Decided to buy a house in the Netherlands? Congrats on taking that big step! Buying a house is a challenge for everyone but especially so for internationals who are navigating the process without fluent Dutch.
You have a number of hurdles ahead of you — so let’s make the process way easier by decoding some of the key Dutch terms you should know.
1. Te koop
These magic words are exactly where your journey to buying a home in the Netherlands begins.
Te koop means for sale — and as soon as you see that fresh cardboard sign stuck to the window, you better run (not walk) to your computer.
Given that there are more home-seekers than houses at the moment, these signs don’t tend to stay up for too long.
2. Hypotheek
This is another word that you are going to become quite familiar with once you dedicate yourself to buying a house.
In fact, it’ll probably start to feature in your nightly sleep-talking segment — and all your everyday grown-up conversations for the next few months.
So, what does it mean? Mortgage! Yep, makes sense now, doesn’t it?
3. Hypotheekakte
With every mortgage, there comes a hypotheekakte or mortgage deed. Think of it as a very important handshake between the person taking out the loan and the person giving the loan.
Of course, this handshake comes in form of a legal document. In this document, you metaphorically spit on your palms, shake hands, and give each other a nod that says, “I promise that if I can’t pay my mortgage, the loaner can take my property as collateral.”
The deed also contains the terms of the mortgage, such as when payments will be made, the mortgage rate, and the duration of the mortgage.
4. Taxateur
Unbelievably, a taxateur has nothing to do with taxes or taxidermy. Instead, it’s an appraiser: a professional who will carry out a valuation of your potential home and determine if the house is worth what the sellers are asking.
You’re best off familiarising yourself with the word because a taxateur is compulsory if you want to apply for a mortgage in the Netherlands.
5. Taxatierapport
Once the taxateur has used their magic to evaluate your home, they will present the taxatierapport.
This is a valuation report where you are usually presented with not only the estimated value of the house but also information such as the energy efficiency of the home.
6. Ontbindende Voorwaarden
While this term sounds quite scary to the non-Nederlander, its meaning is actually quite simple: resolutive conditions.
When buying a house, the buyer may present some resolutive conditions to the seller. For example, they might say: “I will buy your house — but on the condition that we get to keep the furniture in the kitchen because it’s super gezellig and gorgeous.”
More common resolutive conditions include financing: “I agree to buy your house unless the bank refuses to give me a mortgage.”
7. Schuld
Technically, “schuld” means “guilt” in Dutch. However, in the context of buying a house, this actually refers to your debt — which, we promise, you don’t need to feel guilty about, no matter what those Dutchies say!
Most people have some form of debt hanging over them, and mortgage advisors understand this. Don’t be discouraged, because telling your adviser that you have debt doesn’t necessarily mean your housing dreams are over.
8. Hypotheekrenteaftrek
While this may sound like a complicated and scary word, pretty soon, it will sound like music to your ears. Hypotheekrenteaftrek translates to “mortgage interest deduction” in English.
READ MORE | Types of mortgages in the Netherlands: Dutch ‘hypotheken’ explained
Put simply, it means that with certain mortgage types, you can deduct the mortgage interest from your gross income — meaning you pay lower income tax. Take that, Belastingdienst!
9. Fiscaal aftrekbaar
However, mortgage interest is not the only thing that can be deducted from your gross income. For example, mortgage advice or notary costs can also be fiscaal aftrekbaar, meaning tax deductible.
10. Bouwdepot
A bouwdepot is essentially a construction deposit. This is a loan that can be taken from your mortgage and then used to finance future renovations on your home.
Most of the time, your bouwdepot is set up during the process of establishing your mortgage, but in some cases, you can also be late to the party and set it up when your mortgage is already established.
11. Notaris
A notaris is not a thing, but a person. As you can see, when you buy a house in the Netherlands, there’s a lot of legal paperwork involved. This is where a notaris, meaning notary, steps in.
READ MORE | 8 steps to getting a mortgage and buying a house in the Netherlands for expats
Almost everyone who buys a home in the Netherlands will get a notary involved in the process. They ensure that you dot your Is and cross your Ts — but more importantly, they’ll oversee the transfer of funds during the sale of the home.
12. Bankgarantie
Bankgarantie means, you guessed it, the bank guarantee! When you buy a house in the Netherlands, you have to pay for the deposit on the house. Sometimes, people don’t have the money readily available.
In this case, you can use a bank guarantee to reassure the sellers that the deposit will be paid. Essentially, the bank vouches for you, and you don’t have to worry about having to use all your savings on the deposit.
13. Onder voorbehoud van financiering
If you see your dream house on Funda, but you find out that it’s onder voorbehoud van financiering then you need to manage your expectations. This means that the house has actually already been sold — but it’s subject to financing.
Basically, someone else has snapped up the home. However, they still need to come up with the money to pay the sellers.
If they fail to do so by a certain date, the sale won’t go through, and the house will be back on the market again — turns out that sometimes someone else’s loss can be your gain.
14. Studiefinanciering
In the Netherlands, students can take out a loan from the Dutch government in order to help cover the costs of their third-level education. This counts as student loans when you apply for a Dutch mortgage.
However, the good news is that most homeowners in the Netherlands once had student debt, and while it depends on just how high your balance is, this usually isn’t the only factor that could prevent you from getting a mortgage.
15. NHG (Nationale Hypotheek Garantie)
We really recommend that you familiarise yourself with this term. The NHG is the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee — and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
If you take out a mortgage with the National Mortgage Guarantee, you have a promise that the NHG will cover the remaining costs of your mortgage should you suddenly be unable to do so (due to losing your job, for example.)
16. Toestemming of vergunning van de gemeente
Sometimes, when you buy your dream home, it still comes with a few flaws that you need to change.
READ MORE | Gemeentes: what are Dutch municipalities and how do they work?
In this case, you may need toestemming of vergunning van de gemeente, which means permission from your local municipality. Bear this in mind if a big fancy extension is part of your plans for your new home.
17. Makelaar
While this word may make you think of some obscure object you would find in your Dad’s toolbox, it actually refers to a realtor.
Many people who are looking to buy a home in the Netherlands will opt to have a realtor help them in both the search for a home and the negotiation of their bids.
The best part of a makelaar? They often have the inside scoop into homes for sale that haven’t hit housing websites yet.
18. Makelaarscourtage
The makelaarscourtage refers to the brokerage commission you pay your realtor for all their hard work.
In the Netherlands, this is usually a cost that is calculated based on the price of the house, and it is, unless you’ve agreed otherwise, only paid when there has been an agreement between the buyers and sellers.
19. Bouwkundig Rapport
A bouwkundig rapport is an architectural report of the house. While it sounds similar to a taxatierapport, the bouwkundig rapport looks at the structural integrity of the home.
It will highlight any potential faulty points in the house’s structure — which could save you some moolah in the long run (and we all know how much the Dutch love saving money.)
20. Overdrachtsbelasting
Ok, so you might not like the translation of this one. The overdrachtsbelasting is the transfer tax you pay when buying a house in the Netherlands.
For houses, the transfer tax amounts to a whopping 2% of the value of the property, so be prepared to factor this into your borrowing power calculations.
21. De bedenktijd
One quite unique fact about buying a house in the Netherlands is that it involves de bedenktijd meaning “the reflection period.”
The process of placing a bid on a house doesn’t exactly allow much room for thought. However, once your bid is in and accepted, the reflection period allows three days to reconsider whether or not you really want to buy the house — or if the seller wants to sell the house.
This period kicks in after signing the purchase agreement and can definitely come in handy in this hot hot housing market in the Netherlands.
If you decide to withdraw your offer within this time frame — geen probleem. There will be no repercussions.
Got any more Dutch terms that you would add to this list? Tell us in the comments below!
