Buying your first home can be a wonderful experience, and selling your first home can be just as exciting. Many people are unfamiliar with selling a home in a foreign country; however, excellent planning might save you nerves in the competitive Dutch market. To learn what steps you need to follow to sell your home, refer to our guide.
A real estate agent is your starting point
Hire a real estate agent who knows the local market and can explain your options. Working with a real estate agent is not mandatory but has considerable benefits. For example, an expert helps you set up a pricing strategy and selling conditions, arranges viewings, and deals with legal paperwork and negotiations on your behalf. Additionally, as the seller, you appear more professional in the potential buyers' eyes.
When employing a real estate agent, it is best to look for one of the following associations: NVM, VBO, and Vastgoedpro. These associations are a mark of the quality and education of the agents.
Set a schedule for selling your house
Your task here is to prepare the property for viewings. This means to make everything nice and tidy and touch up any damages such as broken door handles or missing tiles. Your real estate agent will also ask you to fill out forms about the state of the property, such as technical or construction issues.
Top things-to-do:
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Declutter, and consider putting extra stuff in a storage container.
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Get a house inspection if you want to find out whether there are any problems.
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Plan home repairs if needed.
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Deep cleaning is required.
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Stage the home.
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Hire a professional to take pictures.
Then, the complete listing goes on Funda.nl, the most popular Dutch housing website. Only listings published by real estate agents are allowed on Funda. Next, the real estate agent will schedule viewings with potential buyers, usually conveniently more on the same day.
Property valuation
To determine the value of your property, you'll need a licensed appraiser. Your real estate agent will also set an asking price based on the property's worth and marketing plan. One of the techniques used to sell a home in the Netherlands is to lower the asking price to make the offers more competitive.
Receiving offers
After receiving multiple offers, you choose the one that suits you best. Besides, your real estate agents help you negotiate the best conditions, such as the transfer date, which are crucial decision-making points.
Ready for the purchase contract?
To finalize the agreement, both parties must sign a purchase agreement. The purchase agreement comprises the significant components that you and the seller agreed on, such as the purchase price, financial clause terms, energy label, list of objects at the property, and the date of ownership transfer.
After signing, the three days cooling-off period begins. During this period, the buyer can change their mind and dissolve the contract without giving a reason.
Final inspection and transfer date
After the seller gets their mortgage approved, the final steps follow. The buyer inspects the property one more time before going to the notary.
The buyer can examine the home to ensure everything is as it should be, and now is the time to record the meter readings to cancel your utility contracts on the property.
Lastly, your final visit to the notary is scheduled. On this day, you will receive and sign the deed of transfer. Afterward, all you need to do is hand over the keys to the new buyer.
What if you still have a mortgage on the property you want to sell?
It is possible to sell your home while there is still a mortgage on the property. The notary will make sure the remaining amount of the mortgage will be paid with the earnings of selling the property.
If selling the property does not cover the entire cost, you must pay it from your funds. If you plan on taking out a new mortgage, you can find a solution with the lender to cover the outstanding amount.
Be sure to pay close attention to this, as the incompetency to pay may result in the bank blocking the property transfer. Read more about your options when buying a new home, or contact us for advice.
If you make a profit by selling the property, the amount that is left after repaying the mortgage will be transferred to you by the notary. You do not pay tax on the profit that you make. You could even pre-finance the expected profit before you sell the property if you have already found a new property to buy. This is what a bridge loan is for.
Your tax benefits as a seller in the Netherlands
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No capital gain tax upon selling- in the Netherlands, you pay taxes on the ownership, not the money that returns from your investment.
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No profit tax if you sell your property for more than you bought; the profit remains untaxed and all yours.
How long is the process?
After 5-15 viewings on your property, you can expect to sign a conditional buying agreement in approximately 21 days. Based on 2023 data, the process takes about two months from start to finish, with the initial preparations and legal work added up.
