Buying a property involves a lot! As an estate agent, we therefore receive many questions from potential buyers. The following questions come up regularly;
What is transfer tax?
When you buy a property, you pay transfer tax. It is a tax levied by the state. If you are going to live in the property yourself, you currently pay a percentage of 2% of the value of the property. If you pay €500,000 for the property, you should take into account a transfer tax of around €5,000. If you are going to rent out the property, after purchase, you will pay 10.4% transfer tax.
It is also possible to reclaim your transfer tax. This is possible if the property is resold within 6 months. Good to know; you do not pay transfer tax with new builds!
When are you exempt from transfer tax?
Starters with an age between 18 and 35 years do not have to pay transfer tax up to an amount of €440,000. (In 2022, this limit was €400,000.) Above this amount, starters do have to pay transfer tax. In previous years, this amount was lower.
If you buy a house together and one of the persons is older than 35 years, you pay half the transfer tax.
Why is a proposal without resolutive conditions so attractive?
If you buy a house in the Netherlands, with or without resolutive conditions, you have the right to dissolve the sale within 3 days of signing the deed of sale. After signing the agreement, you still have 3 working days of reflection time. When this period has expired, and the house has been sold without resolutive conditions, the seller can assume that the house is definitively sold, barring exceptions. This way, a seller does not have to wait weeks before security is offered.
The most common resolutive conditions are:
Reservation of financing
Reserved technical inspection
Reservation of the sale of your own home
Reservation of National Mortgage Guarantee
How is the value of a property assessed?
When a house is sold, it is important to put it on the market for the right price. When valuing a property or determining the selling price, the following factors are taken into account:
The location
This is a very important factor. The better the location (e.g. city centre, on a canal, in a unique location) the more heavily this weighs in the value of a property.
The state of maintenance
If a property is in good condition then you will definitely see this reflected in the value of a property. A new owner does not have to invest money to renovate the property. Houses that have been renovated and coupled with a good energy label, for example A or B, sell better than a house with a low energy label.
The WOZ value
This gives an indication of a property's value and is taken into account when valuing a property as a whole.
The market and comparable properties
A value is also based on the market at the time. If comparable properties in the neighbourhood are selling quickly and at a high value, there is a good chance that this also applies to the property that is yet to come up for sale.
What does a sales deadline mean?
A deadline for sale is often created when a sale is by tender. Potential buyers must make an offer on the property within a specified period. The seller sets a deadline by which all bids must be received. It is then up to the seller to decide who will be awarded the property.
You have seen a property you want to buy, you want to bid more than the asking price but by what amount will you overbid? What is the right tactic? Do you need help with this? Then contact one of our estate agents!
