Costs of buying a house in the Netherlands

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?

When you’re buying a house in the Netherlands, you’ll have to pay purchasing 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.

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.

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.

The costs of buying a house in the Netherlands are in general about 3% to 5% 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!

When you buy a house in 2023, 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:

• Tere's a one time exemption of the transfer tax for buyers aged 18 - 35 when the purchase price is under € 440,000. If you buy with a partner and only one of you is aged 18 - 35, the rule applies to his/her share of the house. 
• Investors have to pay an 10,4% property transfer tax for the purchase of a buy to let house.
• You don't have to pay transfer tax for a newly built house.
• You don't have to pay transfer tax if you buy an existing house from somebody who bought it less than six months ago.

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 € 3,500 to € 5,000. This amount can be a fixed fee, a percentage of the property’s value or a combination of both.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

If you buy a house in the Netherlands in 2023 with a purchase price up to € 405,000, 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.

What are the costs of buying an existing house of € 300,000 with NHG in 2023?

Purchasing costs

• Transfer tax: 0% = € 0
• Notary transfer deed: € 650
• Real estate agent: € 2,500
• Structural survey: € 450
• Bank guarantee: 1% of €30,000 deposit (10% of € 300,000) = € 300

Financing costs

• Mortgage advice from Hanno: € 2,195
• Appraisal costs: € 550
• Notary mortgage deed: € 650
• NHG costs: 0,6% of € 300,000 = € 1,800 

Total costs of buying a house: € 9,095. This is 3,03% of the purchase price.

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. 

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.