Step 1: Determine asking price

The question that comes to everyone's mind as soon as you want to sell your house is, "What is my house worth?" The asking price of a house is not the same as the value of a house. For example, every year the WOZ value of the house is determined by the municipality. This is an indication for the tax authorities. The sales value of the house depends on the current housing market.

Of course you want to sell your house for the best price. But what is the best price? An asking price that is too high leads to little or no interest, and an asking price that is too low comes at a cost. A realistic asking price lies exactly in between.

The asking price often includes room to negotiate. The desirability of the property, your personal situation as a seller and the search categories on funda.nl also play a role in determining the asking price.

You can of course determine the asking price yourself, but in most cases sellers choose to be advised by an NVM sales broker. An NVM sales broker comes by to inspect the house and records all the property details in a recording report. If it is an old house or if there are defects, the sales broker may advise to include certain clauses.

Additionally, using the NVM database, he compares the market prices of comparable homes in the area. Based on that information, the real estate agent can fairly accurately predict the value of your home. This selling advice is model-based. Of course, there are always current factors affecting the price that cannot be included in a model-based calculation. Consider economic or political unexpected developments, as well as other homes for sale in the street or neighborhood.

Together, the listing report and additional information about the home form the basis for the asking price that the sales agent recommends.

Duty of disclosure

As a seller, you have a duty of disclosure, also known as an obligation to provide information. This duty of disclosure obliges you as the seller to provide all information that may be important to the buyer. For example, you are obliged to let the buyer know if the property has any defects and what these are. 

Clauses

Sometimes the seller can include special clauses in the sales contract. You can include these clauses to protect yourself and to avoid being liable for hidden defects in the home. These are the most common clauses:

Age clause: In the case of an old house, an age clause may be included. This alerts the buyer to the fact that the home is of a certain age and the construction quality is lower than new homes.

Non-occupancy clause: If a seller has not lived in the house himself, a non-occupancy clause may apply, for example if the house is sold by heirs. With this, the seller indicates that they are not aware of all the properties of the home as an occupant would be.

Energy label

All houses in the Netherlands have an energy label. This energy label provides information about the energy performance of a home. The labels run from A to G. With an A label, you have an energy-efficient home. At label class G, there are many opportunities for improvement in energy performance.

There is always a provisional and a final energy label. In 2015, the government gave every homeowner a provisional energy label. The provisional energy label is an estimate based on data from the Land Registry. In practice, however, a home may have a better or worse energy label. Therefore, a final energy label is determined by a recognized expert.

When selling a property, as an owner you are obliged to display an energy label in advertisements in commercial media, such as funda, Facebook, local magazines. But also in the flyer or poster of the real estate agency selling your home.

Thus, the label should be present before the "putting on sale" so that it can be included in advertisements and the like. Since Jan. 1, 2022, the government has been actively enforcing this and, as a seller, you risk a fine if the energy label is missing. If you do not use advertisements, for example in private sales, it is not necessary to include a label.

The seller is also obliged - in addition to the above-mentioned obligations regarding advertising - to give the energy label to the buyer when the property is sold. To apply for the energy label, you must make an appointment with a certified energy advisor. 

The brokerage commission

If you decide to sell your home with the help of an NVM sales broker, you will pay a brokerage commission. This is compensation for the work he performs, the broker's salary. How much you pay for this is not fixed; the price varies for each NVM sales broker and depends on the services he provides. The fee usually consists of a percentage of the sales price, but you can also agree on a fixed price.

Step 2: drawing up the publicity plan

Just a sign in the yard is not enough to bring a house to the attention of a large audience. It takes more for that. Fortunately, there are many ways to bring your home to the attention of potential buyers. This is called a publicity plan and you can put it together in consultation with the real estate agent.

Funda

With the largest selection of houses, the most visitors and the most sold houses, funda.nl is the largest house selling site in the Netherlands. Almost 100% of all house hunters start their search on funda.nl. Placing your property on funda.nl is therefore highly recommended.

When your house appears online on funda.nl, it gets a lot of impressions. Therefore you want to present your house as well as possible. A good home presentation consists of a detailed description of the property, features of the house, a comprehensive photo shoot and information about the location and neighborhood. The more complete the home presentation, the better the home scores.

NVM database

When you put your house up for sale through an NVM sales broker, it will be included in the NVM database. This residential property database keeps track of the housing offers of all NVM brokers. As a result, all NVM brokers are immediately informed that your house is for sale and your house may match the housing needs of one of their clients.

Social media

Social media plays an increasingly important role in selling homes. Whereas real estate agents used to have shop windows or advertise in door-to-door magazines, this is increasingly shifting to online channels such as social media. There are even real estate agents who only sell through social media! Think of it as an online shop window, real estate agents place the property on various online channels and platforms that often have a large number of interested people from the region as followers. This way, your home gets extra (free) attention among potential buyers from the region and beyond.

NVM Open House Day

Twice a year the NVM organizes the NVM Open House Day. This day offers you the opportunity to draw extra attention to your home through viewings and promotion on funda.nl. Because all viewings take place on one day, you avoid having to put your house in order several times. You also get a better sense of how your house is on the market.

Step 3: preparing your home for sale

Selling a home requires good preparation. Think about a lick of paint or a good cleanup. These tips will help you prepare your home for sale.

Clean up

Now that you are moving anyway, this is the perfect time to tidy up your home. Throw out items that should be gone or temporarily move some furniture into storage. This will create space in your home and make it appear larger. Don't forget the garden either: pruning the bushes and removing weeds will make everything look a lot neater and cozier.

Cleaning

Visitors love a clean and fresh home. A good cleaning before the viewing can therefore not hurt. Make sure that the kitchen and bathroom in particular are clean and free of mildew. And air everything to prevent unpleasant odors. This will ensure the best start to the viewing. There are also special home perfumes on the market to spread a pleasant scent in the house. That way you don't have to bake your own apple pie anymore!

Repair

Rebuilding is often useless if you are going to sell your house, this usually does not yield the money you put in. Repairing defects does help. Flaking paint, loose door handles, screw holes in the wall or outdated caulk. Potential buyers tend to remember downsides better than pluses. Here's how to get ahead of them.

Remove personal items

Put away personal items such as photos and drawings. Viewers are more likely to feel like visitors and be distracted by this. A neutral look ensures that they already see themselves living in the house.

Construction drawings

Are there certain aspects of the home that make it difficult to sell? You might consider having drawings made by an architect that show the possibilities that the home offers. Along with an estimate from a contractor, the buyer has immediate insight into what the house could look like as well.

Step 4: The viewings

Viewings begin as soon as the first potential buyers have requested a viewing. This is usually done through the NVM sales broker. The broker coordinates and supervises the viewings.

The NVM sales broker agrees with you on the time of the viewings. You do not have to be there yourself. This makes viewers feel less like they are visiting, so they can better empathize with what it is like to live in the house. With a real estate agent, buyers are more honest and critical, which gives the real estate agent the chance to respond to feedback and suggest ways to rearrange or remodel.

The viewing is a good opportunity to find out why the prospective buyer is interested in the home and where additional questions lie. This information can be important for determining the strategy in the follow-up phase and, of course, in later negotiations. The NVM sales broker therefore reports on the feedback after the viewing.

Step 5: The negotiations

There are several methods for organizing the bidding process.

One-on-one negotiations

The negotiations start when you have received the first offer and make a counter-offer to it, or when you explicitly state that you are negotiating. As the seller, you are not obliged to sell a home to someone who has offered the asking price. You may decide to raise or lower the asking price.

You can negotiate with several people at the same time. So even if you are already negotiating, someone else can make an offer. The NVM sales broker then reports this to all buying parties.

Closed registration

Sometimes there are so many interested parties bidding or approaching the asking price that it is difficult to determine who is the best buyer. At that point, in consultation with the real estate agent, you can decide to start a tender procedure. With a tender, all bidders get an equal chance to make an offer. As the seller, however, you must first fulfill any previous commitments or agreements made before the procedure is changed.

Step 6: Signing the purchase agreement

When you and the buyer agree on the price, completion date, resolutive conditions and any agreements about movable property, then an agreement has been reached. The agreements made are recorded in a purchase agreement that your NVM sales broker draws up.

Together with the NVM sales broker you will go through the sales contract to see if all the details are correct and - where necessary - to give explanations. This way you know exactly what you are signing for.

Written requirement

The purchase is concluded when both parties have signed the purchase agreement. We call this the 'written agreement requirement'. A verbal agreement is not legally valid.

Reflection period

The purchase agreement goes to the notary and the buyer then has a legal cooling-off period of three days in which he can still cancel the purchase without giving any reason.

The three-day cooling-off period begins once a copy of the signed purchase agreement is handed over to the buyer. After this time, the sale is final, unless there are dissolving conditions applicable.

Signing can also be done digitally. Anyone who needs to sign can do so from his or her own computer.

Step 7: the transfer

The signed sales agreement and all relevant documents, together with a copy of your identity document, are sent to the notary. Once the notary has received the purchase agreement, he will set a date and time to sign the deed of transfer.

A few days before the delivery, the notary will give you a draft of the deed of delivery and a bill of settlement. Check carefully that all the details are correct. The NVM sales broker will help you with this. Keep in mind that the buyer has the right to inspect the house before delivery to see if it is still in the agreed condition.

On the day of delivery, you go to the notary with the NVM sales broker. At the agreed time, the buyer pays the purchase price and, if applicable, the price for the movable property you leave behind. The notary takes care of the settlement of business charges such as property taxes and water board charges. He also arranges the repayment of any current mortgage on the house and the payment of the bill to the NVM sales broker. The notary transfers the remaining balance to your account. You will receive the money after the deed has been registered at the Land Registry. This is usually one working day after delivery.

Then you sign the deed of transfer. Officially, you are no longer the owner of your house when you have signed the deed of delivery at the notary and it has been registered at the Land Registry.