At the early stage, that is, at the viewing, I would not sign any contracts yet, simply because everything is still very uncertain, and you can never properly finalize everything within the cancellation period. Our viewing was on 03.03, and a few days later again. Then we also gave the purchase commitment (which is not binding). After that, we took care of the financing and signed it on 24.04. But we had already known for two weeks that the notary appointment was set. This was then on 30.04. If the appointment had fallen through, we could have easily revoked the financing. Then, you would only be stuck with the costs for the notary's contract draft (in our case, since we had ordered the notary). However, the risk is low compared to a non-acceptance penalty for a real estate loan, which can amount to tens of thousands. I would never have signed the loan agreement after the viewing if a rock-solid notary appointment was not set within a week. Since this also requires preparatory work and scheduling, I think the firm notary appointment comes first, and then you sign the financing. Before that, of course, we also obtained offers from banks, which we would only have had to sign. Simply to clarify whether financing would be possible and on what terms. Only after submitting the signed offer do you actually receive the loan contracts. And only then does the paperwork begin. One offer should be sufficient; it is initially not tied to real estate but already gives you the framework within which you can operate.
