Subject to financing means the buyer can cancel the purchase free of charge if they cannot get their mortgage approved. The condition is written into the purchase agreement, together with a deadline. Until that date the home shows on funda as "sold subject to conditions" (verkocht onder voorbehoud), and the sale is not yet final.
For our sales in Almere, the financing condition usually runs out five weeks after the deal. It can take a week before buyer and seller have both signed the purchase agreement, often because a building survey comes first. After signing, the buyer then has about four weeks left.
How does a financing condition work?
First, the buyer and seller agree on the price and the terms. The agent puts that into the purchase agreement, including the financing condition: the amount the buyer wants to borrow and the date by which they must say whether it has worked out.
After signing, the buyer has a statutory three-day cooling-off period. During those days they can withdraw from the purchase without giving a reason. Then the mortgage application gets going. The lender wants a validated appraisal report, looks at the buyer's income and eventually issues a binding offer.
If that offer arrives in time, the condition lapses and the sale is final. If it does not, the buyer can invoke the condition in writing before the agreed date, with a rejection from a lender as proof. In our purchase agreements, one rejection is enough. The sale is then dissolved and the home goes back on the market.
What does "sold subject to conditions" mean on funda?
It means there is a buyer and the purchase agreement has been signed, but a dissolving condition is still running. Usually that is the financing. It can also be a structural survey, or the sale of the buyer's current home.
So if you want the house too, it is not completely lost. If the sale falls through after all, the home comes back on the market. So let us know you are interested. During the condition period we keep a list of backup bidders, and we call them straight away if the sale falls through.
Why the financing sometimes falls through
Sometimes the appraisal comes in lower than the purchase price the buyer and seller agreed on. The bank lends based on the market value in the appraisal report, so the buyer then has to cover the difference themselves. If they cannot, they cannot finance the purchase.
The appraiser has to be independent of the sale. That is why we do not appraise a home we are selling ourselves for the buyer; we refer them to a colleague firm. You can read why it works this way in Estate agent or appraiser: what is the difference?
A BKR registration (the Dutch credit register) or a problem with the buyer's income can also make the financing fail, for example a temporary contract that is not renewed. Or the interest rate turns out higher than the one the buyer counted on when bidding.
What does it mean for you as the seller?
Until the condition deadline, your house is sold, but not yet surely sold. You may not sell it to anyone else during those weeks, even if a higher offer comes in. So do not arrange anything you cannot undo on the strength of this sale. If you are buying a new home yourself, make sure that purchase is not fixed before the condition on your own sale has expired, or ask your mortgage adviser how to cover that risk.
For many sellers this is the most nerve-racking part of the whole process. There is a buyer and there is a date, but the outcome depends on a bank you have no contact with yourself. If the buyer tells us it is not working out, or the condition expires, you hear it from us straight away.
You can take some of that tension away during the negotiation:
- Watch the deadline. Five weeks after the deal is usual with us. If a buyer asks for much longer, ask why.
- Look beyond the amount. A slightly lower offer from a buyer who has already had their financing checked, or who bids without a financing condition, can give more certainty than the highest offer.
If the buyer asks for a few extra days just before the deadline because the bank is slow, that is your decision. You are not obliged to extend. If you do, put it in writing.
What does it mean for you as the buyer?
The condition protects you. Without it you are bound to the purchase, even if the bank says no. If you then cannot pay, the purchase agreement usually sets a penalty of ten percent of the purchase price. In Almere the average sale price in the first quarter of 2026 was around € 461,000; ten percent of that is € 46,100.
Even so, buyers sometimes drop the condition to make their offer stronger. Only do that if you are sure the financing will work, for example because a mortgage adviser has already run the numbers on your situation. The advisers of Vynanzie work from our office and the first meeting is free. What a buying agent does for you in a bidding round like that is explained in What does a buying agent cost in Almere?
If you do keep a condition, start your application right after signing. The appraisal and gathering the documents for the bank usually take the most time.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a financing condition last?
The buyer and seller agree on that together. For our sales in Almere, five weeks after the deal is usual. If a week goes into signing the purchase agreement, for example because of a building survey, the buyer has about four weeks left after that.
Can the seller accept another offer during the condition period?
No. The purchase agreement has been signed, so the seller is bound by it. Only the buyer can dissolve the sale through the condition, and only before the agreed date.
What happens if the buyer lets the deadline pass?
Then the condition lapses and the sale is final. If the financing still falls through after that, the buyer can no longer rely on the condition and risks the penalty in the purchase agreement.
Does the buyer have to pay a deposit?
Usually, yes. The buyer pays a deposit to the notary or provides a bank guarantee, often ten percent of the purchase price. For our sales it has to be paid once the condition has expired, usually in the week after.
Selling your house to a buyer who can actually pay for it
During the negotiation we look at more than the price with you, for example at the length of the financing condition and at a transfer date that suits your own move. Read how we sell or request a free valuation. More about our office is on Estate agent in Almere.
