How to prepare for the house's delivery day

Have you already planned a transfer date for your new home?

This article explains to you how to prepare yourself for the meeting at the notary.

Buying your first home in the Netherlands is super exciting!

To that excitement, a pile of paperwork joins. Luckily, you hired great professionals, as a buying agent, mortgage advisor, and home inspector, to look out for you and to have your finger on the pulse during the whole process.

At the end of the bureaucratic procedure, comes the final house inspection and the transfer meeting at the civil notary office. Normally, both occur on the same day.

The buyers need to prepare and make sure they are ready for the meeting at the notary.

Please note! The final house inspection that (often) occurs on the transfer is different from the structural house inspection that a buyer may condition upon submit the offer.

Want to know how to prepare for the keys exchange meeting at the notary? Scroll down!

What are the main tasks a buyer needs to take care of before the house's delivery?

We gathered for you our top 4 important boxes that a buyer has to tick after signing the purchase agreement and before the transfer date. The first two apply only in the event of when the buyers, like the majority of house buyers in the Netherlands, are obtaining a mortgage. The two other ones are very recommended by most real estate agents:

1. Appraisal (taxatie):

The appraisal is carried out by the appraiser (taxateur) whom the buyer chooses. The appraiser determines the house's value and informs the bank. It is in the buyer's interest to carry out the taxation as

2. Mortgage:

It is customary that all mortgage procedure is handled by a specialist from the field. A buyer could freely choose to lend either directly from the bank or from an independent advisor. Each choice has its pros and cons.

One of the terms stated in a purchase agreement, in case a mortgage is involved, is the deadline of obtaining the mortgage approval from the bank. Before arriving at the notary on the transfer day, the buyer has to ensure that the civil notary office received the money on the purchase from the bank.

3. Structural home inspection:

That task is not mandatory, however, highly recommended!

It usually takes place right after signing the purchase agreement, subject to whatever the buyer has stated in the offer and signed on.

The inspection's goal is to discover issues and unforeseen damages that the buyer may miss with the naked eye.

The importance of having the inspection a resolutive condition is very high and always recommended to have as a safety net.

For more details about the inspection and its importance - find here.

4. Home insurance:

In most cases, having home insurance is conditioned by the notary to exchange the keys between the seller and the buyer, and is the buyer's responsibility to take care of.

Although it is the buyer's responsibility to make sure the house is insured, not all home-buyers have to purchase their home insurance. In some cases, it is taken care of by a third party and verified by the notary.

Which case applies to you? Find here.

With all these tasks, am I better off buying a house without an estate agent or not?

When buying a house, Diagonal Makelaardij's advice is to hire the best advisors you may find, as it is probably the biggest purchase you have and will do. It applies to all advisors you may think of - professional buying agents, mortgage advisors, inspectors, insurance specialists and etc. Don't compromise on the important support that you need.

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