Mortgage basics
Building with a CCMI: financing the land and the house in the correct order
One loan for land and house: the order of signatures, the documents the bank requires before its offer, and funds released as the build progresses.
A construction project under a CCMI is most often financed by a single loan: the price of the land is paid to the notary, while the house is paid to the builder through calls for funds, in line with the construction progress. The order matters: land reservation and contract subject to suspensive conditions, planning permission, loan application, offer, and purchase of the land. The lender will not release any funds without the delivery guarantee certificate.
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
- A single loan generally covers both the land and the construction: the land is paid to the notary, while the house is paid through successive calls for funds.
- Before issuing its offer, the lender verifies that the contract contains the mandatory legal mentions, a condition for the granting of the credit.
- No funds are released to the builder without the certificate of delivery guarantee at agreed price and deadlines.
- This guarantee is issued by a credit institution, a financing company, or an authorised insurer, distinct from the builder.
- Until the house is delivered, the loan is not yet amortised, and interim interest accrues on the sums already paid only.
Financing the construction of a house under a CCMI (individual house construction contract) is most often achieved through a single loan: the land is paid for at the notary, and the house is funded in line with the construction progress. Sign in the correct order and submit a complete contract before the loan offer (fundamentals of home loans).
A single loan, two stages of fund release
A single loan generally covers both the land and the construction: the land is paid for on the day of sale, and the house is funded through progress payments. Two loans are mainly justified if the land is purchased well before the house project.
Calculate the total cost from the outset: land, contract, reserved works, connections, taxes, external works, and structural insurance.
Buying the land alone “to secure it” is the riskiest arrangement: without a second loan, you have a plot of land, a debt, and no house.
The documents that unlock the loan offer
The lender checks the legal mentions in the contract before issuing its offer, and requires the certificate of completion guarantee before any payment is made. An incomplete contract halts the application.
| Document | What it proves |
|---|---|
| The signed contract, plans, and descriptive notice | What is being built, at what price, and within what timeframe |
| The breakdown of the works you reserve | The true total cost |
| The certificate of completion guarantee | That a guarantor will complete the house if the builder defaults |
| The certificate of structural insurance | That serious defects will be pre-financed |
| The building permit | That the financed project is authorised |
| The promise or title to the land | The basis for the loan guarantee |
Read the model contract from ANIL before signing. Structural insurance must be taken out before the site is opened.
Sign in the correct order
- The land promise, subject to the global loan and the planning permission.
- The CCMI, subject to its legal conditions: land, planning permission, loans, insurance, and delivery guarantee.
- The planning permission, then the loan application.
- The loan offer, complete file.
- The purchase of the land, then the construction site.
Il court à compter du lendemain de la première présentation de la lettre notifiant l'acte. Il ne remplace aucune condition suspensive : une fois expiré, seules les conditions écrites au contrat vous protègent.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 271-1 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
C'est un plancher. Un dossier de construction attend un permis, une garantie de livraison et une assurance avant de pouvoir être complet : la durée se négocie en conséquence, dans la promesse du terrain comme dans le contrat de construction.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 313-41 du code de la consommation — Légifrance
In the land promise, aim for the financing of the entire operation. Drafting: the loan suspensive condition.
Pay for the construction as it progresses
The builder calls for funds stage by stage, according to a regulatory grid written into the contract (service-public.fr). You validate each call in writing, after a visit; the bank pays. Never validate a stage that has not been reached.
Budget for the construction period
Until handover: interim interest, insurance, potential rent.
- vente en l’état futur d’achèvement (art. L. 261-3 CCH)
- contrat de construction d’une maison individuelle (art. L. 231-1 et L. 232-1 CCH)
- contrat de promotion immobilière (art. L. 221-1 CCH)
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
Le différé suit le décalage réel d'entrée dans les lieux : ce nombre de mois est un plafond, pas un forfait. Un chantier qui dépasse le délai du contrat ne prolonge pas automatiquement le différé accordé.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- economie.gouv.fr
Including delays: drawdowns and interim interest.
Without a CCMI, there is no proof
Architect, project management, self-build: signed quotes by lot, insurance for each party involved, higher equity, release of funds against invoices.
The PTZ can lighten the plan
For new builds, a zero-interest loan can be included in the plan depending on the municipality and your income. Check the zone before the preliminary sale agreement.
Before the preliminary sale agreement for the land, gather the documents for the contract. I am a mortgage intermediary working under mandate (fees). A telephone appointment, with a draft contract in hand.
Create your file: contract and land, everything goes to the bank together.
Sources
- Article L. 271-1 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
- Légifrance — Article L. 231-4 du code de la construction et de l’habitation
- Légifrance — Article L. 231-6 du code de la construction et de l’habitation
- Légifrance — Article L. 231-10 du code de la construction et de l’habitation
- Légifrance — Article R. 231-7 du code de la construction et de l’habitation
- Légifrance — Article L. 242-1 du code des assurances
- economie.gouv.fr/hcsf/mesures/mesure-relative-loctroi-de-credits-immobiliers
- ANIL
- Service-Public.fr
Read next
- Mortgage in Lyon: frequently asked questions
- Off-plan purchase and construction: funding calls, interim interest and amortisation deferral What you pay between the signing and the delivery of a new home: the schedule of funding calls, interim interest, deferral, insurance.
- Mortgage financing condition: the four figures that protect you, and how to set them Drafted before the bank has spoken, the clause decides everything if the loan is refused: the four figures to include, how to set them, the wording to add.
- How long between the preliminary sale agreement and the keys? The actual timeline, and where to save time From sale agreement to keys, step by step: the legal deadlines that cannot be cut, those that can, and six levers to keep the timeline short.
- 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.
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