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Buying a home in Denmark

Your home purchase is probably one of the biggest investments you will make in your life. Buying a new home is a joyful event, but there is also a potential risk associated with it.

There are many things to consider and the process can be stressful and overwhelming. Therefore, it may be a good idea to get help from a professional buyer's adviser. At "Hjælp til huskøb" we have many years of experience in assisting house buyers in this process.

As the housing market is screwed up in Denmark, there is a bias in the relationship between home buyers and home sellers.

 

On the one hand, you have the seller and the seller's estate agent. The seller hires a professional adviser who exclusively looks after the seller's interests.

 

On the other side you have the home buyer. Home buyers usually only seek advice when the deal has been concluded with the seller and a purchase agreement has been signed. It's usually too late!

 

When home buyers have to buy a new home, many have the opinion that the estate agent helps them with their home purchase.

 

But that is not the case!

What should your new home be able to do?

When you have to find a new home, there are many who believe that it is important to be thoroughly prepared before you look at the first home. It may therefore be sensible to consider what your new home should be able to do and discuss it in the family.

My experience tells me, however, that you only really get clear about what you value most in a new home when you have experienced some homes. What you think is decisive for choosing a home may turn out to be less important when you stand in the home. Buying a home is a complex process and there are many details that may prove to be important to you.

 

Therefore, I would recommend that you order some sales material on different houses, attend open houses or book showings of potential homes alongside thinking about what is important to you and what you can live with.

Some criteria that should be considered are:

  • Size and layout - can we be there?

  • Architecture and choice of materials - will we be happy to come home to and stay in the home?

  • Is it possible to change the size and floor plan of the home so that it meets our needs?

  • The location of the home in relation to shopping, schools, traffic, public transport, nature, workplaces?

  • Price.  Do you expect the home to be a positive / neutral investment within the time horizon you expect to own it?

  • Do we agree on our criteria? If you are a family that is going to buy a home, then it is extremely important to coordinate your wishes and hopes with each other. It's important to be honest about what matters most to you and why. You must agree 100% on what your future home should be able to do - otherwise you risk that the home purchase will be a negative process.

What can you buy a property for?

Buying a new home is usually not something we do very often. It is exciting and you can really be tempted by all the lovely homes that are for sale. In order not to be disappointed by what you can borrow money for, it is a good idea, early in the housing search, to get an indication of what your financial situation is and what your bank will lend you money to buy.

You should therefore contact your bank to get an indication of how much you can borrow and thus how expensive a home you can buy. Even if you had a calculation done at the bank ½ or 1 year ago, it is far from certain that that calculation is still relevant.

 

The banks' calculations are based on the current interest rate. The interest rate fluctuates from day to day, and therefore the calculation can easily be based on a different loan than the one that was the basis for the calculations last time. If your private situation has changed since the last calculation, this must also be taken into account.

 

If you already own a home that is to be sold in connection with your purchase of a new home, the bank will also include this in the prerequisites. Therefore, it is a good idea to have your current home appraised, so that you can form an overview of what your current home can be sold for.

 

Therefore, contact a couple of estate agents to get an idea of what your home can be sold for and what it costs to sell it. The estate agents make a sales budget (a calculation of what income and expenses are in connection with the sale of your home), so that both you and the bank can see what proceeds you are left with. 

 

The bank also asks you for a budget for your daily finances. If you don't already have a budget lying around, it's a good idea to get one made. Most banks have a budget tool in their online banking. If you create your budget here, it is easy to share with the bank advisor.

 

The bank must also use your tax information, pay slips and information about your / your pensions to be able to make the calculation. It is therefore a good idea to find these so that they can be sent to the bank.

When the bank adviser has reviewed the finances, you will receive feedback on the rent at which the home must cost.

 

The banks do the calculations in slightly different ways, but you can count on the maximum you can buy a home with a debt ratio of 3.5 – 4.5. (Debt factor covers how much you can borrow in relation to your household income. If, for example, you have a household income of DKK 500.00, you will have a debt factor of 4 if you borrow DKK 2 million)._cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
 

Housing search

Many find their new home via housing search sites such asThe housing sideorResidence. Here you can find out which homes are for sale in which areas and you can get an overview of the price level. This is a really good place to start, as you can find "almost" all the homes that are for sale on the Danish market.

However, many real estate agents also work with "drawer cases". These are houses that are for sale, but where the sellers do not want them to be advertised publicly. Therefore, it may be a good idea to contact the estate agents in the areas you are looking for a home in, in order to be kept up to date on the drawer cases the estate agents have for sale.

When you have started the house hunt, it is also a good idea to find out who you want to use as an adviser in the transaction. Your buyer's adviser can help you even before you have found your next home. Help for buying a house offers, among other things, to help with both screening of the property's documents before showings and with negotiating price and terms with the seller's estate agent.

When you are properly prepared, it is time for the next step in the house hunt, which is about the presentation.

Buy the new home

When you have found the home that will be your new home, it is time to get the home bought.

My recommendation is to get professional help negotiating with the seller's estate agent. At Help to buy a house, I offer to help you with the price negotiation in 2 different ways:

  • I am responsible for the price negotiation on your behalf

  • I arm you with arguments that you yourself are responsible for the negotiation with the seller's estate agent

Once the price and terms have been negotiated, the seller's estate agent will ask you for your information so that they can draw up a purchase agreement. The information the estate agent must use is:

  • The names of all the buyers

  • Address, telephone number and e-mail

  • Cpl. number (Must be used to register the deed)

  • Who your buyer adviser is (here I would recommend using Help for house purchases)

  • Who your bank is and who is your contact person at the bank

The purchase agreement is the most important document of the transaction, so it must be signed by the seller and you, of course. Today, this signature usually takes place online. In some cases the seller's realtor will review the purchase agreement with you and in some cases the realtor will not review it with you.

If you are in doubt as to whether you should sign the purchase agreement, you cansend the purchase agreement to Help for house purchases via this link. I then review the agreement and return within 2 hours on weekdays with an analysis of whether it is safe to sign the agreement.

If the seller's real estate agent has inserted a reservation for my approval of the deal, you can safely sign.You can see what should be written and where it should be written by following this link.

When the purchase agreement is signed by both parties, yourstatutory right of withdrawal. It lasts for 6 working days after signing the purchase agreement. At the same time, my approval period runs. If you regret your home purchase based on my advice, it will be free for you to regret the home purchase.

When you have signed the purchase agreement, we will hold an online meeting where I will review the property and the property's conditions with you, so that you are completely clear about what you are about to buy. For the meeting, I have prepared a presentation for you, which you can save and refer to if you have doubts about anything.

If there are conditions in the material or properties that we cannot accept or that require elaboration, I have the option of getting the seller and the seller's estate agent to elaborate on these or change the agreement. With this, you are sure to avoid unpleasant surprises with the purchased home.

When your bank and I have approved the deal, they say the deal is final. This means that you have now bought the property. After that, it's just a matter of looking forward to the takeover day, when you will receive the keys to the property.

Get professional help to complete the transaction

Buying a home can be a stressful and overwhelming process, but it doesn't have to be. With the help of "Hjælp til huskøb" you can save time and effort, make better decisions and get professional support throughout the deal.

 

Contact me today for a no-obligation chat about how I can help you with your house purchase.

The phases of the home purchase

With Help for buying a house by your side, you get one contact person who knows you and the housing market, and who is with you every step of the way – so you get the best deal on the best terms

Help to buy a house does a free purchase screening before the showing, so you know what to look for.

1 | Find your dream home

Let a professional handle the negotiation for you. We negotiate the best deal in place for you.

2 | Get the deal in place

Your buyer's adviser reviews all the property's documents and advises you on the contents. You get peace of mind and security and save time and money with our impartial advice.

3 | Get advice on the purchase

Sit back safely and dream of your new home - Help for house buying has control over the buying process.​

4| Prepare the move

Got a question?

Then you have landed in the right place

With over 20 years of experience under my belt, I can guarantee you a safe and easy home purchase.

 

Contact me for a non-binding chat about what I can help you with.

Call 9393 0678

Portræt af Nicolai Vinum
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