First-time buyers
Buying without a deposit in Lyon: in which cases is it still possible
Buying without a deposit in Lyon: the profiles still financed, what the lender requires in compensation, and the six situations where the answer remains no.
Buying without a deposit in Lyon remains possible, but by exception: no text imposes a minimum deposit, and yet a full financing makes the lender lend more than the value of the property. It is reserved for profiles whose trajectory it anticipates, against a visible residual savings and a suitable guarantee. In Lyon, the acquisition costs, proportional to the price, further increase the amount to be financed.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
Key points
- No text imposes a minimum deposit, but a full financing makes the lender lend more than the value of the property, which remains an exception.
- Six situations close the door to full financing, from the absence of residual savings to a fragile property, including recent banking incidents.
- Lenders expect in return a visible residual savings, a reduced debt-to-income ratio, the domiciliation of income and a suitable guarantee.
- Financing without a deposit often goes through a quarterly derogation margin of the institutions, which is never an acquired right for the borrower.
- In Lyon, the absence of a deposit weighs more than elsewhere, because the acquisition costs, proportional to the price, increase with the level of the local market.
Buying without a down payment in Lyon remains possible, for certain profiles and in exchange for certain conditions. First, verify that your file does not fall under a refusal case, before launching your first purchase. To justify a down payment, see personal contribution.
Can one still borrow without a down payment?
Yes: no text imposes a minimum down payment. However, the lender then lends more than the value of the property. This is an exception that it justifies on a case-by-case basis.
“110%” means: the price and the acquisition costs are financed. Their weight: the budget of a first purchase.
Six cases where the answer is no
- Nothing remains after the operation: without a down payment or savings, the slightest unexpected event becomes a missed payment.
- Recent incidents on the statements: overdrafts, rejections, fees. This is corrected with time (file errors).
- Employment not yet stable: probationary period, short-term contract, recent activity (without a permanent contract).
- A debt-to-income ratio already at the ceiling before the costs (the debt-to-income ratio).
- A fragile property: atypical lot, voted works not provisioned, poor label (energy inefficient properties).
- Very heavy costs: major works, arrears, multiple loan lines.
Do two lines concern you? First correct them, then submit.
Profiles who still secure 110%
Those whose trajectory the lender anticipates: rising income, stable status, rare profession. It finances what the application will be worth in a few years.
- Young professionals with high potential: state in the application that the lack of a down payment is due to your age.
- Public sector employees agents publics: their stability is well understood.
- Healthcare professionals professions de santé: the rules change at every stage.
- The investor: rental income helps, but the lender often requires more savings (residential investment in Lyon).
Four conditions to prepare
Savings that remain visible, a manageable increase in monthly outgoings, the domiciliation of income and an appropriate guarantee. The lender generally expects several of these.
- Residual savings: savings that you prefer to keep are very easy to justify.
- The increase in monthly outgoings: the difference between your current housing costs and the future instalment. If it is low, it proves that the effort is already being met.
- Domiciliation: its duration is negotiable, its principle almost never.
- The guarantee: a surety may refuse what a mortgage accepts, or vice versa.
The derogation margin: a lender quota, not a right
Lenders may deviate from the criteria for a share of their quarterly production, part of which is reserved for first-time buyers. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Assiette : la production de nouveaux crédits immobiliers du trimestre civil, en montant. Ce n'est pas un droit individuel : aucun emprunteur ne « bénéficie » de la dérogation, un dossier peut au mieux être logé dans la marge, à la main de la banque.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 2 — Légifrance
Part exprimée sur la flexibilité maximale, telle que la décision la formule.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2023-2, art. 1er — Légifrance
The lending budget fills up as the quarter progresses: the same application may be accepted at the beginning and refused later.
Why it is harder in Lyon
Purchase costs follow the price. On an expensive market, the amount financed beyond the property increases, whereas your income does not.
And the seller allows little time. Changing area often works better than changing bank: see prices by district and Villeurbanne or Lyon 6.
Rejection of the 110%: five levers to combine
- The PTZ reduces the monthly instalment (Zone A, PTZ and debt-to-income ratio).
- The Action Logement loan, if your employer covers it.
- The PAS or the conventional loan.
- A family gift rather than a family loan: declared and traceable, it changes the operation.
- A longer term, within the limit of the ceiling:
La maturité comprend la période de différé et la période d'amortissement, pas seulement l'amortissement.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
For off-plan properties or with works, an extension of
24 mois ()is tolerated.
What the absence of a down payment costs
More borrowed capital, often a longer term, a guarantee and an insurance calculated on this capital. The extra cost is calculated on your conditions.
Calculate it with the monthly instalment formula.
Should you wait to have a down payment?
Compare the additional cost of the credit to the cost of waiting (rent, market).
- Your actual savings over the last twelve months: if solid, a few quarters will suffice; if none, they are of no use.
- What can be corrected quickly: clean statements, end of probationary period, loan settled.
- A stable project: selling early without a down payment is rarely profitable.
No intermediary can be paid before the release of funds (the mandate). Have your file reviewed by phone to identify what is blocking it.
Create your file: I will present it to the banks.
Sources
Read next
- How much can I borrow? Mortgage capacity in Lyon
- Down payment for a mortgage: how much is actually required, and how to prove it No minimum down payment threshold is imposed: what the down payment actually covers, what counts as a down payment, and how to prove its origin to the bank.
- First-time buyer in Lyon: the real budget of a first purchase, line by line Transfer duties, notary fees, guarantee, down payment, works: the full cost of a first purchase in Lyon, item by item, with the cash flow schedule.
- PTZ 2026 in Lyon: what you can actually finance in Zone A In Lyon, the PTZ finances new-build properties, not existing ones. Retained income, basis, proportion, deferral: what you can actually finance in Zone A.
- Debt-to-income ratio: the HCSF rule, its derogation margin and how the bank applies it Calculate your debt-to-income ratio as an analyst would: retained charges, residual income, HCSF derogation, and the levers to get back under the cap.
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