Buying a home can be a scary process to go through, especially in a foreign language. That's why a face-to-face meeting where you can talk about all of your concerns is the best possible start to getting your foot on the Dutch housing ladder, says Rob Wouters from mortgage advisory group Wouters & Van der Velde.
There are a bewildering number of companies offering mortgage advice to international workers in the Netherlands at present, but they often tend to focus on making a quick calculation about how much people can borrow.
"That's not what we do," says Rob Wouters from Wouters & Van der Velde, a boutique mortgage advisory group that has been helping expats buy a home in the Netherlands for over 20 years. "We really like to get to know our clients and understand their financial behaviour."
Wouters & Van der Velde invites all their new customers to a face-to-face meeting that lasts around one hour, during which Rob and his fellow advisors find out as much as they can about their clients and their financial expertise.
"We want to know where you are in your career, why you are in the Netherlands and how long you are likely to stay. We'll also ask if you have any experience in buying a house," says Rob. "And I tell them that if I was in a foreign country and I did not speak the local language, that I would be scared to buy a house. We know they are nervous, but we show them that we have got their back."
Buying a house in the Netherlands, says Rob, is about more than just the numbers. "It's about the procedures, all the things you have to go through," he says. "It's also about the future. They might want to have children, for example - and that could very well have an impact on their finances because they might want to work less. So I ask, for example, if they would be prepared to have fewer holidays if they have less disposable cash."
In general, says Rob, most of his clients are risk-savvy and understand the consequences of an investment like buying a house. "Your financial situation is not just about how much you can borrow from a bank," he says. "That can be a lot more than what you can actually afford - given your other obligations. The last thing that we want is for our clients to get into trouble when buying a house."
The personal get-to-know-you intake meeting is one side of the Wouters & Van der Velde approach. The other involves the unpredictable nature of the Dutch mortgage market, and helping clients understand why a particular decision might be the sensible one for them.
"A client who comes from a country where interest rates are upwards of 10% might want to fix their interest rate for 30 years because they are scared that the Dutch rate - currently around 4,5% - might go up," he says. "But we would explain to them why that would not be a sensible move in the Netherlands at the moment. In the end of course, it is always up to them and what they think is important."
It might sound time-consuming, but it is important that clients realise that they need to invest their time in the house-buying process as well, especially in the early days, says Rob. And they should start as quickly as possible as soon as they have decided to buy a home.
"The market at the moment is all about preparation," he says. "Houses are selling very quickly so you need to know how much you can borrow - and how much you can afford - as soon as possible. Buying a house is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make in your life. We are here to make sure our clients buy a home in the way that best fits their own personal situation.”
To find out more about the services offered by Wouters & Van der Velde, visit the website or get in touch via the contact form.