How much should you offer on a house? Setting a good offer

Step 1: know the most you can and want to pay

Start with yourself, not the house. Ask a mortgage adviser to calculate how much you can borrow, and add your own savings. Subtract the kosten koper (buyer's costs), as these usually cannot be included in the mortgage. What remains is your absolute upper limit.

Also set your own maximum: what is this house worth to you, given what it still needs in maintenance, renovation and energy-saving improvements? Write that amount down before you start negotiating. It stops you going over your limit in the heat of the moment.

Step 2: determine the market value

The asking price is the seller's starting point, not a valuation. So look at what comparable homes have actually sold for:

• Nearby sales: look for recently sold homes of the same type and size. See looking up a house's sale price.
• Price per square metre: divide the sale price by the living area. Make sure you are comparing the same kind of floor area; see the living area of a house.
• WOZ value: the municipality's estimate on a reference date more than a year back. Useful as a floor in a rising market, not as a target price.
• How long has the house been on the market? A house that has been for sale for months leaves more room to offer below the asking price.

Step 3: adjust for the condition of the house

Two houses in the same street can differ in value by tens of thousands of euros. Factor into your offer what the house will still cost you:

• Overdue maintenance to the roof, window frames, pointing or installations. A building survey makes this concrete with a cost estimate.
• Energy-saving improvements: a home with energy label E or worse often requires a substantial investment in insulation. See the energy label.
• Foundations: in areas with timber piles or on clay and peat, foundation repairs can be very expensive. See foundation problems.
• Asbestos in homes built before 1994: removal costs money. See asbestos in the home.

Step 4: mind the valuation

For your mortgage you have the house valued (taxatie). As a rule, you cannot borrow more than the market value set by the valuer. If you offer €20,000 above the eventual valuation, you have to cover that difference yourself. Overbidding is therefore only sensible if you actually have that amount.

A financing condition (voorbehoud van financiering) partly protects you: if you cannot secure the mortgage, you can dissolve the purchase within the agreed period. See ontbindende voorwaarden (get-out clauses).

The rules of making an offer

• An offer is not yet a purchase. For a private buyer, a home purchase only becomes binding once the koopovereenkomst (purchase agreement) has been put in writing and signed. See the purchase agreement and cooling-off period.
• The seller may negotiate with several interested parties at the same time. The estate agent must, however, tell you if negotiations are taking place with more than one party.
• A counter-offer from the seller means your offer has been rejected. You can then make a new offer.
• When there is a lot of interest, estate agents often opt for a sealed-bid procedure (inschrijving): everyone submits one offer, including conditions. The seller does not have to choose the highest offer.
• Conditions count. A flexible completion date or fewer conditions can matter as much as a higher amount, but weigh up the risk of fewer conditions carefully.

Back up your offer

An offer below the asking price with solid reasoning is taken more seriously than a bare figure. Mention the comparable sales, the points from the building survey and the cost of energy-saving improvements. A buying agent (aankoopmakelaar) can handle the negotiations for you and often has a better view of what is happening in the neighbourhood.

A property report shows you the energy label, year of construction, foundation risks, permits and nearby sales for the address in advance. That way you already know at the viewing which questions to ask and what your offer needs to take into account.