How to buy a house?

Buying a house is very complicated, but it is also not. Aeroplanes are complicated as well, and lifting of might be scary. But with a pilot you just sit back and watch it happen.

The very first step is to know exactly how much you can actually afford. Not just in mortgage, but what are you capable of offering? As of today (may 2022) the housing market is still in a crazy phase. In most Randstad cities, a 10% overbid over the asking price is very normal. But sometimes the asking price is already extremely high, and in that case the 10% overbid is not necessary. When do we know if the asking price is already high? And if so, what do we bid then?

It is very important to know exactly how the market is behaving today. In which area, how much does one square meter cost? And how well is the house maintained? Does that even matter? Comparing Funda adverts might not be enough, to establish a bid. What we really need, is all of the transfer prices of the houses in the area. We can easily access this trough the landregistry (Kadaster.nl) or other sources that communicate with Kadaster.

After understanding the average selling price per m², we can also estimate the value of a property, based on the current maintenance, and location. Most of the times, the asking price is lesser than the value, to gain more views and bids. With a bid, you should also include if you’d like to do a technical inspection, and how long you’ll need to arrange your mortgage.

Once a bid is accepted, it’s important to start the mortgage process immediately. Even if you do not possess all of the necessary documents yet. In 2022 we are dealing with a lot of increases, and being a day or two earlier can save up to €20.000, in a span of 20 years. Before you make a bid, you already know if you can get a mortgage or not. However we always keep the clause in the contract to back out, in case the mortgage gets rejected. You can ask a pilot if the plane is going to crash; the answer surely is no, but does that mean you throw away your life vest?

Once the mortgage is finalized, there is still a 10% deposit to make, arrange a notary, arrange the taxes and insurances. In other words: a lot.