There might be a lot of competition for housing in the Netherlands but with the right knowledge and tools it can still be a good time to find the right home or make your own property better.
The last housing figures from Statistics Netherlands suggest the growth in house prices has levelled off. Experts from the Rabobank expect there to be more availability of houses – restraining prices somewhat – because private landlords are selling properties that no longer make as much money under new rent control law. Interest rates have dropped, leaving mortgages more affordable than two years ago, even if prices are at their highest level.
Experts at Expat Mortgages now have a tool that can really help you win bids if you are competing in a particularly tough area: an insurance product that means you can make an offer without the financial clause to protect you if you cannot raise a mortgage.
The Secured Bidding Plan
Matthijs van der Heijden, mortgage consultant at Expat Mortgages, says the Secured Bidding Plan insurance can be a game changer. “One client of mine, just over 40 years old, rented a house all her life, has quite a bit of savings built up, but she’s alone and was looking in Utrecht for an apartment,” he says. “Right now, the market is absolutely crazy, and with her savings of €35.000, she was not getting her foot in the door anywhere because you need to overbid more than that. Together with her buying agent, in total, we did about 12 bids all to the absolute maximum.”
When she had almost lost hope, he suggested the Secured Bidding Plan: you thoroughly check your situation with Expat Mortgages and if you qualify, you can take insurance that will cover you for the 10% deposit if you fail to raise a mortgage (and haven’t chosen the ‘financial clause’ in your offer). A ‘Bank Garantie Zeker’ Certificate guarantees to cover this deposit up to €75,000 for a property worth up to €750,000, Expat Mortgages has 40 days to arrange a mortgage instead of the standard three-day cooling-off period, and you can use the insurance for several offers if needed.
“I was convinced that it was mostly the conditions that prevented her from buying something, because we knew that she had been within the top number of bids a couple of times before,” says Matthijs. “The VERY first bid that she made with the Secured Bidding Plan was a hit, her mortgage has just been approved, and she is preparing to finally move into her first owned home next month.”
The Secured Bidding Plan costs a €400 administration fee from Expat Mortgages; only if you are successful, the insurance is charged at €500 when the notary puts through your sale, plus €275 for the mandatory bank guarantee. “Especially for clients who have limited savings, this product is a perfect solution,” says Matthijs.
Home owners
What if you’ve already got a home but want to make some changes without the stress and hassle of moving? Expat Mortgages now has a partnership with Woonplan Holland, a sustainability agency that helps make homes more efficient, comfortable and cost-efficient to live in, and more valuable to sell in the future.
If you have had your home for a while, it has probably increased in value and so your loan is a smaller proportion of its worth. This means that even if nothing has changed with your salary, Expat Mortgages might be able to get you a better mortgage rate – plus an additional loan to rebuild, improve sustainability or invest elsewhere.
Woonplan Holland schedules a free-of-charge intake meeting at the property, an expert assesses the possibilities and will then give a 90% accurate quote. If this is agreed, there’s a technical visit by the appropriate installers (for example, for solar panels, insulation or a heat pump) then Expat Mortgages does the rest in helping raise the money.
“Right now, at Expat Mortgages, we are approaching existing clients who have bought something in the last years, and might be able to use some of the built-up equity which is ‘in the stones’ as we say in Dutch, to make their house more future-proof,” says Matthijs. “Not only is it a good investment purpose for the residual value in the house, but it can also be combined with other plans in terms of renovation. Why not do it all in one go?”
Interested in knowing more? Feel free to reach out to us, our advisors are happy to assist you with your questions!