Bank valuation below the apartment price: how much cash will you need?

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If a bank values an apartment below the agreed purchase price, you may need more of your own money than expected. What matters is not just the lending percentage, but the amount to which it applies and the final approved loan. You must cover the remaining price unless you agree another solution with the seller and lender.

Resolve this before paying a deposit or accepting binding payment deadlines. An affordable monthly instalment does not solve a cash shortfall on the day the purchase price is due.

The purchase price and accepted valuation are different figures

The price is what you agree with the seller. The valuation accepted by the bank helps it assess the property as security. The figures do not have to match. In its mortgage process guide, DSK Bank explains that income and the property valuation inform the maximum loan, while the financing percentage also depends on the property type. This describes a lending process, not an offer to an individual buyer.

Do not stop at asking what percentage the bank lends. Ask which amount it uses as the calculation base for your transaction, how the purchase price affects that base and whether your income imposes a lower limit. Request the answer as a loan amount, not only a percentage.

An example: buying for €180,000

Assume, purely for illustration, that the bank lends 80% of its accepted valuation and your income supports that amount. This is not a current bank offer. There is no additional security in the example, and none of the valuations exceeds the price.

The last scenario requires €16,000 more than the initial expectation of €36,000. You do not add the entire €20,000 gap between price and valuation: at the assumed lending rate, the loan falls by €16,000. That distinction is easy to miss when a budget is described simply as “having the deposit”.

The last column excludes transaction costs, borrowing costs and finishing work. If you have already paid €10,000 which the contract credits towards the price, the third scenario leaves €42,000 of your own money still to pay towards that price. Do not count the same €10,000 twice. Confirm when the bank requires your contribution to be paid and how earlier payments must be documented.

Why “up to 85%” does not mean you need only 15%

In September 2024, the Bulgarian National Bank introduced residential mortgage lending requirements for households: a maximum loan-to-collateral-value ratio of 85%, debt-service-to-monthly-income ratio of 50% and term of 30 years. Its decision allows a limited volume of exceptions at bank level. That does not give an individual borrower a right to an exception.

A regulatory ceiling is not a promise to lend the maximum. The bank may approve less. Where the accepted collateral value is below the purchase price, even a high lending percentage can leave considerably more than 15% of the price to be funded in cash. Build your budget around confirmed terms, not the words “up to” in an advertisement.

What to clarify if the money is not enough

First, ask for an explanation of the accepted valuation and check whether the property details are correct. Its area, legal use, associated spaces and completion stage should be considered against the documents. If there is a specific error or missing document, ask how the lender handles a review. A review does not guarantee a higher valuation.

Then discuss realistic alternatives: a larger cash contribution, a renegotiated price or a different property. Changing the payment schedule can help with timing, but does not itself eliminate the shortfall. Another lender may reach a different conclusion, but a new application brings its own timing, possible costs and uncertain outcome.

Do not take an additional unsecured loan without discussing it with the mortgage lender. New debt changes your commitments and may affect the affordability assessment. Recording a lower purchase price in the title deed is not a solution to missing funds either, and creates separate risks.

Agree what happens before paying a deposit

Have a lawyer examine what your contract says about insufficient financing, a refusal or a bank delay. Do not assume that a payment described as a deposit is automatically refundable if the mortgage is too small. The actual terms and legal nature of the payment matter.

When considering apartments at Magnolia Residence in Burgas, request a written price for the specific property and its payment schedule. Submit these to the lender with the property documents. You can then compare when payments fall due with when, and subject to which conditions, the loan can be released. For a purchase during construction, also see how staged mortgage payments work for an off-plan apartment. The project team does not replace the bank's lending decision.

Sources checked on 5 November 2026. All calculations are illustrative. This article is not an individual loan offer or financial or legal advice.