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Financing condition (voorbehoud van financiering): put it in your offer or not?

A financing condition (voorbehoud van financiering) is your way out if your mortgage does not come through. You include it in your offer. If the bank says no, you can pull out of the purchase at no cost1. Without the condition you usually pay 10% of the purchase price as a penalty1. On a €400,000 home that is €40,000.

Calculate my bid With or without the condition

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By Niek (data scientist, MSc) and Dion Smits · Updated on

The financing condition in short

  • Period usually 6 to 8 weeksUntil that date you can cancel at no cost if the bank says no.
  • Without it: a penalty of usually 10%Even if your mortgage falls through.
  • The 3-day cooling-off period is separateYou always have it, with or without the condition.

Bidding with or without a financing condition: the difference

You only notice the difference when the bank turns down your mortgage. This is what happens then.

With the condition

  • If the mortgage falls through, you cancel the purchase at no cost1.
  • You usually have 6 to 8 weeks to arrange your financing2.
  • If the period ends without you cancelling, you are bound to the purchase for good3.

Without the condition

  • If the mortgage falls through, the seller can cancel the purchase and claim 10% of the purchase price4.
  • The seller can also demand that you go ahead, with 0.3% of the purchase price per day up to a maximum of 10%4.
  • After the 3-day cooling-off period the purchase is final, unless you agreed on another condition5.
The median buyer paid above the asking price€15,600
A quarter of buyers paid above the asking price more than€35,200
Penalty without the condition: 10% of the purchase price€41,560

The penalty is higher than what three out of four buyers paid above the asking price.

Overbidding: median 3.9% and top quarter 8.8% above the asking price, all sales from July 2025 to June 2026, calculated by Biedadviseur6. Penalty: usually 10% of the purchase price1, calculated here on the asking price plus the median overbid.

Thinking about bidding without the condition? First read what to arrange beforehand

What is a financing condition?

A financing condition, in Dutch voorbehoud van financiering or financieringsvoorbehoud, is a resolutive condition (ontbindende voorwaarde) in the purchase agreement (koopakte). If the bank turns down your mortgage within the agreed period, you can pull out of the purchase without a penalty3.

  1. You name it in your offer

    The condition is part of your offer, just like the price and the transfer date. So it is part of the negotiation with the seller3.

  2. It goes into the koopakte

    Once your offer is accepted, the condition goes into the koopakte as a resolutive condition. The standard Dutch purchase agreement (modelkoopakte) has a fixed text for it, with room for the amount and the end date3.

  3. It applies until the end date

    Until that date you can cancel the purchase if the financing falls through. After that you are bound to the purchase3.

Besides financing, you can also agree on a condition for the National Mortgage Guarantee (Nationale Hypotheek Garantie, NHG), a structural survey or the sale of your own home3. Which conditions to put in an offer is explained in what goes in an offer

How long is the period of the financing condition?

Vereniging Eigen Huis, the Dutch homeowners' association, recommends a period of 6 to 8 weeks2. You negotiate the period with the seller: you want enough time for your mortgage, the seller wants certainty quickly2.

  1. Offer accepted

    You agree on the price, the conditions and the dates.

  2. Koopakte signed

    The condition is in it, with an end date.

  3. 3 days to change your mind

    You can pull out without giving a reason7.

  4. Condition period

    Usually 6 to 8 weeks to get your mortgage arranged2.

  5. Deposit

    Usually 10% of the purchase price, due a few weeks after the koopakte1.

Need more time, for example because you are self-employed or because your life insurance needs a medical check? Then agree on a longer period2.

Can you extend the period?

Only if the seller agrees. After the end date you can carry on arranging your financing. If it still falls through after that, the risk is yours4. So ask for an extension in time if the bank needs longer.

Which amount do you put in the condition?

The condition applies to an amount: the mortgage you need. On Move, the online bidding platform many Dutch agents use, you fill in that amount with your offer8. If you put in savings of your own, you can limit the condition to the part you borrow9.

Example: you offer €400,000 and put in €60,000 of your own

  • €60,000 own money falls outside the condition
  • €340,000 mortgage under the financing condition

In your offer: subject to financing up to €340,000. If you do not get that mortgage, you cancel within the period without a penalty. The seller can see that your own part is there either way.

Cancelling the purchase with your financing condition: how it works

If the bank turns down your mortgage, you cancel the purchase yourself. Check your own koopakte for the documents and deadlines that apply to you3.

  1. Do everything reasonably possible to get your mortgage

    Most purchase agreements say that you make a serious effort to get the financing arranged2. The condition is meant for a mortgage that really does not come through.

  2. Get the rejection in writing

    With the standard purchase agreement you normally send one rejection from a lender. Sometimes it is agreed that you send two, or other documents4.

  3. Cancel in writing, before the end date

    Send a letter in which you cancel the purchase and give the reason. Send it by registered post, and by email as well to be safe. The koopakte often says the seller must receive your letter within one or a few working days3.

  4. After the end date your way out is gone

    If you cancel too late, the condition no longer applies. If the mortgage then falls through, the seller can claim a penalty of 10% of the purchase price4.

Bidding without a financing condition: arrange this first

If you bid without the condition and your mortgage does not come through, you are bound to the purchase3. What that can cost, you can work out in the difference at the top. Still considering it? Arrange this first.

  1. Have your financing worked out

    A mortgage adviser works out what you can borrow for this home, based on your income and your own money. Only then do you know whether the bank is likely to say yes.

  2. Keep money aside for the valuation

    If the valuation (taxatie) comes out lower than your offer, you pay the difference from your own money10. How much that is, you can work out in overbidding and your mortgage.

  3. Choose a middle way

    A shorter period, or a condition for only the borrowed part, gives the seller more certainty. You still keep a way out9.

This page explains how the financing condition works and is not mortgage advice. Unsure whether you can bid without the condition? Discuss it with your mortgage adviser.

How the financing condition affects your chance of getting the home

For sellers, conditions sometimes weigh as heavily as the price11. An offer without the condition gives the seller certainty sooner. At the end of 2025, 40% of buyers bought without a financing condition12, so most buyers still included one.

  1. Start with the amount

    First know which amount fits what similar homes nearby sold for. Then decide which conditions to add. How to choose that amount is explained in how much to bid on a house.

  2. A shorter period counts too

    The period is something you negotiate2. If your financing has already been worked out, a shorter period gives the seller certainty sooner while you keep a way out.

  3. More buyers? Then conditions weigh more

    When offers are close together, the seller also looks at the conditions and the transfer date11. How to handle that is explained in multiple offers on a house and sealed bids.

Bidding advice report €24.95

Which amount gives you a chance, with or without the condition?

The report works out per address how likely you are to get the home at every offer amount, backed by at least five sales from the neighbourhood. That way you know how much room you have before you decide on your conditions. After payment your report opens straight away on the website.

Example: your offerChance of getting the home

  1. €352,33130%
  2. €361,68750%
  3. €372,16370%
  4. €388,24390%

From the report for Karel Doormanlaan 378 in Hilversum: asking price (vraagprijs) €350,000, expected sale price €361,687. View the sample report

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Questions about the financing condition

What is voorbehoud van financiering in English?
Usually financing condition or mortgage condition. In a Dutch purchase agreement it is a resolutive condition (ontbindende voorwaarde) for the financing.
Is it wise to bid without a financing condition?
That depends on how firm your financing is. If your mortgage falls through, you usually pay 10% of the purchase price as a penalty1. So have your financing worked out by a mortgage adviser first. This article is an explanation, not mortgage advice.
Which amount do you fill in for the financing condition?
The amount of the mortgage you need. If you put in savings of your own, you can limit the condition to the part you borrow9.
How long is the period of a financing condition?
Vereniging Eigen Huis recommends 6 to 8 weeks2. The end date is in your koopakte. Until that date you can cancel the purchase if the mortgage falls through.
Can you extend the period of the condition?
Only if the seller agrees. If the seller says no, you can still arrange the financing afterwards, but then the risk is yours if it falls through4.
How many rejections do you need to cancel?
With the standard purchase agreement you normally send one rejection from a lender. Sometimes it is agreed that you send two, or other documents. That is in your koopakte4.
What is the penalty if you pull out without a financing condition?
Usually 10% of the purchase price1. With the standard purchase agreement the seller can also demand that you go ahead, with 0.3% of the purchase price per day up to a maximum of 10%4.
What is the difference with the cooling-off period?
The cooling-off period (bedenktijd) lasts 3 days and starts on the day after you receive the signed koopakte. You do not have to give a reason7. The financing condition runs longer, and you use it when your mortgage falls through3.
Can you still bid on a house that is sold under reservation?
No, the koopakte has been signed. If the sale still falls through, for example because of a condition, the home sometimes comes back on the market13. How to keep your chances open is explained in house under offer or sold under reservation.

About this page

Who wrote this, and where the information comes from

We were both looking for a house and got stuck at the same moment: the offer. A buying agent felt too expensive, and as if agents were arranging things among themselves. Read our story.

  • Niek

    Niek

    Data scientist (MSc) · co-founder

    Niek spent ten months on the calculation model behind every report. He calculated the overbidding figures on this page.

    More about Niek
  • Dion Smits

    Dion Smits

    Online entrepreneur and marketing specialist · co-founder

    Dion wrote the explanations on this page. He once lost a home to another bidder himself.

    More about Dion

Updated on . This page explains how the financing condition works and is not legal or mortgage advice.

Sources (13)
  1. KNB (Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries), Een huis kopen. Hoe werkt dat? (in Dutch, October 2025): with a financing condition you cancel the purchase at no cost, without one you pay the agreed penalty of usually 10% of the purchase price, and the deposit or bank guarantee is usually 10% of the purchase price, due a few weeks after the purchase agreement.
  2. Vereniging Eigen Huis, Welke termijn is redelijk voor het financieringsvoorbehoud? (in Dutch): 6 to 8 weeks recommended, longer with a medical check for life insurance or for self-employed buyers, the period is negotiable, and the buyer does everything reasonably possible to get the financing.
  3. Vereniging Eigen Huis, Ontbindende voorwaarden: dit zijn de belangrijkste (in Dutch): you name conditions in your offer, the standard purchase agreement has a fixed text for the financing condition, an NHG condition is also possible, you cancel with a letter within the period (registered post, also by email), and without the condition you usually pay a penalty of 10% of the purchase price.
  4. Vereniging Eigen Huis, Mijn verkoper wil de ontbindende voorwaarde niet verlengen (in Dutch): an extension is only possible if the seller agrees, with the standard purchase agreement you normally send one rejection (sometimes two), and if the buyer does not go ahead the seller can cancel with a 10% penalty or demand performance with 0.3% per day up to a maximum of 10%.
  5. NVM, Huis kopen: koopovereenkomst en bedenktijd (in Dutch): after the three-day cooling-off period the purchase is final, unless resolutive conditions were agreed.
  6. Overbidding: own calculation by Biedadviseur.nl, sale price compared with the last asking price for transfers at the notary from July 2025 to June 2026 (median 3.9%). Explained in how much to bid on a house.
  7. Dutch government (Rijksoverheid), Hoeveel bedenktijd heb ik na het kopen van een woning? (in Dutch): 3 days, from the day after you received the signed purchase agreement, without giving a reason and without compensation.
  8. Snelder Zijlstra Makelaars, Bieden via Move (in Dutch, 25 September 2026): in Move you state the amount to which your financing condition applies.
  9. Hypotheek.nl, Slimme tactiek bieden huis: 9 tips (in Dutch, 9 July 2026): a financing condition up to the amount you borrow, with a worked example.
  10. Nibud, Hypotheek afsluiten (in Dutch, from the Dutch National Institute for Family Finance Information): the maximum mortgage and what you pay from your own money.
  11. NVM, Bieden op een huis (in Dutch): for sellers, conditions are sometimes as important as the price.
  12. De Hypotheker, Rust op de huizenmarkt: minder bezichtigingen en biedingen (in Dutch, 16 January 2026): 40% of buyers buy without a financing condition.
  13. De Hypotheker, Verkocht onder voorbehoud (in Dutch): after the purchase agreement is signed the seller may not accept another offer, and if the sale falls through the seller can go back to an earlier offer or put the home on the market again.

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