Buy the house first, then finance it?

1.5 hours until the green light comes. After that, the procedural processing at the bank until the contract.

Oh. So where do all those stories about the "failed financing of a committed buyer" come from? Are there still pitfalls between the green light and the final "yes"?

So that you don't get the loan sounds rather unlikely given the conditions, even if you pay slightly above the market price or the bank's valuation. Currently, you can even watch the interest rates fall until everything is settled. I'm not an expert, but based on my experience, I would be very surprised if you had serious problems finding a financing credit institution.

Oh. Where do all those stories about the "failed financing of a binding buyer" come from then? Are there still pitfalls between the green light and the final "yes"?

If the documents look like the numbers in the calculator and nothing else happens with the property, then there are no pitfalls. In our company, the traffic light ==> loan is automatically approved. At least in the small loan sector.

But these are stories where you don't know everything. Who says that just their own financing was tight and the light was yellow ==> manual review then said no.
Or it was found that the customer wanted to save real estate transfer tax and suddenly €50,000 for kitchen, awnings, etc. are included in the purchase price. And suddenly the house is worth too little to get the desired financing. Or or or

Currently, you can even watch the interest rates fall until everything is settled.

The other way around. After the interest rate drop, you can watch the interest rates rise again. 0.20% up in the last two weeks.

I ask because I keep seeing listings being taken down and then coming back after 1-2 months, and the seller says that a buyer didn’t get the financing. So the bank’s decision-making doesn’t take that long?

Well, if the financing doesn’t go through, for whatever reasons, potential buyers might still try to approach other banks or negotiate, but no agreement is reached. It doesn’t sound unusual that in cases where things don’t go smoothly, it takes longer than if everything is “smooth sailing.” Sometimes it can also be that the seller is required to provide more documents for the financing and the communication took time. And whether the seller then reposts the listing the very next day is also a question. So your sample is exactly based on those financings that didn’t go through. I believe currently there are simply more withdrawals because upon closer inspection the household budget doesn’t add up anymore (or the buyer finds the installment too high for themselves). Or because the bank rates a property as less valuable and then doesn’t go along (for example, one suddenly ends up with a 110% financing or similar). The more equity and income you have, the less of a problem this is. (We don’t know any details about that, of course).

You may have additional costs at the notary because you have a separate appointment for the registration of the [Grundschuld].

In addition to the 2 weeks until you have a notary appointment, there are at least 2 more weeks until the conditions for the purchase price due date are met (free of encumbrances, pre-emption right of the municipality). From then on, you have 2 weeks to pay or, if agreed, longer. There are banks where the time between a non-binding offer and a contract ready for signature is 1 week, and others 6 weeks. Once the contract is signed, payment is made immediately (after release by the notary).