Shrnutí: A mortgage is a home loan that is typically secured by a lien on the property. In 2026, the general LTV limit is 80%, so most applicants need to contribute at least 20% of the property’s value from their own funds. For applicants under 36 years of age purchasing their first home, the LTV can reach 90%. The bank also assesses the applicant’s income, expenses, and other debts. Starting in April 2026, the Czech National Bank (ČNB) recommends stricter rules for investment mortgages.
Are you buying a property financed by a mortgage? We’ll ensure the smooth progression of the purchase agreement, escrow, loan disbursement, and land registry entries so that neither the funds nor the title to the property get stuck between the bank and the seller due to an error in the contracts.
Before you even start looking for your dream home, familiarize yourself with the mortgage terms and conditions set by individual banks. Also find out how much of a mortgage (if any) you qualify for. A simple mortgage calculation can help you with this—ideally using an online mortgage calculator, which will show you the approximate amount of your monthly payments based on your creditworthiness, income level, and other factors. One of the main requirements is sufficient income. However, your age also plays a role—the older you are, the less favorable the terms and the lower the likelihood of loan approval.
The calculator itself, however, will only give you an approximate result. When you apply for a mortgage, the bank will also assess your income, expenses, and other debts. The amount of your own funds available also plays an important role. In 2026, a standard mortgage will generally cover no more than 80% of the value of the property being mortgaged. If you are under 36 years old and purchasing your first home, this figure may be as high as 90%. For investment mortgages, banks apply stricter rules.
We provide comprehensive legal services related to the purchase or sale of real estate, including reservation agreements and escrow services. We can also assist with land registry and tax matters. We can handle everything within 48 hours, even when purchasing from a developer.
Many people start looking for a home without knowing how much the bank will actually approve for a mortgage. Yet calculating your mortgage is the first step that should come before actually choosing a property. Various online mortgage calculators are available for this purpose, which can quickly show you what your monthly payment might be or the maximum loan amount you qualify for. However, the result always depends on whether you meet specific mortgage requirements, such as minimum income, down payment percentage, or age limits.
Before you start looking into buying a property or taking out a mortgage, find out if you even qualify for a mortgage. An online mortgage calculator can help you—it lets you quickly calculate your mortgage and get an idea of your monthly payments and the maximum loan amount.
If you’re considering taking out a mortgage, it’s a good idea to first assess your financial situation and only then commit to purchasing a specific property.
The entire process can be broken down into a few simple steps:
| Step | What to Do |
|---|---|
| 1. Calculate your options | Determine what monthly payment you can afford in the long term and how much of your own funds you have. |
| 2. Compare offers from banks | Look not only at the interest rate, but also at the fixed-rate period, the APR, and other terms. |
| 3. Choose a property | Verify its legal and physical condition. |
| 4. Prepare the necessary documents | The bank will want information about your income, liabilities, and the property. |
| 5. Have the property appraised | The LTV, among other things, is based on the appraisal. |
| 6. Sign the loan and mortgage documents | Make sure it aligns with the purchase agreement. |
| 7. Arrange for escrow and land registry registration | The disbursement of the loan must comply with both the bank’s terms and the purchase agreement. |
If you’re wondering what you need to apply for a mortgage, be prepared, first and foremost, to provide proof of your identity, income, and information about the property being financed or used as collateral. However, the specific list of documents varies depending on the bank, the type of income you have, and the purpose of the loan. For example, an employee buying a ready-to-move-in apartment will need to submit different documents than a self-employed individual using a mortgage to finance the construction of a house. The bank must also assess your ability to repay the loan—so it primarily compares your income, expenses, and how you’ve been repaying existing debts.
In general, however, expect to provide the following:
If you’re wondering what to watch out for when arranging a mortgage, don’t focus solely on the cost of the loan. From a legal standpoint, it is particularly important that the loan agreement, purchase agreement, mortgage agreement, escrow of the purchase price, and drawdown conditions are aligned. A problem can arise, for example, if the purchase agreement requires you to pay before the bank allows you to draw down the funds under the terms of the loan.
The mortgage is therefore closely linked to the lien on the property. Let’s take a look at how it works and why it’s important even when the property is later sold.
Mr. Pavel was selling the house he inherited from his parents and wanted to save on paperwork. So he made an agreement with a friend who wanted to buy the house. However, with Pavel’s consent, the friend pledged the property as collateral even before the actual sale and used the money from the bank to buy a new car. Pavel ultimately lost the house because the bank had it sold at auction to recover its money.
A lien is one of the so-called rights in rem. This means it cannot simply be circumvented, as it is recorded in the real estate registry, just like ownership itself. It serves to secure a debt in the event that the debtor is unable to repay their obligations to the creditor on time and in full. If that were to happen, the bank can begin to exercise the lien and recover its money from the property. This does not always have to involve traditional foreclosure proceedings. For example, the property may be sold at a public auction or through another legally permitted method. If there are multiple liens on the property, their order of priority also matters.
Do you need to register a property in the land registry? We can help you draft the application so that everything is in order the first time around and you don’t miss any important deadlines or lose money.
Debts secured by a lien can be sold or transferred. Banks often choose this option because they do not want to collect the money themselves. They sell debts from problematic clients to collection agencies, which don’t pull any punches and will happily sell a person’s home right over their head.
Of course,a lien cannot be transferred on its own. It is firmly tied to the collateral—in this case, an apartment or house—and to the specific loan. Before purchasing a property , therefore , check thoroughly to ensure that no lien is attached to it. The lien does not automatically disappear with the sale of the property. Therefore, if you purchase an apartment or house that is still subject to a lien, the lien may remain in effect even after the change of ownership. That is why it is necessary to find out, even before the purchase, how the original mortgage will be paid off and when the bank will allow its lien to be removed. Often, a portion of the purchase price is used specifically to pay off the old mortgage.
People interested in buying a house or apartment often rely solely on the information they receive from a real estate agency or the property owner. However, they may not, understandably, tell you absolutely everything you should know—including any outstanding liens and similar issues. So be sure to read our article on what to check before buying a property.
If you’re buying a property that still has an outstanding mortgage, this doesn’t automatically mean you’ll have to continue making the payments in place of the seller. Most often, the original mortgage is paid off using the purchase price, and the bank then allows its lien to be removed. The buyer can then take out their own mortgage.
Another option is to assume the existing loan. In this case, however, the bank must approve the arrangement and will screen the new borrower in much the same way as it would for a standard mortgage application. Only then can the buyer step into the original borrower’s shoes and continue making payments.
In any case, however, it’s not enough to simply coordinate between the buyer and seller when purchasing a property with a mortgage. The bank, the Land Registry, and often an attorney’s escrow account are also involved in the transaction. We’ll be happy to assist you with everything—we’ll review the purchase and mortgage documents for you, set up the terms of the escrow, and ensure that the repayment of the old mortgage, the cancellation of the original mortgage lien, the registration of the new mortgage lien, and the transfer of ownership all follow each other in the correct sequence.
There are several situations in which you might need to sell a house with a mortgage. For example, you may be unable to keep up with your payments, you may be getting divorced and no longer want to make joint payments, or you may have found a new home and want to sell your old one. It’s also common for people to need to sell their small apartment with a mortgage so they can buy a house instead. Read on to learn how to sell a property with a mortgage.
We handled a case involving a client who was selling an apartment with an outstanding mortgage. However, the buyers did not take out a new mortgage—with the bank’s consent, they were to assume the seller’s existing mortgage. The entire transaction was therefore more complex than a standard apartment sale, as it was necessary to coordinate the transfer of ownership with the assumption of the loan and the preservation of the bank’s security interest.
The client already had a purchase agreement, documentation for the escrow of the purchase price, an amendment to the mortgage loan governing its assumption by the buyers, a collateral assumption agreement, and a proposal for registration in the land registry. He turned to us primarily to ensure that the individual documents did not contradict one another and that all steps would be carried out in the correct order.
We therefore reviewed the documentation as a single unit and focused particularly on the terms of the mortgage assumption, the timing of the transfer of ownership, the coordination with the escrow of the purchase price, and the bank’s conditions regarding the lien. We also adjusted the sequence of the individual steps so that the seller would not be released from the loan too late and, at the same time, to prevent a situation where the transfer of the apartment would take place before the bank’s requirements were met.
As a result, it was possible to carry out both the transfer of the apartment and the assumption of the existing mortgage as a single coordinated transaction. The buyers became the owners of the property and simultaneously assumed the original mortgage loan, while the client withdrew from the transaction without any further obligations to the bank.
Once you repay the loan, the lien securing it is also extinguished. However, this does not mean that the lien immediately disappears from the land registry. As long as it remains registered, the owner may, under certain conditions, use its original priority to secure another debt. This is called a released lien.
This can be particularly significant when multiple liens are attached to a single property. Their order of priority determines the sequence in which creditors will be satisfied, if at all. A released lien thus allows the owner to retain a more favorable priority ranking even for a new debt.
So, if you’re buying a property where the owner has just paid off the mortgage, that doesn’t necessarily mean the lien has been removed from the land registry.
Whether you’re planning to buy a property with a mortgage, take over the original owner’s obligations, or are considering selling a property with an encumbrance, always assess your financial options first. Today’s online mortgage calculators will make it much easier for you to figure out what you can afford. If the mortgage calculation shows that your income isn’t sufficient, consider other financing options or adjust your selection. Remember that meeting the mortgage requirements is essential—without them, no bank will grant you a loan.
A mortgage isn’t just about the interest rate and monthly payments. You also need to factor in the bank’s requirements for down payment, creditworthiness assessment, and, above all, the lien on the property. In 2026, the general LTV limit remains at 80%, or 90% for applicants under 36 years of age purchasing their primary residence. For investment mortgages, the CNB recommends that banks adopt an even more cautious approach starting in April 2026.
From a legal standpoint, the most critical moment is the actual purchase and disbursement of the loan. The purchase agreement, escrow, mortgage deed, repayment of any existing mortgage, and land registry entries must be properly coordinated in terms of timing. Special attention must be paid to properties that are already encumbered by a lien. Well-prepared documentation protects the buyer, the seller, and the financing bank, and significantly reduces the risk that the transfer or the drawdown of the mortgage will be delayed.
We prepared this article for the Lidové noviny series “Law & Housing.” Be sure to check out other articles in the series:
For a standard mortgage, the down payment is typically at least 20% of the collateral’s value. For applicants under 36 years of age purchasing their first home, a 10% down payment may be sufficient for a 90% LTV.
This is typically difficult due to the LTV limit. In some cases, part of the required collateral can be provided by another property, but it depends on the bank’s terms.
Usually a few weeks. It depends mainly on the submission of the required documents, the property appraisal, the complexity of the income, and how quickly the bank processes the application.
Yes. For example, the original mortgage can be paid off using the purchase price, or—with the bank’s consent—the debt can be assumed.
When a secured debt is repaid, the lien is legally extinguished, but the entry in the land registry still needs to be deleted.
Once the statutory and contractual conditions have been met, the bank may proceed with debt collection and the foreclosure of the collateral. However, this does not mean that the property will be sold automatically and immediately.
Yes. Effective April 1, 2026, the Czech National Bank recommends that banks set the LTV at no more than 70% and the DTI at no more than 7 for investment mortgages.
First, assess your financial situation, compare offers from banks, and gather the necessary documents. Once you’ve selected an apartment, the bank will also evaluate its value and legal status. This is followed by loan approval, signing the contracts, establishing a lien, and drawing down the mortgage.
We provide comprehensive legal services related to the purchase or sale of real estate, including reservation agreements and escrow services. We can also assist with land registry and tax matters. We can handle everything within 48 hours, even when purchasing from a developer.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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