Fast to view, slow to waive. A bouwkundige keuring costs hundreds and has saved buyers tens of thousands; keep the clause unless you can afford the building twice.

Financing as a foreigner?

Dutch banks lend to non-residents reluctantly and at lower loan-to-value. Cash or a home-country facility closes more deals.

Netherlands · EUR

Buyin Amsterdam

Buying in Amsterdam is a notaris, 2% transfer tax for residents, a bidding process with conditions to waive or keep, and an erfpacht file that decides the real price. Preparation beats speed.

Rotterdam

Notaris-verified path

WWS points checked

3D map

2% / 10.4%transfer tax: residents vs investors

Notariscloses every sale, no exceptions

Kadasterthe register that records your title

Indefiniteleases default to open-ended

What a purchase really costs

€450,000 home in Amsterdam

Overdrachtsbelasting (2%): €9,000
Notaris & Kadaster (≈1%): €4,500
Cash needed at the notaris: €463,500

≈ +3% over the price. Qualifying residents pay 2%; investors and second-home buyers pay 10.4% — the model prices the resident path, and an investor must add more than eight points to every line. First-home buyers under 35 may pay 0% up to a periodically indexed ceiling. A buyer’s agent (aankoopmakelaar) is optional and paid by the buyer when engaged.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

Open-ended contracts are the default since July 2024 — the two-year starter contract is gone.
Deposits cap at two months’ rent.
The WWS points system decides regulated versus liberalized: below the threshold the rent has a legal maximum, whatever the advert says.

Amsterdam applies the points cap far more often than Rotterdam does. Price the regime, not the postcode average.

Cities

Two cities, one notarial machine

Transfer tax and tenancy law are national; scarcity is not. Amsterdam’s canal belt and Rotterdam’s port districts are different products at different prices under the same statute.

View, bid in writing with your conditions — financing clause, structural survey, transfer date — sign the koopakte, then complete at the notaris weeks later when the Kadaster registers you. Waiving the financing clause wins bids and loses deposits: the standard 10% bank guarantee is forfeit if you cannot close.

The VvE minutes and multi-year maintenance plan tell you whether the pretty facade hides a five-figure roof assessment. Active associations with funded reserves are worth paying for; dormant ones are a bill with a building attached.

Under-35 first-home buyers may pay 0% transfer tax up to the year’s indexed ceiling. Investors pay 10.4% and should not run their math on the resident rate.

FAQ

How fast must I bid?: Fast to view, slow to waive. A bouwkundige keuring costs hundreds and has saved buyers tens of thousands; keep the clause unless you can afford the building twice.
Financing as a foreigner?: Dutch banks lend to non-residents reluctantly and at lower loan-to-value. Cash or a home-country facility closes more deals.

All markets: sivrce.com · Georgia marketplace: sivrce.ge · Prices and availability are published only when a verified listing exists. Market currency: EUR.