Buying a house

1. Making a search profile

The best step toward finding your dream home is to work closely with a real estate agent to help narrow down your search. Our real estate agents will help you to determine your budget, preferred areas, essential needs and nice to haves.

2. Search for properties

Every day our backoffice will provide you with properties that match your requirements and preferences. You can then let them know which ones you would like to see in person.

3. Viewings

The real estate agent will accompany you during each viewing. It’s recommended to have them present, in this market as there may not be another chance to see the property for the second time. If you spend such a big amount on your investment you will need the best advice from your agent.

4. Documentation

When you have fallen in love with a home, it is difficult to remain objective and matter-of-fact. Emotions will start to play a role, making it more likely that you will overpay for the property. The real estate agent will ensure that this does not happen. The real estate agent helps to determine the best negotiation strategy and advises you on a realistic price.

Our real estate agents are experienced in determining the right price and have access to the database, where they can check the current market value of comparable homes. In order to calculate this price, our real estate agents study the documents of the property, such as the deeds, the VvE (the accounting and minutes of the VvE), the Land Registry, energy label, foundation, the leasehold and the conditions of the leasehold. The real estate agent will ensure that you are aware of all the details as homebuyer.

5. Negotiating strategy

What negotiation strategy to use depends entirely on the situation – not just the current market, but also the seller’s circumstances. For instance, has the seller already purchased a new home? If so, there is probably more room for negotiation. The real estate agent helps to determine the best negotiation strategy and advises you on a realistic price. When you are buying a home and entering into negotiations with the seller, your negotiations will not be limited to the purchase price. You will also negotiate the date of delivery, the movables and any cancellation clauses.

When you make an offer, you may not yet know whether you can secure financing, or may not know enough about the technical condition of the home. By including a cancellation clause, you avoid being stuck with the purchase of the property.

6. Preliminary purchase agreement

Once you have verbally agreed to the deal it's crucial to make it official by preparing a purchase agreement. This agreement can be drafted either by a notary or the estate agent handling the sale. The real estate agent will review all the details outlined in the contract as it often contains terminology that may be challenging for you to understand.

Once the purchase agreement is signed the mortgage advisor will proceed with arranging a mortgage for you. The bank may require an appraisal of the property as part of this process, which can also be arranged by our agency or the mortgage advisor.

7. Final inspection

A week before the transfer, you will receive a draft of the deed of transfer, deed of mortgage (if necessary) and a final settlement. On the day of transfer, you will first visit your new home before going to the notary to ensure the property is in the same condition as agreed in the purchase agreement. It’s also an opportunity for you to ensure that seller has moved out and that the seller did not cause any damage during the move-out.

During the final inspection, the real estate agent will check is everything is working and will make pictures of the utilities readers.

8. Transfer deed

At the notary office there will be an interpreter present to translate all the deeds to you. The first step is to go through the transfer deed (deed of ownership), which will officially make you the new owner of the property. After that we will discuss the mortgage deed if necessary.

9. Happy New Home!

Once you have completed the deed of ownership you will receive the keys to your new home.

Make sure that you choose the right real estate agent at your side to guide you through the whole buying process. With such a huge investment it is better to be smart and work with professionals, preventing making costly mistakes. The team of Real Estate Agent are committed to get you the best deal and helping you to buy your Dutch property in a stressless way. Even after the transfer we will be there for you if you have any questions about renovations, insurances, utilities and tax returns. We do our work with passion and that is why we focus on to make your dream come true.