How much own capital will you need for a mortgage in 2024?
When you take out a mortgage, there are a number of costs involved. Since 1 January 2018, you can no longer co-finance these costs in your mortgage. You therefore have to put in your own funds to take out a mortgage. You should think of an amount of around four to six per cent of the purchase price. In addition, you can choose to deposit additional equity to reduce the mortgage and thus the monthly costs.
Mortgage calculation with your own funds
Found your dream house? With our handy calculation tool you can calculate within minutes whether you can afford the house and how much savings you need to put in.
What do we mean by own funds?
Your own funds are the money you have at your disposal to invest in your new home. Own money or own resources can be defined as savings or the surplus value from the sale of your previous home. You can also acquire your own funds through a gift from your parents or an inheritance, for example.
Buying a house without your own funds?
People often ask: can you also buy a house without savings? Since 1 January 2018, it is no longer possible to take out a mortgage without your own funds. Indeed, since that date, only 100% of the purchase price may be financed with a mortgage. Taking out a mortgage without your own funds has not been possible since then, as you pay the additional costs out of your own pocket. Do you have insufficient or no own funds? Then look at the possibility of a tax-free gift, for example.
Paying buyer's costs with your own funds
The costs that have to be incurred to become the owner of a property are also called buyer's costs (in Dutch: kosten koper, or k.k.). The buyer's costs consist of transfer tax and notary fees for the deed of transfer and must be paid from your own funds. The transfer tax is two per cent of the house price. Buyers under 35 who buy a (first) house up to and including an amount of €510,000 do not have to pay transfer tax (2024).
Notary fees can vary widely, but are on average around €1,200.
Other costs besides buyer's costs
Besides the buyer's costs, there are other costs to consider when buying a house, which have to be paid from your own money. We list them for you.
- Estate agent fees: you pay the estate agent fees for assisting you in buying or selling a house. These costs are also called estate agent's commission. The commission is usually a percentage of the final purchase price. You can negotiate with different estate agents about the amount of the commission.
- Valuation costs: to obtain a mortgage on an existing property, a valuation report is usually required. The cost of a valuation report is not fixed. Prices vary between valuation firms and estate agents and are sometimes negotiable.
- Architectural survey: it is wise to always have an architectural survey carried out on the quality of a (older) house. Hidden defects will then come to light. You will often get an estimate of the cost of possible repairs. A building inspection usually costs a few hundred euros.
- Costs National Mortgage Guarantee: are you buying a house with National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG)? Then you pay a one-off commission of 0.6 per cent of the purchase price (in 2024).
- Advice and brokerage fees: you pay fees for mortgage advice and the actual conclusion of the mortgage and related insurances.
Own money with a newly-built house
As a rule, you buy a newly-built house "free on name". In that case, you do not have to pay any buyer's costs (notary fees and transfer tax). However, you do pay construction interest: a compensation you pay to the contractor of your new home for the costs incurred. The amount of construction interest depends on your contractor.
How much of your own funds do you need?
How much of your own funds do you need to buy a house? We make it clear to you with a calculation example.
If you buy a house of €300,000 with National Mortgage Guarantee, you need to take into account the costs below. Many of these costs are a general estimate and may vary in reality. You can choose to buy a house without a buying agent and/or National Mortgage Guarantee: these costs can then be disregarded.
Buying costs
Transfer tax (2% of the purchase price): € 6,000
Notary fees: € 1,200
Other costs
Brokerage costs for purchase assistance: € 4,500
Valuation costs: € 500
Building inspection: € 350
NHG costs (0.6% of the purchase price): € 1,800
Advisory and brokerage costs: € 3,000
Total costs
By adding up the above costs, you arrive at an amount of € 17,350 that you need to put in your own funds. Are you exempt from transfer tax? Then it comes to an amount of €11,350.