The notaris when buying a house: choosing one and the cost

With an existing home you normally choose the notaris as the buyer, depending on what was agreed. Ask for quotes before you sign the purchase agreement, so the office you choose can be written straight into it. Get in touch right after signing, so the office can prepare its searches and the deeds in time.

There is no fixed national tariff. So compare quotes for the same work, and have it confirmed that the planned transfer date is available.

What the notaris handles

A house only passes into your name through a deed from the notaris that is registered at the Land Registry. In the Netherlands you cannot buy a home without one. The office checks identity, ownership and rights attaching to the property. It draws up the deed of transfer and, where needed, the mortgage deed, handles the money and arranges registration at the Land Registry.

For those checks you usually get a questionnaire. The notaris asks where your savings come from, with evidence, and whether you or a family member is a politically exposed person. They are personal questions, but the notaris is obliged to ask them. So send the form back as soon as you have it.

The notaris acts impartially and is not your own negotiator. You are free to ask what a clause in the deed means. If you want someone representing your interests personally, discuss that separately with an agent or a lawyer.

Compare the full amount

Put the quotes side by side and go through the same items for each office: both deeds, the Land Registry fees, the searches and VAT. Where there is ground lease, division into apartment rights or another special circumstance, ask which extra costs come with it. That way you are comparing the amount for your own file.

Check in your purchase agreement who pays which deed as well. As the buyer you pay the mortgage deed yourself. If it says "kosten koper" (buyer’s costs), you pay the deed of transfer too.

Look at contact and availability too

Ask who your point of contact will be and how you raise questions about the draft documents. Check that the office is available on your transfer date. A mortgage offer is often valid for a few months: have your adviser check in good time that its validity fits your transfer date. When you fix that appointment, allow for the final inspection as well, which you do before you go to the notaris.

With new-build a project notaris is usually appointed. What that means for your mortgage deed is in the questions below.

Supply documents and pay before the appointment

The office tells you which documents are needed. Use the route they designate for sensitive data.

Before the appointment you receive the draft deeds and the settlement statement. That statement lists every amount, and at the bottom what you still have to transfer yourself. Your bank pays the mortgage part straight to the notaris. Your part has to be in the notaris’s account before the appointment, or the transfer does not go ahead. Read the documents at home and put any clause or amount you do not follow to your contact. Verify the payment details directly with the office. How the appointment itself runs is in the transfer of the house.

What to do now

• ask for two or three quotes and put them side by side
• compare on more than price: contact, lead time, and what is and is not included
• have the notaris you chose written into the purchase agreement