Making a bid on a home in Belgium: this is how you do it safely
A bid feels like a first step, but legally it is more than that. If the seller accepts it, the home is sold. Here you read how you write a bid that protects you, and what happens afterwards until the deed.
A bid is binding as soon as it states the home and the price precisely and without reservation: if the seller accepts it, the sale is concluded (notaris.be, April 2025). Put an end date and a suspensive condition for your loan in your bid, in practice often four weeks. At the sale agreement (compromis) you usually pay a deposit of 1 % into the notary’s third-party account, and the sale must be registered within 4 months (notaris.be; Vlaamse overheid, checked on 28 October 2026).
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A bid is binding if it determines at least the home and the price offered precisely and without reservation. If the seller accepts it fully and without conditions, the sale comes about, even if no sale agreement has been signed yet (notaris.be, April 2025).
You are already bound as soon as the seller knows of your bid, as long as it is valid (notarial profession, brochure Buying a home). So only bid once you are sure, and do not count on being able to withdraw a bid.
The asking price in an advert is not an offer from the seller. So if you bid the asking price, the sale is not automatically concluded (notaris.be, April 2025). If the seller makes a counter-offer, your first bid lapses and the choice is yours again (notarial profession).
So before you bid, ask one or more banks how much you can borrow and under which conditions, and discuss with your notary which conditions you include in your bid (notaris.be, September 2026).
Part 2
What do you put in a bid?
There is no fixed form. A bid by e-mail is possible, a verbal bid is not recommended, and a text message is only a beginning of proof (notaris.be). If in doubt, have your bid read by your notary (notarial profession).
In the showroom on hoobler.be your bid goes directly to the owner. You indicate suspensive conditions there, such as obtaining a home loan, you state in your message until when your bid is valid, and you receive a confirmation by e-mail.
Wherever you bid, put at least this in it:
Your name and the address of the home.
The price you offer.
Until when your bid is valid. Without an end date it remains valid until the home is sold (notaris.be, April 2025).
The suspensive conditions, such as obtaining your loan.
The date and your signature.
Part 3
What is a suspensive condition for your loan?
With a suspensive condition the sale only goes through if a certain event takes place, for example that you get your loan. If you do not get it, the sale is deemed never to have existed (notarial profession, brochure Buying a home).
In practice you often get four weeks, but you set the period yourself, depending on your file (notaris.be, April 2025). An example from the notarial profession: the sale takes place under the condition that the buyer obtains financing within 4 weeks for an amount corresponding to 10 % of the price, at normal market conditions.
Other conditions are also possible, such as a soil certificate that shows no contamination (notaris.be). A condition that you first sell your own home, the seller does have to accept. If your loan application is delayed, contact your notary in time (notaris.be, September 2026).
Watch out with a public sale or a sealed bid via a notary: there your bid is often irrevocable and without conditions, and in an online public sale via Biddit bids are binding (notaris.be). Arrange your financing in advance then.
Part 4
What do you find out before you bid?
Because a bid binds, you do your research beforehand. Read the advert carefully and feel free to ask the seller extra questions (notaris.be, April 2025). If you get little time, such as with a sale where all candidates bid on the same day, request the most important documents in advance (notarial profession). Certainly check:
The EPC label and whether there is a renovation obligation. With label E or F you have to renovate to label D within 6 years (Vlaamse overheid).
The inspection of the electrical installation. If it is not compliant, you have 18 months after the deed to put it in order (notarial profession).
The planning status, for example whether a conservatory is permitted (notaris.be, March 2026), and whether the home is in a flood-prone area (Vlaamse overheid).
With a flat: the minutes of the last general meetings and the works that are planned.
Your budget: the price, the purchase costs and the works together. How much you bid, you decide; compare with similar homes in the area and include what still needs to be done.
Part 5
What happens after an accepted bid?
After the accepted bid follows the sale agreement, the compromis. That is not a provisional document: the sale is concluded, and the notary who draws up the deed is bound by what is in it. So have the sale agreement drawn up or at least read by your notary (notarial profession, brochure Buying a home).
You may choose your own notary, even if the seller already has one. Two notaries do not cost more: they share the fee (notaris.be, March 2026).
The sale agreement states among others the price, the suspensive conditions, the final date for the deed, the notaries and the moment at which you become owner and receive the keys. Usually that is at the deed (notarial profession).
Notaries advise against receiving the keys before the deed, among others because a fire could break out. If it happens anyway, make a written agreement on that handover (notarial profession).
Part 6
How much deposit do you pay and to whom?
A deposit is not legally required, but it is customary. The standard is 1 % of the price; sometimes % is agreed (notarial profession; notaris.be, April 2025).
Never pay the deposit directly to the seller: if they have debts, your money can be lost. Transfer it to the third-party account of the notary, or of the realtor if one is mediating. Those accounts are protected against creditors (notaris.be, April 2025). Cash is not accepted (notarial profession).
The amount remains blocked until the deed. If the sale does not go through without you being at fault, you get it back. If you do not meet your obligations, the sale agreement can provide for compensation of that size (notaris.be; notarial profession).
If you sign the sale agreement in 2026 and the deed follows in 2027, keep the proof of your deposit. The Vlaamse Belastingdienst, the Flemish Tax Administration, may ask you to demonstrate that the sale agreement dates from before 2027, for example with a paid deposit, if the rate for the sole owner-occupied home goes to % in 2027 (position 26021, 1 October 2026). That increase has been announced, not yet decided.
Part 7
How long does it take from sale agreement to deed?
Usually a few months. The notary does compulsory searches: the planning status, the soil certificate, the mortgages and debts on the home, and the technical condition, such as the heating oil tank and the electrical installation. Whoever has a right of first refusal, such as a tenant, a farm tenant or the municipality, gets two months to respond (notaris.be, March 2026).
The notary must register the sale within 4 months after the sale agreement (Vlaamse overheid), and within that period the registration duty is also due. With a suspensive condition those 4 months run from the moment it is fulfilled (notarial profession). That is why the deed usually falls within that period, on a date stated in the sale agreement.
At the deed you pay the rest of the price and the costs, and you usually receive the keys. Afterwards the notary has the deed transcribed, and from then on your ownership is protected against third parties (notarial profession). What the purchase costs, you read in the guide on the costs when buying a home.
Frequently asked questions
Answered briefly.
Is a bid on a house binding?
Yes, if it states the home and the price precisely and without reservation. If the seller accepts it, the sale is concluded (notaris.be). So put an end date and a suspensive condition for your loan in it.
Can I withdraw my bid?
Do not count on it. You are bound as soon as the seller knows of your bid, as long as it is valid (notarial profession). So limit your bid in time.
How much time do you get to settle your loan?
As much as you agree in the suspensive condition. In practice that is often four weeks, but you set the period yourself (notaris.be).
How much deposit do you pay at a sale agreement?
Usually 1 % of the price, sometimes %. You transfer it to the third-party account of the notary or of the realtor, never directly to the seller (notaris.be).
What if I do not get my loan?
With a suspensive condition for your loan the sale does not go through and you get your deposit back (notaris.be). Without that condition you remain bound and risk compensation.
Is a bid by text or chat message valid?
A text message is not full proof, only a beginning of proof (notaris.be). Bid in writing or by e-mail, with the date and your signature.
In the showroom on hoobler.be owners sell their home themselves. Your question, your viewing request and your bid go directly to them. Save your search, and you miss no new home that fits.