Mortgage basics
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.
Between the signing and the delivery of a new home, the buyer pays the developer’s funding calls, which are capped by stage of progress, the interim interest on the portion of the loan already released, and the borrower’s insurance. This interest does not repay any capital and increases with each release. An amortisation deferral delays the repayment of the capital without extending the amortisation period.
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
- Between the signing and the delivery, the buyer pays the funding calls, the interim interest on the portion already released, and the borrower’s insurance.
- Interim interest does not repay any capital: the burden increases with each funding call and peaks just before delivery.
- The schedule of funding calls is subject to a regulatory cap per stage of progress, which the developer can never exceed.
- An amortisation deferral delays the start of the capital repayment; it does not extend the amortisation period itself.
- The reduced rate of the land registration tax does not apply if VAT is calculated on the margin: you must check the regime adopted by the seller.
In off-plan purchases, you pay before you move in: instalment calls, interim interest on the released loan, and insurance from the first euro paid. Only the first item appears in the reservation contract: calculate the other two. See the basics of mortgage credit.
What is interim interest and when does payment begin?
Interest on the portion of the loan already paid to the developer, before amortisation. It starts at the first release, generally at the deed, not at delivery.
- The cost increases with each release and peaks at delivery.
- It is added to your rent: negotiate a deferral from the outset.
- It does not repay any capital.
Calculate your waiting cost in four steps
- Review the instalment call schedule.
- Deduct the portion paid by your down payment, which is consumed first.
- Apply the interest rate of your offer to the released capital, pro rata for the months.
- Add the amounts.
Repeat the calculation with a six-month construction delay. Then: the monthly payment formula.
Instalment calls in off-plan purchases: a cap per stage that protects you
Article R. 261-14 of the Construction and Housing Code caps the price payable at each stage.
The percentages: the Construction and Housing Code. The dates in the contract are provisional. The balance at delivery can be escrowed in case of reservations. Verify the completion guarantee in the deed (Article L. 261-11 of the same Code).
Interest-only period: easing the cash flow of the construction project
You pay only the interim interest and the insurance during the construction, within the limits of the High Council of Financial Stability.
Le différé toléré est d'une durée analogue au décalage d'entrée en jouissance : ce nombre de mois en est le plafond, jamais un forfait acquis.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- economie.gouv.fr
- 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)
La vente en l'état futur d'achèvement et le contrat de construction d'une maison individuelle y figurent l'un et l'autre.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
The interest-only period provides cash flow, not borrowing capacity. Partial, you pay the interest as it accrues; total, it is capitalised and the cost rises.
The zero-interest loan reduces the base for interim interest
With no interest and its own interest-only period, it reduces the base for the interim interest.
24 mois ()Bâtiment à usage principal d’habitation regroupant plus de deux logements partiellement ou totalement superposés
Cette définition commande la quotité applicable : un petit programme de deux logements superposés n'y répond pas.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 111-1 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
The conditions: the zero-interest loan in zone A.
Reduced acquisition costs in new builds: the condition to check
A new-build sale subject to VAT attracts a reduced land registration tax, well below the rate applicable to existing property.
Note on VAT on margin (article 268 of the General Tax Code): the rates applicable to existing property then apply. The details are set out in notary fees in new builds.
Off-plan purchase: what do you pay between signing and handover?
The instalment calls, the interim interest on the released loan, and insurance from the first release of funds.
Plus your current home, and the handover costs when the full monthly instalment begins. Align the vacating of your current home with the actual handover. See reading a loan offer line by line.
Four points to settle before the deed
- The validity of the loan offer in relation to the handover: see the cooling-off period and the validity period of the loan offer.
- Calls for funds and a consistent release schedule.
- The insurance, from the first release of funds.
- The security: guarantee or mortgage, what truly distinguishes them.
The timeline: how long between the preliminary sale agreement and the keys.
Reservation schedule in hand? Create your file or submit it by telephone.
Sources
Read next
- Mortgage in Lyon: frequently asked questions
- 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.
- 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.
- Releasing the funds for a mortgage: who triggers it, when the money is transferred, and how to avoid a delay The notary calls the funds, not you. What the lender checks before paying out, when to transfer your own contribution, and how to avoid a delayed release.
- 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.
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