Deposit or bank guarantee when buying a Dutch home

Your purchase agreement states what amount you have to arrange with the notaris after signing, and by what date. It is often 10% of the purchase price. On €450,000 that comes to €45,000.

You either transfer that amount yourself as a deposit (waarborgsom), or you have your bank issue a guarantee, so you do not have to transfer it yourself. The choice depends on how much of your savings you can do without for a while and what the guarantee costs.

A deposit means paying earlier

You transfer the amount to the notaris’s client account (derdengeldenrekening). That is the account where the office holds money for the transfer. If the purchase goes through normally, the notaris sets the deposit off in the settlement.

In effect you pay part of the purchase price in advance. Before you transfer it, check what you still need from your savings for the purchase costs and any work on the house. You cannot use the money held by the notaris for that in the meantime. The seller pays you no interest on it; if the notaris pays interest, it is yours.

A bank guarantee keeps your savings available

A bank or insurer promises in writing to pay the amount to the notaris if you do not go through with the purchase. You then do not have to transfer it to the notaris yourself.

You usually pay a fee for that guarantee, and it differs per provider. Among the providers we checked in October 2026 it was up to 1% of the guaranteed amount, so up to €450 on €45,000. Others charge a lower fixed fee, or include the guarantee in the arrangement fees for your mortgage. Ask your own provider for the amount in euros and the conditions.

If you have the savings available and do not need them for now, compare the interest you lose by transferring a deposit with the guarantee fee. If you need the money for your own contribution, take that availability into account in your choice.

What happens if the purchase goes through, or does not

At transfer you see the deposit set off on the settlement statement. Whatever is not set off is paid back to you. If you had a bank guarantee, the notaris tells the bank after the transfer that it can lapse.

If you withdraw with a valid appeal to a condition precedent, your financing condition for example, you get back what you transferred and your guarantee is not called on.

If you fail to go through with the purchase without a valid reason, the seller can first put you in default in writing. If you still do not perform within the period in your purchase agreement, eight days in the standard model, the seller can dissolve the agreement and claim a penalty: in that model 10% of the purchase price. The notaris pays it out of your deposit, or out of what the bank pays under the guarantee.

So a bank guarantee does not take that penalty away from you: the bank pays the amount to the notaris, who pays the seller from it, and you then owe the bank or insurer that gave the guarantee. In a dispute, have a lawyer assess what this means for you.

Fix the date from your contract now

Look up in your purchase agreement when the amount has to be arranged. A deposit has to be credited to the notaris’s account on that day, not just sent by you. You usually apply for a bank guarantee with the party you take your mortgage with, and they only issue it once your mortgage application has been assessed. So start the application or the payment well before that date.

Put the date next to your financing condition as well, and check before signing that the deadlines in your purchase agreement fit together. If the amount has to be in place before your financing needs to be settled, you tie up money or pay guarantee fees for a purchase that could still fall through. Discuss that order before signing, so you know when you will be tying up money or incurring costs.

Call the notaris office yourself to have the payment instructions confirmed, on a number you looked up yourself and not one from the email. Especially if you are told the account number has changed. That way you know you have the office’s own instructions.