Guides

Everything you want to know before you make an offer, in plain English.

• Buying a home step by step: from loan promise to ownership (2026) The right order: loan promise, offer, condition inspection, deed and payment, transfer tax, registration. This is how you avoid a binding mistake.
• Buying a home together: cohabitation, marriage and ownership shares (2026) In cohabitation a home divides by ownership, not automatically in half. Record fractional shares in the deed to match your contributions and put the agreements in writing.
• Condition inspection and hidden defects: what you do not see at the viewing (2026) An ordinary condition inspection is sensory and does not open up structures: it finds risks, it does not confirm damage. This is how you protect yourself from a hidden defect and complain in time.
• Housing company finances and share of the company loan: how to read whether the company is sound (2026) Debt-free price = sale price + share of the company loan. Read the loan share, the charge split and the manager’s certificate before an offer, so you know what the home really costs per month.
• How much mortgage can you get? LTV cap, down payment and stress test (2026) The loan-to-value cap is 90% (first home 95%), so you need roughly 10% of your own money (first home around 5%). The bank tests your loan at a 6% calculation rate. Here is how the maths works.
• Pipe renovation: when it comes and what it costs (2026) A pipe renovation costs roughly 600-1,200 e/m2 and comes due at 40-50 years of age. Here is how to see whether it is decided, coming, or already done, before you make an offer.
• Transfer tax when buying a home: 1.5 or 3 percent and when you pay (2026) The transfer tax is 1.5% on a housing-company share and 3% on real property. The first-home exemption ended in 2024, so budget the tax into every purchase.
• What does owning a home cost per month? (2026) The real monthly cost = interest + repayment + charge or upkeep + property tax + insurance. You judge whether you can afford a home from this number, not from the debt-free price.