When does BDH pay the seller, and can the loan buy an off-plan flat or one without a title deed?

Also asked as: “How does BDH pay the seller?” · “Can I use a BDH loan for an apartment under construction?” · “Does BDH finance a flat without a title deed?” · “BDH loan for an off-plan apartment”

How BDH pays the seller#

In Lebanon a sale is signed as a notarial deed and then inscribed at the Land Registry, and ownership passes only on inscription^[4]. BDH waits for that. It releases the loan to the seller once ownership is legally in your name and it holds the original new title deed and the first-degree mortgage certificate^[1,2]. The money goes to the seller, not to you.

BDH's February 2026 Key Fact Statement appears to say that the payment is a wire from a bank outside Lebanon to the seller's fresh-dollar account, inside or outside Lebanon. We could not match that passage word for word^[1,2]. BDH's purchase page says the loan is paid only in cash in fresh US dollars^[1,2,3]. The two documents read differently, so ask BDH exactly how it will pay your seller, and tell the seller before you sign.

The gap before the seller is paid#

The seller has to sign the deed and let the sale be registered before receiving the loan amount. Your own share is at least 20% of the home's value as set by BDH's technical valuation, not the agreed price. If the bank values the home below the price, you pay the difference in cash^[1,2]. BDH does not publish when the down payment is due compared with registration and its own payment. Agree that timing in writing with the seller and check it with BDH.

No source says how buyers and sellers usually secure the period in between^[1,2]. Ask BDH what it expects, and have a lawyer draft the terms.

Be careful with money you pay before registration. Until the sale is registered you have only a personal claim against the seller, not ownership^[4,5]. See what an unregistered contract gives you. A promise of sale can be provisionally inscribed on the property's folio, which keeps your rank against a later sale or mortgage. Without that inscription it cannot be relied on against third parties acting in good faith^[4,6]. More on this in a promise of sale for a unit not yet built.

Off-plan flats and homes without a title deed#

BDH does not say in so many words that it refuses off-plan flats. Its payment rule needs a registered title in your name and a new title deed in the bank's hands^[1,2]. A flat that is not built, or not yet registered as its own unit, does not appear able to meet that rule. Ask BDH directly before you pay any deposit. Here is how an off-plan flat gets registered after completion.

BDH's construction loan is a separate product. You must own the land and hold a building permit, and the loan is paid to you in stages as building progresses, once the bank holds the title deed and a first-degree mortgage certificate^[7]. Because it requires you to own the land, it does not appear to suit buying a flat from a developer.

Age alone does not rule out an older flat. BDH publishes no maximum building age or price, although its valuation may still come in lower^[1,2]. See using a BDH loan for an old apartment.