Thinking about buying a house in the Netherlands? Perhaps you’ve already used an online mortgage calculator to calculate your maximum Dutch mortgage. That’s a great first step! But you can’t buy a home with only a mortgage in the Netherlands. You also need savings
to pay the purchasing costs and financing costs. How much money do you need to buy a house in the Netherlands? What are the extra costs when buying a house? When you’re buying a house in the Netherlands, you’ll have to paypurchasing costs and financing costs. Purchasing costs or closing costs are costs you make to purchase the house, such as fees for a real estate agent, transfer tax and the costs of the notary transfer deed. These costs are known as ‘kosten koper’ or ‘k.k.’ You also have to pay financing costs to finance your new house, like mortgage advice fees, valuation costs and costs for the notary mortgage deed. Buying a new-built house? Please note that (most) purchasing costs only apply to
existing homes. If you buy a new build home, you don’t have to pay transfer tax or get a transfer deed. In Dutch this is called ‘vrij op naam’ or ‘v.o.n.’ In most cases you also don’t need to hire a real estate agent or get a technical building inspection. Savings to pay the purchasing and financing costs In the Netherlands you can finance up to 100% of the market value of a property. This means that you can’t include the purchasing costs and financing costs in your
mortgage, and you’ll have to pay them out of your own pocket. How much are the costs of buying a house? The costs of buying a house in the Netherlands are in general about 5 to 6% of the purchase price of a house. How much exactly depends on the purchase price of the property and the fees you pay your advisors, like your real estate agent, mortgage advisor and notary. These fees vary a lot between different providers and some are negotiable!
Free webinar 'how to buy a house in the Netherlands' Register now Purchasing costs of buying a house Transfer tax When you buy a house, you’ll have to pay the government a property transfer tax of 2% of the purchase price (‘overdrachtsbelasting’). However, there are several exceptions to this rule:
Real estate agent fee To improve your chances of buying a house at the tight Dutch housing market, you can hire an estate broker (‘makelaar’) to represent you in the home buying process. An estate agent can help you with setting up home viewings, putting in offers and negotiating on the purchase price. Depending on the services they provide you with, you pay an estate agent € 2,500 to € 4,000. This amount can be a fixed fee, a percentage of the property’s value or a combination of both. Technical building inspection You may want to get a structural survey (‘bouwkundige keuring’) to check the condition of your new house. A structural survey, also called a home inspection or technical survey, may reveal hidden structural issues. By taking a structural survey you decrease the risk of buying a house with hidden problems. A structural survey will cost you about € 500. Notary fee of the transfer deed When buying an existing house in the Netherlands, a notary (‘notaris’) has to draw up a transfer deed (‘akte van levering’). This is a contract that transfers the ownership of the house from the seller to you. Combined with the mortgage deed (one of the financing costs), the notary fees vary between € 1,000 to € 2,000. Bank guarantee After signing the preliminary purchase contract (‘voorlopig koopcontract’), you’ll need to pay the seller a deposit of
10% of the purchase price of the property. If you don’t have enough savings, you can get a bank guarantee (‘bankgarantie’). In general this will cost you 1% of the amount of the guarantee. Financing costs of buying a home Mortgage advice fees Most people need a mortgage to finance their house (‘hypotheekadvies’). Mortgage advice fees for expat mortgages differ a lot, from € 2,000 to more than € 4,500. Hanno’s advisors are happy to help you get a mortgage
and charge a very competitive mortgage fee starting from € 1.945. Notary fee for the mortgage deed If you get a mortgage you need a notary to draw up a mortgage deed (‘hypotheekakte’). This is a contract between you and the mortgage lender, using your house as collateral for your mortgage.
Combined with the transfer deed that you need for existing houses, general notary fees vary between € 1,000 and € 2,000. Appraisal costs Every mortgage lender requires an appraisal report (‘taxatierapport’) in which your new property is vaulted by an official appraiser. You need this report to get your mortgage approved. A valuation will cost you about € 500. NHG costs If you buy a house in the Netherlands in 2022 with a purchase price up
to € 355,000, you can get a mortgage with NHG (‘Nationale Hypotheek Garantie’). This is a governmental guarantee repayment system that helps you pay your mortgage due to divorce, unemployment or the inability to work. You’ll pay NHG a fee of 0,6% of your total mortgage amount. Calculation example: costs of buying a house What are the costs of buying an existing house of € 300,000 with NHG in 2022? Purchasing costs
Financing costs
Total costs of buying a house: € 9,145. This is 3,05% of the purchase price. Tax deductible costs of buying a house Some of the costs of buying a house are tax deductible in the Netherlands. You can deduct them of your taxable income, which will decrease the amount of taxes you’ll have to pay. Most financing costs of buying a house, like the fee you pay the mortgage advisor and your appraisal costs, are tax-deductible. However, the purchase costs, like the transfer
tax and real estate agent fee, are not tax-deductible. A tailor-made calculation of the costs of buying a house Do you want a tailor-made calculation of your maximum Dutch mortgage and budget to buy a house in the Netherlands? Please contact Hanno for an appointment with a mortgage advisor. Free of charge and without obligation. We’re happy to help you buy your dream house. Read more about Dutch mortgages |