In brief
Before a Romanian bank approves mortgages in a new project, it checks at its own expense the land registration, the building permit, the developer and the ability to register a first-ranking mortgage on it. Such approval is a significant risk filter, but the bank checks what protects it and not what protects you: the price, the terms of the preliminary contract, the build quality and what happens after handover remain for your own check. Even a cash buyer can use an approval in principle and a bank valuation as an inexpensive check.
Key takeaways
- 1A bank financing units in a project checks a clean land book extract, a registered building permit, the developer and the ability to register a first-ranking mortgage.
- 2Bank approval is not a guarantee. It does not check the terms of the preliminary contract, the build quality or the price against the market in full.
- 3Law 207/2025 and the bank complement each other: the law protects the advance payments, the bank checks its security.
- 4All the loan costs, including valuation, insurance, registration and notary fees, are requested in writing and compared between banks.
- 5A notarial signing in Romania is not done remotely. You can attend or sign a power of attorney in advance.
Buyers are usually interested in whether they themselves will get a loan. It is worth adding a second question alongside it, one that reveals a great deal about the transaction: do banks in Romania agree to lend against apartments or villas in this project? A financial institution does not give credit on a new project before its teams have examined it, and along the way it does, at its own expense, work that a private buyer would have had to fund alone.
This guide focuses on that check: what it rests on, where it stops, and how even a buyer who does not need a loan can benefit from it. Eligibility conditions, financing ratios and interest rates for non-residents are discussed in other guides.
What does a Romanian bank check before financing a unit in a project?
Before the bank looks at your payslips, it looks at the project and at who stands behind it. These are the matters it seeks to close:
| Subject | What the bank wants to see |
|---|---|
| Registration of the land and the units | A clean sheet in the land book (Cartea Funciară), with no open mortgages or attachments |
| Building permit | A valid permit, registered as required |
| The developer | Who owns the company, and what its financial strength is |
| The ownership structure | That the unit will pass lawfully into the buyer's name, and that it can be mortgaged in favour of the bank with first ranking |
Where the same bank also lends to the developer for the construction, the check continues throughout. It releases the money in stages, according to what has actually been built and according to reports by valuers and supervisors, and every sale of a unit requires its consent to remove its charge from that unit.
It follows that a project with approved mortgages has already been examined by an institution supervised by the National Bank of Romania. The bank's lawyers and risk staff have gone through it, and concluded that the bank's own funds can be placed on it.
Bank approval is not a guarantee. It does not check the terms of the preliminary contract, the build quality or the price against the market in full.
What does the bank not check for you?
Anything that does not affect its security. Three things matter to the bank: that it has a good asset to charge, that the registration is in order and that the loan will be repaid. Other matters, which are very important to the buyer, are outside its scope:
| Subject | The bank | You |
|---|---|---|
| Land book extract, permit and ownership structure | Yes | Yes, through a lawyer acting for you |
| Soundness of the developer | Yes | Yes |
| The price against the market | Partly, through the valuation | Yes, with a valuer and comparable transactions |
| Terms of the preliminary contract | No | Yes |
| Build quality and management | No | Yes |
| What happens after handover | No | Yes |
The last row of the table is the important one. The bank has a charge over the property, and it is protected even if something goes wrong. You depend on whoever sold to you even after receiving the key, and no bank will ask that question for you.
How do the bank's approval and Law 207/2025 fit together?
Each protects a different interest. The law, which has been nicknamed the "Nordis Law" and whose content has since 25 August 2026 been incorporated into article 422(6) to (11) of the Code of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and Construction (Law 169/2026), requires the advance payments under the preliminary contract to be deposited in an account dedicated to the project only, and limits how much of them the developer may use at each stage of construction.
In other words, the law protects your funds until the final signing and until the property is registered in your name, whereas the bank makes sure that the property that will serve as its security is registered and in order. A project that passes both tests has passed two independent filters.
Which mortgage costs should you get in writing?
Beyond the interest, the loan carries a range of ancillary expenses, and their extent varies from bank to bank. Ask each bank for a written table before you commit, and set the offers side by side:
| Expense | Note |
|---|---|
| Fee for opening and reviewing the file | Varies between banks |
| Valuer on behalf of the bank | Paid by you |
| Building insurance | The bank is named as beneficiary |
| Life insurance | Only if the bank requires it |
| Registration of the charge in the land book | Registration fees |
| Notary for the loan agreement | Notary fees |
| Fixed interest rate | What the rules are for early repayment |
The valuer's report has value outside the loan file too. It is an appraisal by a person the bank chose from its own list, unconnected to the seller, and it can be used when negotiating the price.
What should you ask the banker before signing?
- In which currency will you pay? If the loan is in lei and the salary in shekels or euros, exchange rate fluctuations are a real risk. Under the rules of the National Bank, the monthly repayment on a lei loan may not exceed about 40% of net income, and on a foreign currency loan, for a person whose income is in another currency, only about 20%. Find out whether a euro route is worthwhile for you at all.
- Variable or fixed rate? The variable rate moves with local market indices, the fixed rate gives peace of mind at a price.
- What does it cost to get out? Ask in writing for all the fees, and particularly the rules for closing the loan early.
- What are others offering? Collect two or three offers, yourselves or through a mortgage adviser. The gap between banks can be large.
- How does this fit with tax in Israel? The way the property is held and financed is part of two-country tax planning. This is settled with a tax adviser before signing, not after.
Buying with cash? Why ask for an approval in principle anyway
Because at low cost you obtain an outside opinion on the project. A local bank willing to lend against a specific unit thereby indicates that the land, the permit and the developer have passed its check, and in addition you receive a valuation that the seller did not influence. And if the bank hesitates, it is good for that information to reach you before signing the preliminary contract.
The way to get there is simple: ask the developer for the list of banks that have approved the project, then approach one of them directly and ask for an approval in principle for a defined unit. That approval is also the starting point for the budget, because it tells you what amount will actually be received.
Before signing: how we integrate the bank's check
We treat the bank's approval as one layer of the check, not as a substitute for it. In parallel with the process with the bank, we check the land book extract, the permit and the developer independently, go through the preliminary contract and what the bank does not check, and prepare the power of attorney if you are not attending the signing. A notarial signing in Romania is not carried out remotely, and it takes place before a local public notary, accompanied by a lawyer licensed in Romania.
The information is current as of October 2026 and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Mortgage terms are set by each bank according to the borrower's profile. Before a transaction it is advisable to obtain individual advice.
Frequently asked questions
Does bank approval for a project guarantee that the transaction is safe?
No. It is a significant risk filter, but the bank checks the security, the registration and the repayment. The price against the market, the contract terms, the build quality and what happens after handover must be checked with a lawyer and a valuer acting for you.
How do you know whether a bank approves mortgages in a particular project?
Ask the developer which banks have approved the project, then approach a bank and ask for an approval in principle for a specific unit.
Who pays for the bank valuation?
The borrower. The valuer is chosen from the bank's list of valuers, and the cost varies between banks. The advantage is an opinion on the price that is independent of the seller.
Can a Romanian mortgage be signed from Israel?
Not remotely. A notarial signing in Romania is not carried out remotely. You can attend the signing, or sign a power of attorney in advance so that an attorney-in-fact signs on your behalf at the notary.
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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.