Real estate · Slovakia
Buying a property with a mortgage
A mortgage purchase brings together three sets of agreements: the sale agreement, the bank's loan documentation and the security agreements. Each is drafted by someone different. If they do not fit together, the bank may not release the loan, the seller may not receive payment or the buyer may sign before anything is certain. We align the sale agreement precisely with the drawdown conditions, oversee the order of Land Register applications and stay with the transaction until your ownership is registered.
- Agreements aligned with bank conditions
- Correct registration order
- Prices agreed in advance
What we'll do for you
The legal aspects of a mortgage-funded purchase, from reflecting bank conditions in the sale agreement through security agreements and registration order to drawdown and ownership registration.
Select an item to see the details.
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Initial consultation
We map the transaction and financing — what you pay from your own funds, what the bank releases, whether an existing mortgage encumbers the property and the stage of the loan process. You receive a plan of steps in the right order.
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Sale agreement matching drawdown conditions
We reflect the bank's conditions directly in the sale agreement — accounts and payment purposes, blocked funds, due dates for each part of the price and what happens if the bank does not release the loan. We also agree the wording with the other party or agency.
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Security agreement and registration order
We review the bank's security agreement, prepare registration applications and oversee their order — the bank's security interest is usually registered before drawdown and ownership afterwards. The wrong order means the funds do not arrive.
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Repayment and discharge of the seller's mortgage
If the property is encumbered, we arrange a statement of the seller's loan balance, direct part of the purchase price to their bank and obtain documents for removal of the old security interest from the Land Register.
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Drawdown and ownership registration
We check that drawdown conditions are met and evidenced, apply to register ownership and monitor both proceedings through registration. The transaction ends when you are the owner and all payments are in order.
Deliverablea sale agreement aligned with the bank's conditions, a registered security interest, loan drawdown and the buyer's ownership registered in the Land Register
We do not provide financial intermediation. We do not compare mortgages, advise on bank selection or assess creditworthiness or loan amounts. That is the bank's or financial intermediary's work; we handle the legal aspects so that the agreements fit together and drawdown proceeds.
How it works
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- Consultation and planday 0
We discuss the transaction, financing and loan process. We explain the order of signing, registration and payments — and what to watch for before entering into a reservation agreement.
- Aligning the agreementsafter the loan commitment
We prepare or amend the sale agreement to reflect drawdown conditions, review the bank's security agreement and coordinate the wording with both the other party and the bank.
- Signing and registration of the security interest
We coordinate signing so that nobody signs before they have certainty. We apply to register the bank's security interest, which is usually a drawdown condition.
- Drawdown and ownership
Once the security interest is registered, the bank releases the loan, funds follow the agreed plan and we follow the registration of your ownership through to entry in the Land Register.
No-obligation enquiry
Ready to start?
Send us an enquiry. We usually reply within 24 hours with a price confirmation and next steps. The first 30-minute consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
- 1Send your enquiry via this form
- 2Usually within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
- 3We start work only after your approval
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What clients ask
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Why must the sale agreement match the bank's conditions?
Before drawdown, the bank checks that the sale agreement matches the loan documents — payment purpose and amount, the receiving account, due dates and any blocked funds or escrow arrangements. If it does not, the bank simply withholds drawdown and the parties must sign addenda while reservation agreement deadlines continue to run. We therefore reflect the drawdown conditions in the sale agreement before anyone signs it.
In what order do Land Register registration and loan drawdown take place?
The typical sequence is reservation, loan commitment, signing the sale and security agreements, registration of the bank's security interest, loan drawdown and finally registration of the buyer's ownership. The bank usually releases funds only after its security interest is registered, or after an application with a pending-entry marker — depending on its conditions. If the order is disrupted or reversed, drawdown stops and the transaction stalls. We set the precise sequence according to your bank's conditions.
The seller has their own mortgage on the property. Is that a problem?
No, this is common — but the agreement must address it. The seller's bank calculates the loan balance at the repayment date, part of the purchase price goes directly to the loan account and, after repayment, the bank issues consent to remove the security interest (a discharge confirmation). We set amounts, accounts and deadlines in the sale agreement so that you do not acquire the property with someone else's encumbrance — and so removal does not depend solely on the seller's goodwill.
How are my own funds and escrow combined with a mortgage?
Your own funds are usually paid before the loan — often when signing, while the buyer is not yet the owner. It therefore often makes sense to place those funds in lawyer escrow and release them only once agreed conditions are met, while the loan portion comes directly from the bank under its drawdown conditions. We align escrow terms with the bank's requirements so the mechanisms do not conflict. Escrow is a separate follow-on service.
Can you also help with mortgage refinancing?
Yes. In refinancing, the new bank repays the original bank's loan and the secured creditor changes — the new security interest is registered in the Land Register, the old one is removed after repayment and both appear on the title deed in the meantime. We prepare and review the documents, coordinate registration and removal and follow the process through to removal of the old security interest. We do not compare loan offers themselves — we are not financial intermediaries.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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The buyer is taking out a mortgage and the bank wants me, as the seller, to sign the security agreement. Why, and is it safe?
A bank may make drawdown of the loan conditional on security over the property being bought, yet the buyer becomes the owner only upon registration in the cadastre. A security right may be created over an asset owned by the security provider, who need not be the debtor, so the bank may ask for the seller’s signature or for an agreement over property the buyer will acquire in the future. The risk for the seller is that their property secures someone else’s loan before they have been paid. Before signing, therefore, agree when and how the security right will end if the purchase does not go ahead.
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I signed an agreement for a flat and the bank refused my mortgage. Do I still have to buy it?
Refusal of a mortgage does not by itself cancel an agreement you have signed. You may withdraw from an agreement only where the law allows it or where you have agreed it, so what matters is whether the agreement contains a financing condition or a right to withdraw if the loan is refused. If it does not, you remain bound, and the seller may demand performance, an agreed contractual penalty or compensation for loss. The sooner you raise the situation with the seller and with other banks, the more options remain.
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We are buying a flat on a mortgage as an unmarried couple. How should we set it up so that both of us are protected?
Unmarried partners have no undivided co-ownership, so they acquire the flat into co-ownership in shares in the proportions stated in the purchase agreement. Towards the bank, both of them are usually co-debtors jointly and severally, regardless of the share each has in the flat. Set the shares according to what each of you is putting into the flat, and agree in writing on repayment and on what happens if you separate. A co-debtor who is not registered as an owner is repaying a loan on someone else’s flat and has only monetary claims against the other, not a share in the flat.
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Further reading
Buying a flat subject to the seller’s mortgage: how to pay so that you do not also buy someone else’s debt
A bank’s lien on the title deed of the flat being bought is common and does not prevent the deal. It does not, however, lapse on transfer, so the sale agreement must state precisely who will repay the seller’s loan and when, who will arrange its deletion and when the seller receives the balance of the price. The article is for buyers and sellers alike.
Read more →
Payment terms in a sale agreement for property: when and how to pay so that no one loses the money or the flat
The purchase price is the largest payment many people ever make, and agreements from estate agencies often deal with it in a single sentence. We explain what events to tie the due dates to, how to combine own funds, a mortgage and escrow, and what to check in a draft agreement before signing.
Read more →
The lawyer in a transaction brokered by an estate agency: whom do they work for and what follows from that
The agent recommends a lawyer who prepares the contracts for both seller and buyer, and the agency pays them a retainer. Whose interests does the lawyer then protect, what may they tell the agent, and what happens if the parties fall out? We explain what the Act on Advocacy says and how to set the arrangement up so that everyone can trust it.
Read more →