Mortgage basics
Mortgage application: the exact list of documents to provide
The documents required by profile, the order that avoids a three-week delay, and what the bank really reads in your last three bank statements.
A mortgage application relies on seven families of documents common to all profiles: identity, family situation, residence, income, accounts and liabilities, savings and down payment, and the property being financed. The profile only changes the depth required regarding income. The bank expects statements for all accounts, and a complete file at the first submission: documents that depend on a slow third party should be requested first.
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
- The file relies on a common foundation of seven families of documents; what varies according to the profile is the depth required regarding income.
- The bank requests statements for all accounts, including those rarely used: a forgotten account that resurfaces resembles concealment.
- An analyst reads the statements for behaviour, not the balance: an overdraft, a rejected direct debit, or an unexplained transfer carries significant weight.
- Documents that depend on a slow third party should be requested first; those already in hand are gathered while waiting for the others.
- No universal validity period exists: each document must be up to date on the probable date of issuance of the loan offer, not on the date of submission.
A loan application is judged by its completeness at the initial submission. Complete and orderly, it avoids follow-up requests and protects the sale schedule: here are the documents, their format and their order, one of the fundamentals of a credit file. The next step: the loan offer; the substantive errors: file errors.
The documents required in all files
Seven categories, regardless of your profile: identity, family situation, residence, income, accounts and liabilities, savings, and the property being financed. Only the depth required regarding income varies.
| Category | Expected documents | Common pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Valid identification document, for each borrower | An expired document during processing blocks the issuance of the offer |
| Family situation | Family record book, marriage or civil partnership contract, divorce judgment | The matrimonial regime changes the structure: it must be provided from the outset |
| Residence | Recent proof of address, and the three most recent rent receipts | The receipt serves as proof of the increase in liability: do not replace it with a statement |
| Income | Three most recent payslips, employment contract, two most recent tax notices | The tax notice must correspond to the actual household, not to a previous composition |
| Accounts and liabilities | Three most recent statements for all accounts, amortisation schedules for current loans | “All accounts” also includes those you no longer use |
| Savings and down payment | Savings statements, proof of the origin of funds, employee savings plan | A visible but unexplained down payment is equivalent to an absent down payment |
| Property being financed | Preliminary sale agreement or promise, description, property surveys | A preliminary sale agreement not signed by all parties is not usable |
A forgotten account that emerges resembles a concealment. A discrepancy with your tax notices is the first signal noted.
Additional documents depending on your profile
The more variable or recent your income is, the further back the lender will look: it is seeking a reproducible regularity.
- Permanent contract: December payslip; for variable income, those from the two preceding years.
- Fixed-term contract, temporary work, probationary period: contracts and payslips from recent years, employment certificate, mission statements (the loan without a permanent contract).
- Self-employed, manager, liberal profession: balance sheets and financial statements, extract of registration, certificate of social and tax regularity, management remuneration, forecast if the financial year is atypical (the self-employed worker).
- Investor, real estate company: leases, business rates, amortisation schedules, rental income; articles of association, minutes authorising the borrowing and accounts of the real estate company.
- Civil servant: appointment order or employer’s certificate.
- Non-resident: translated local income and tax assessments, contract, proof of address. Allow for more time (expatriates and non-residents).
Your bank statements: the six lines that raise concerns
The lender reads your behaviour there, not your balance: regularity of cash flows, margin at the end of the month, unmentioned commitments.
- An overdraft, even for one day.
- A rejected direct debit, an intervention fee.
- An unexplained incoming transfer.
- An undeclared loan.
- Regular gambling.
- A zero balance at the end of each month.
The three months before the application are prepared in advance.
A down payment received by gift: the written document first
A document, never an explanation: a written statement qualifying the transfer, and its tax declaration of the gift.
Deadline for declaring a family gift: un mois ().
Trois conditions cumulatives posées par l'article 790 G du code général des impôts : une somme d'argent, un donateur qui n'a pas atteint l'âge limite fixé par ce texte au jour du don, un donataire majeur ou émancipé. Le lien de parenté est limitatif, et le plafond s'apprécie par couple donateur-donataire sur une période glissante fixée par le même article.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article 790 G du code général des impôts — Légifrance
Total to be quantified by the notary: the family gift. A family loan is a debt, to be declared as such.
The documents regarding the property
- Always: preliminary sale agreement signed by all parties, description, property surveys (Energy Performance Certificate first).
- Condominium: three most recent minutes, charges, works voted on.
- New build: reservation contract and schedule of calls for funds.
- Works: signed quotations.
The order that saves three weeks
- Slow third parties, immediately: certificate of regularity, signed financial statements, minutes of the building manager, translations.
- Fast third parties: receipts, early repayment settlement statement, employment certificate.
- What you already have: payslips, tax notices, statements, identity documents.
- The preliminary sale agreement, last: do not wait to start.
The analyst, for their part: what the bank looks at, and in what order.
Documents valid until the loan offer
Each lender sets its own rules regarding the currency of documents. Always provide the most recent document: an expired document will prevent the loan offer from being issued.
- Pay slips, tax notices, bank statements: anticipate the change of month.
- Identity documents, residence permits, certificates: valid on the probable date of the loan offer.
- Family record book, marriage contract, court judgment: one copy is sufficient.
Formal errors that cause a file to be returned
- An illegible or truncated scan.
- A missing signature.
- Screenshots of an application instead of official statements.
- Documents submitted piecemeal: a single, named and ordered submission is processed faster.
Check your documents on the page of documents to gather. Have your list read back to you by telephone.
Create your file and submit all your documents in one go.
Sources
Read next
- Mortgage in Lyon: frequently asked questions
- First-time buyer mortgage application: the 7 errors that lead to rejection, and how to correct them in time Overdrafts, consumer credit, change of employer, untraceable gift, badly set sale agreement: what can be fixed before submission, and how fast.
- Mortgage for self-employed professionals or micro-entrepreneurs: two or three financial statements to borrow? Years in business, micro-business deduction, salary or dividends, irregular income: what the bank actually considers, and how to prepare your file.
- Mortgage without a permanent contract: fixed-term contracts, temporary work, probationary period – what the banks accept No permanent contract? The bank assesses income continuity: length in the trade, multi-year average, temp work, end of probation, documents that unlock it.
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