution: confirm with the notary, at least ten days before the planned signing, that all documents are in order and that the call for funds has indeed been sent. Ten days is the operational timeframe that most banks require to process such a transfer.