Your offer on a house has been accepted: what happens next?

The selling agent calls you with good news: your offer has been accepted. After weeks of viewing houses, you are of course happy. But what happens now? Is the house already yours? Can the seller still change their mind? And what do you need to arrange?

I am a real estate agent, registered appraiser and construction advisor in Hoorn. Every week, I help expats who are buying a house in Amsterdam, Purmerend, Alkmaar and the surrounding area.

When your offer is accepted, it does not yet mean that you have bought the house. At that moment, you only have a verbal agreement with the seller. The purchase only becomes official once you have both signed the purchase agreement (koopovereenkomst). After that, you as the buyer still have a statutory cooling-off period of three days. The contract often also contains conditions that allow you to withdraw from the purchase in certain circumstances, for example if you cannot get a mortgage. The house only officially becomes yours once the transfer of ownership has taken place at the notary.

In this blog, I explain in twelve steps what happens after your offer is accepted, up to the moment you get the keys. You will read which deadlines you need to keep an eye on, who is responsible for what and what you need to arrange first. Want to know how the whole buying process works? Then also read my step-by-step guide to buying a house.

Is an accepted offer already binding in the Netherlands?

No. When you buy a house as a private individual, the purchase must be put in writing. This is stated in Article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code. So if you and the seller have only agreed verbally, the purchase is not yet binding.

This means that you can still withdraw from the purchase. But the seller can also still change their mind. As long as the purchase agreement has not been signed, the seller can, for example, still accept a higher offer from someone else. This does not happen often, but it is possible.

I therefore recommend signing the purchase agreement as soon as possible. After that, you can have the purchase agreement registered with the Kadaster (the Dutch Land Registry) through the notary. This protects you for six months if the seller tries to sell the house to someone else, goes bankrupt or if the property is seized.

When are you definitely bound to the purchase? Once your statutory cooling-off period is over, you can no longer simply withdraw from the purchase. You can then only get out of it if you can rely on a condition of dissolution (ontbindende voorwaarde) in the contract. Think, for example, of an agreement that you may cancel the purchase if you do not get a mortgage. Once the deadlines for those conditions have also passed, you can normally no longer withdraw from the purchase without consequences.

What should you arrange as soon as your offer is accepted?

Step 1: ask for confirmation of the agreement

Ask the selling agent to confirm by email what you have agreed. Have them include the purchase price, the transfer date and the conditions from your offer. This does not make the purchase legally binding yet, but you do have in writing what you have agreed on.

Step 2: check all agreements and conditions

Check carefully which conditions of dissolution you have agreed and when they expire. Also check which items will stay in the house, such as lamps and curtains. These must be on the list of items (lijst van zaken).

Also discuss at which notary the transfer will take place. As the buyer, you can usually choose the notary yourself, because you usually also pay the costs.

Contact your mortgage advisor that same day. Also make an appointment with a valuer and, if you want, schedule a structural survey. Preferably arrange this within the week, so you do not run out of time once the purchase agreement has been signed.

As a buying agent, I arrange these things for my clients. I check that all agreements are properly put on paper, keep track of the important dates and explain in English what the documents say. Would you like to know whether I can help you with this? Then you can schedule a free, no-obligation introductory call with me.

What is in the purchase agreement and when do you have to sign?

Step 3: the purchase agreement is drawn up

Once you agree on the price and the conditions, the purchase agreement is drawn up. This document is also called the koopakte or the voorlopig koopcontract (provisional purchase contract). But do not be misled by the word 'provisional'. Once the cooling-off period is over, you are in principle bound to the purchase.

Usually, the selling agent draws up the purchase agreement. A standard model is often used for this, drawn up by real estate associations together with Vereniging Eigen Huis (the Dutch homeowners' association) and the Consumentenbond (the Dutch consumers' association).

Step 4: check the purchase agreement before you sign

Read the purchase agreement carefully before you sign it. Check especially whether the purchase price is correct, when your conditions of dissolution expire, when you need to pay the deposit and on which date you get the keys.

Also pay attention to additional clauses in the contract. With older homes, for example, there is often an age clause (ouderdomsclausule). With this clause, the seller limits their liability for certain defects that can occur in an older house.

The purchase agreement, the list of items and the questionnaire the seller has filled in are usually in Dutch. You can ask for an explanation or a translation, but if anything is unclear, the Dutch text is decisive. So make sure you understand what you are signing.

Do you find it difficult to read all the documents in Dutch? In my blog about buying a house without speaking Dutch, I explain what you should look out for.

Step 5: the statutory three-day cooling-off period starts

The statutory cooling-off period (bedenktijd) starts the day after you receive the signed purchase agreement. You then have three days to reconsider. At least two of those days must be regular working days. If a weekend or a public holiday falls in between, the cooling-off period may last longer.

If you receive the signed purchase agreement on Monday, your cooling-off period starts on Tuesday and runs until Thursday inclusive. Within that period, you may withdraw from the purchase without giving a reason. You do not have to pay a penalty for this.

You may agree on a longer cooling-off period with the seller, but not a shorter one. The seller does not have a statutory cooling-off period.

When do you arrange the mortgage, valuation and structural survey?

It is best to arrange your mortgage application, the valuation and the structural survey as soon as your offer is accepted. These three steps often overlap. Your mortgage advisor needs the valuation report for the application, and the bank has to let you know in time whether you will get the mortgage.

Step 6: apply for your mortgage

The purchase agreement states the date by which you need to arrange your financing. This is called the financing condition (financieringsvoorbehoud). It often takes four to six weeks before a mortgage is fully arranged. So collect all the documents your mortgage advisor needs as soon as possible.

In my checklist of documents, you can read which papers you need to provide.

Step 7: have the house valued

You usually need a valuation report (taxatierapport) for your mortgage. A valuer assesses what the house is worth on the market. The bank uses that value to determine the maximum amount you can borrow.

Is the house worth less, according to the valuer, than what you offered for it? Then you usually have to pay the difference yourself. In my blog about overbidding on a house, I explain how that works.

Step 8: have a structural survey carried out if you wish

During a structural survey (bouwkundige keuring), a building surveyor checks the condition of the house. Think of the roof, the foundations, the installations and possible damp problems. Afterwards, you receive a report that shows which defects there are and roughly what it costs to repair them.

Please note: you cannot simply withdraw from the purchase if problems are found during the survey. For that, you need a survey condition (bouwkundig voorbehoud) in your purchase agreement and you need to meet the agreed conditions. If you have not agreed on this, the survey does tell you which costs you can expect, but you cannot cancel the purchase without consequences for that reason alone.

What happens if your mortgage is rejected?

Have you agreed on a financing condition? Then, under certain conditions, you can withdraw from the purchase without a penalty if you do not get a mortgage. You must, however, report this in writing before the agreed deadline expires. You must also be able to show that you cannot get financing, for example with a rejection from the bank. Sometimes the purchase agreement states that you must provide two rejections.

Did you buy a house without a financing condition? Then you can no longer simply withdraw from the purchase after the cooling-off period. If you cannot pay for the house, the seller can claim a penalty. In many purchase agreements, that penalty is 10 percent of the purchase price.

Do you notice that your mortgage application is running into problems? Then contact your mortgage advisor and buying agent immediately. Do not wait until the deadline has almost passed.

When do you have to pay the deposit and how much is it?

Step 9: arrange the deposit or bank guarantee

When you buy a house, you usually have to pay a deposit (waarborgsom) of 10 percent of the purchase price. You transfer this amount to the notary as security for the seller that you will keep to the purchase agreement.

Are you buying a house for € 450,000, for example? Then the deposit is € 45,000. The purchase agreement states the latest date by which you must pay this amount.

Don't have that money available, or would you rather use your savings for the buyer's costs (kosten koper)? Then you can usually arrange a bank guarantee (bankgarantie). The bank then guarantees the amount that you would otherwise transfer to the notary.

For a bank guarantee, you usually pay about 1 percent of the guaranteed amount. With a deposit of € 45,000, that comes to about € 450.

Did you pay a deposit yourself? Then it is offset against the purchase price at the transfer. So you do not lose that money.

Want to know how much of your own money you will need in addition for buying a house? Then read my blog about the costs of buying a house.

What happens in the last weeks before you get the keys?

Step 10: check the house during the final inspection

Just before you go to the notary, you walk through the house one last time together with the agent. You check whether the property is still in the agreed condition and whether all the items on the list of items have been left behind.

Do you discover damage, or is something missing? Then discuss it with the agent straight away, before you sign at the notary.

A few days before the transfer, you also receive the settlement statement (nota van afrekening) from the notary. It shows how much of your own money you still need to pay. Make sure this amount is in the notary's account before the transfer.

Step 11: sign the documents at the notary

On the day of the transfer, you go to the notary. There, you usually sign two documents: the deed of transfer (leveringsakte) and the mortgage deed (hypotheekakte).

With the deed of transfer, the house is officially transferred to you. The mortgage deed contains the agreements about the mortgage you have taken out. The notary makes sure the deeds are registered with the Kadaster.

These documents are in Dutch. Do you not speak enough Dutch to understand what you are signing? Then an interpreter must be present. Discuss this with the notary well in advance, so you can arrange an interpreter in time. The costs are usually paid by the person who needs the interpreter.

Step 12: you get the keys to your new home

After signing the documents, you usually get the keys right away. The notary then takes care of the rest of the process and the registration with the Kadaster.

And then the moment has finally come: you can move into your new home!

Frequently asked questions

Overview: from accepted offer to the keys

In the table below, you can see which steps you go through after your offer is accepted, when you need to arrange something and who does it. The times mentioned are estimates. Always check the dates in your own purchase agreement.

Your offer has been accepted: what should you do now?

If your offer has been accepted, you have not yet bought the house. First, you and the seller must sign the purchase agreement. After that, you have a statutory cooling-off period of three days. You also need to keep in mind the dates on which your conditions of dissolution expire. The house only officially becomes yours at the transfer through the notary.

So start arranging your mortgage, the valuation and possibly a structural survey as soon as possible. Also check all the dates in the purchase agreement, so you know when you need to have things arranged.

I am Esther van Dijk, real estate agent, registered appraiser and construction advisor in Hoorn. Together with my mortgage partner Mortgage Spotters, I help expats buy a house in Amsterdam and the surrounding area. From the first viewing to the moment you get the keys. On my website, you can read more about how I work as a buying agent for expats.

Has your offer just been accepted, or are you still looking for a house? Schedule a free, no-obligation introductory call. Then we will discuss where you stand and what you need to arrange first.