The Dutch purchase agreement: what to check before you sign

Put the draft purchase agreement (koopovereenkomst) next to your offer. Do you recognise the purchase price, the conditions, the transfer date and what was agreed about the fittings? Go through those parts yourself and ask for an explanation of anything that differs or is unclear. Assessing the contract legally is not something you have to do yourself.

The Dutch word voorlopig in the name of the contract translates as provisional, but your signature is not. The cooling-off period and the ontbindende voorwaarden have their own rules and do not replace checking in advance.

Details and transfer date

Start with the names, the description of the property, the purchase price and the transfer date. Put that date next to your financing and your moving plans. If there is a mistake in the draft, report it so that it is corrected before you sign.

Conditions that let you withdraw

For each condition, look up when you may rely on it, by which date you have to say so, and which documents you have to send with it. A financing condition can require one or more written rejections. A survey condition states which costs and limits count.

Work from the requirements in your own agreement, not from a general deadline you found online. How they work is set out in ontbindende voorwaarden.

Deposit or bank guarantee

Check the amount, the percentage and the final date. With a bank guarantee, ask how long the application takes.

On €400,000, 10% is €40,000, but your own contract decides which security applies. The payment or the guarantee has to be arranged in time.

The list of movable items

Compare the list with your viewing photographs. Check the light fittings, the curtains, the sun blinds, the appliances and anything outside. Have it recorded what stays and what you may be taking over.

Clauses and special rights

An age clause, an asbestos clause or a non-occupancy clause can shift the risk. Ask your agent or the notaris which risks the wording puts on you for this house. Read the whole provision. The name of a clause on its own does not tell you how it works.

With ground lease (erfpacht), read the conditions for use of the land and the ground rent as well. Ask the notaris which obligations you are taking on.

Penalty and cure period

Check what the contract says about failing to perform. In the model agreement, a notice of default with a period to put things right comes before certain penalties. So a delay does not automatically mean 10% falls due at once.

If a dispute arises, have your agent or a lawyer go through the penalty provision and the cure period in your own agreement with you.

Keep the signed copy and the message you received it with

Receiving the contract signed by both parties sets your cooling-off period. It lasts three days and starts on the day after you received that copy. Within it you can withdraw at no cost. Note that end date together with the dates for your conditions and your security in the same overview.