Buying a home in the Netherlands
Dutch mortgage rules are strict and the paperwork is unforgiving. This page explains how we work, what it costs and which risks we calculate for you. We advise in English; your written advice report is in Dutch, with an English summary on request.
Five steps, each with a beginning and an end
You always know what we are doing, what we need from you and when our assignment ends.
Introduction
A free first meeting of about an hour. We explain what we do, what it costs and what we do not do.
Inventory
Your income, assets, obligations, plans and how much uncertainty you are willing to carry.
Analysis
We calculate what remains if things go wrong, and whether the monthly costs fit your life.
Advice
A written report: what we compared, what we recommend and why the alternatives did not fit.
Arrangement
We submit the application and guard the deadlines until the deed is signed at the notary.
Three things that surprise people from abroad
Your contract type counts
A permanent contract makes everything easier. With a temporary contract, an employer's statement of intent or a so-called perspective declaration can still make it work.
- Employer's statement in a fixed national format
- Probation period usually blocks an application
- Self-employed: we need an independent income assessment
- Income from abroad limits your choice of lender
Conditions in the purchase contract
Dutch purchase agreements are binding quickly. The financing condition is your protection, and it has a hard deadline.
- Without it you owe 10% of the price if financing fails
- A bank guarantee or deposit is usually required
- Extending the deadline must be requested in time
- We tell you that deadline in writing and remind you once, a week before — watching the date stays with you
The property itself
Not every home is financed on the same terms, and some are barely financed at all.
- Ground lease (erfpacht) affects your costs and options
- Apartments: the owners' association is assessed
- Older homes: foundation problems occur in some regions
- Energy label affects how much you can borrow
What you pay us
We are paid directly by you. For mortgages and term life insurance, commission from lenders and insurers is prohibited by law, so our fee never depends on which provider you choose.
| Introductory meeting | € 0 |
| Mortgage advice and arrangement | € 2,950 |
| Term life insurance | € 495 |
| Income protection insurance | € 1,450 |
| Bank guarantee | € 250 |
| Hourly rate for separate work | € 145 |
The amounts above are the standard fees. A surcharge applies for income from self-employment, income from abroad, leasehold, an owners' association with deferred maintenance or foundation repair; your assignment states which one applies to you, or that none does. These amounts are fictitious; this is a demo. The full list of sixty-five services, each with an explanation of what it is and why it costs money, is on the Dutch fees page.
We calculate first, then talk about insurance
Insurance is not an answer to a risk you do not know you have. So we start by calculating what happens to your income in six situations, and whether you could still pay your housing costs.
- Incapacity for work — our standard scenario is 50%, calculated both with and without finding suitable work
- Death — can the surviving partner stay in the home, and do they want to?
- Unemployment — how long can you bridge a drop in income?
- Separation — can one of you carry the home alone?
- Interest rate rise after your fixed-rate period ends
- Retirement — if the mortgage runs past your state pension date
Statutory aftercare is free
We inform you about material changes to your product or its conditions at no cost: that is our legal duty and we do not sell it as a service. Beyond that we do not monitor your mortgage, and we will not warn you when your fixed-rate period ends: keep that date yourself. A subscription is a discount arrangement, not a monitoring service: you pay a fixed amount per month and pay less for whatever you ask us to do.
What our figures do and do not say
- Net monthly costs are an indication. You pay the gross amount to the lender. What you get back through your tax return depends on your income, the value of your home, your assets and that year's tax rules, so it differs per year and per person. You cannot rely on a net figure.
- How long you still have mortgage interest relief is an estimate. Relief runs for a maximum of thirty years per home loan, and that clock carries over from earlier years in which you had relief. We work with what you tell us about your housing history; we have no access to your tax records and cannot check it.
- We are not tax advisers. We do not determine your tax position, we do not file or check your tax return, and we do not advise on box 3, gifts or inheritance. Interest on the part of the loan you spend on something other than your own home is not deductible. For certainty, ask the Belastingdienst or a tax adviser.
- Buying together with unequal contributions? Who bears which part of the debt is recorded at the notary, not with us. Towards the lender you are both liable for the whole debt, and that is what our calculations assume.
If you are not satisfied, or change your mind
- Tell us first. We confirm your complaint within five working days and reply in writing, with reasons, within four weeks. If a claim for damages is involved we report it to our professional indemnity insurer, which can extend that period; we will tell you if it does.
- Then Kifid. If we cannot resolve it together, you can take your complaint to Kifid, the Dutch complaints institute for financial services, where we are registered under number 999.999999. Do so within three months of our final position, and in any case within one year of filing the complaint with us. You can always go to court instead.
- Fourteen days to withdraw. Did you enter into the agreement at a distance — by email, by phone or with a digital signature — then as a consumer you have fourteen days to withdraw without giving a reason, counting from the day after the agreement was made. If you ask us to start during that period and withdraw afterwards, you pay pro rata for the work done.
- The full procedure is in the Dutch documents: the service guide, the assignment agreement and the general terms. Ask us and we will walk you through them in English.
Everything in writing, before you sign
You receive our service guide, the comparison card, the assignment agreement and the general terms before any work begins. These documents are in Dutch. We will walk you through them in English, but the Dutch text is the one that is legally binding — a translation never governs the agreement.
Ask your question in English
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