Americans Buying Property in Netherlands

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

If I've understood you correctly, you may struggle to get a mortgage in the Netherlands; first, you have no credit history in the country and they won't accept your US records, so you won't get a mortgage.  Secondly, you will not be able to open a Dutch bank account unless you are registered as living permanently living in the Netherlands, to do that you have to actually live there.

The DAFT you refer to is actually a working visa, so you would have to set up a company in the Netherlands and work there.  Like all work visas, they are time-limited (2 years) and require a 4,500 euros investment for the duration of your visa.

If I've misunderstood you, then, by all means, come back with any further specific questions you may have.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi!

Thanks so much for your prompt response. I have spoken to our immigration lawyer and as far as I understand, we are able to work with certain international banks in order to get a mortgage in the Netherlands by providing proof of income here in the States. I have not yet spoken to a mortgage broker directly as yet but was told that there aren't really any restrictions on Americans (or other internationals) buying in the Netherlands without residency.

We were planning to put down a significant down-payment in order to secure the loan.

I may have been given the incorrect information so I really appreciate your feedback. I will look in to it further to see if I can get some additional information from a mortgage broker first.

Thanks so much, Cynic!!

Best,
Sarah

When you have a mortgage, your bank is not very keen if you rent it out.
To my knowledge you need to pay a certain percentage of the price in cash.

Hi again,

While you are talking to your lawyer, you may wish to also seek counsel on the tax situation.  If you live (resident) in Holland (basically for more than half the year) you will be assessed for taxes there on your worldwide income, this is in addition to any Federal/State taxes you are still liable for in the US.

There is a double taxation agreement in place between US/NL which basically means you won't be assessed for income taxes twice on the same income (assessed is the key word here, it doesn't mean paid - it allows you to take advantage of any income tax breaks still available to you in the US),

However where people like you and I get caught out are social taxes; these are not part of the tax agreement and you will be assessed for those on your worldwide income; social taxes are a considerable amount in the Netherlands; if you are below Dutch retirement age (currently 66, rising to 67 in 2021 and in 2022, it is scheduled to rise to life expectancy), you will pay 28,15% of your worldwide income in social taxes; there is currently a ceiling of 9,400 euro p/person.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat team

Hi Primadonna,

Thanks for your note- we plan to pay a percentage in cash upfront but I guess we need to figure out what the exact percentage requirement is for US buyers. We are looking for mortgage lenders and realtors to see if this is a viable plan for us!

Thanks!

Hi Cynic,

Thanks for your feedback on the taxes. Since we are not planning to move to the Netherlands till around end of 2020, I am guessing these taxes will not apply to us. Once we make the move at that time, we will be relocating entirely to hopefully start a business in the NL so our main (and only) source of income would be our business income in the NL. I will definitely be sure to discuss all tax implications with our lawyer once we are ready to make the move and apply via the DAFT for a residency permit for the NL.

Thanks once again for all the invaluable information- I really appreciate it!

I spoke with an attorney in NL about emigrating from the US. He stated the only way it could be done is if your spouse was Dutch and had citizenship, you were a student, and could get a temporary state. Simply packing up and moving to NL for residency is not possible.

Hello,

We purchased our Amsterdam house last year through a realtor
whom we recommend: Rob Schreuder, Beekman Makalaars
Address: Maasstraat 79, 1078 HE Amsterdam
Province: North Holland
Phone: 020 679 2020

You can get a mortgage but if you don't live here it will be a higher
rate. Otherwise, you need to show income.

Prices are high now for real estate, but no sign of any change.
If you want Amsterdam, there are lots of buyers and often you
have a short time to bid. Rob gives sound advice about bidding, but
you need to be here.

Good luck!

Lewis

Hi Lewis,

Thanks so much for your response! I appreciate the referral and will look in to getting in touch with your realtor. We are already talking to another realtor as well at this time but appreciate having options! Also, do you mind sharing which bank you went with for your mortgage? Our main concern for now is getting approved for the mortgage- my husband and I can easily show the income and put down a nice down payment but want to make sure we can secure the mortgage before engaging a realtor. Also, did you go through an advisor to secure the loan or did you directly contact the mortgage lenders/banks?

Thanks so much for any information you can share!

Best,
Sarah

PretzelLogic wrote:

We are USA citizens and would like to buy a home in the Netherlands as a second home which we will not be renting out when we aren't there. We will not require a mortgage and will pay cash.   Can we stay beyond 90 days if we own a home?

Put simply.  No.  House ownership has no relevance to your residency status.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Buying a house with cash is really something that isn't seen as normal in the Netherlands. Plus the possibility that you find a house here are slim the market is over asked by the huge demand for houses and too few houses on the market.

Also a lot of Dutch are pretty mad that foreigners are buying "our" houses, so be prepared for that.