What is in a purchase agreement?
A purchase agreement sets out the parties, the home, the purchase price and the resolutive conditions (ontbindende voorwaarden). The completion date is also part of it, sometimes along with a deposit (waarborgsom) or bank guarantee. Together, these elements record what you are buying and on what conditions. That way you know exactly where you stand in advance.
Below, you can look up what each standard element covers for you.
Element | What it covers |
|---|---|
Parties | Who the buyer is and who the seller is, with name and address. |
The home | Which property you are buying, with address and cadastral details. |
Purchase price | The amount you pay and whether movable property is included. |
Resolutive conditions | When you can get out of the purchase free of charge, such as when you cannot get financing. |
Completion | The date of transfer at the notary and the condition of the home. |
Deposit or bank guarantee | The security you provide as the buyer, usually 10% of the purchase price. |
Many purchase contracts follow a model purchase agreement. Vereniging Eigen Huis and the Consumentenbond agreed on this format with three estate agents' organisations. A model like this is only the framework. After all, you agree the price, the date and the conditions yourself. You can check whether everything is correct with our purchase contract checklist. One arrangement that often comes up is the deposit. It is usually 10% of the purchase price and is held by the notary.
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When is a purchase contract valid?
A purchase contract only becomes binding once both the buyer and the seller have signed it. A verbal agreement or an offer via WhatsApp does not yet bind you. This is called the written-form requirement, laid down in Article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). Since 2003, a private individual has been required to enter into the purchase of a home in writing.
For you as a first-time buyer, this means two things. A promise made over the phone does not yet commit you to anything. At the same time, the seller can accept a higher offer as long as nothing has been signed. Only with a signed contract is the purchase legally binding. As a result, you know exactly from what moment you have rights.
What is the difference between a provisional and a final purchase contract?
The difference lies only in the stage, not in how binding it is. A provisional purchase contract (voorlopig koopcontract) is therefore just as binding as the final transfer deed. Only during the statutory cooling-off period (wettelijke bedenktijd) can you still withdraw from it. This makes the word 'provisional' misleading, because it says nothing about whether the contract is non-binding.
Provisional purchase contract | Final transfer deed |
|---|---|
Comes first, just after the purchase has been agreed. | Follows later, at the transfer. |
Is signed by the buyer and the seller. | Is drawn up and executed by the notary. |
Binding, except during the cooling-off period. | Makes the transfer of ownership final. |
Records the arrangements on price and conditions. | Transfers ownership into your name. |
So the term only refers to the stage in the buying process. The purchase contract comes first. The notary then draws up the transfer deed (akte van levering) at the time of the transfer. Until that moment the contract is called provisional, but the arrangements in it are already fixed. Many first-time buyers think they can still look around freely after signing. That is not the case, because only within the cooling-off period can you still withdraw free of charge.
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Why do you have a purchase contract registered with the Land Registry (Kadaster)?
You have a purchase contract registered with the Land Registry to protect your purchase. As a result, you are protected for six months against a double sale, seizure or bankruptcy. This registration in the public registers is called Vormerkung and is set out in Article 7:3 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW).
The protection works simply. If the seller sells the home to someone else in the meantime, your purchase takes precedence. If the seller goes bankrupt before the key is handed over, you are still protected. For first-time buyers, that is reassuring. After all, there are often a few months between signing and the transfer.
The notary arranges the registration, not homeup. As a buying agent, however, we do advise you to have this done. Read more about what the notary does when you buy a house.
How long is the cooling-off period after signing?
After signing, as a private buyer you have a statutory cooling-off period of three days. During that period, you can withdraw from the purchase without giving a reason. The period starts on the day after you have received the signed contract. These three days give you breathing space to look at everything again. If you do decide to withdraw from the purchase, send a written cancellation in good time. You can read exactly how the days are counted under the statutory cooling-off period.
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How do you dissolve a purchase agreement?
You dissolve a purchase agreement through the cooling-off period or through a resolutive condition. Neither route costs you anything if you keep to the deadline. Outside those routes, you often pay a penalty.
These are the two situations after the cooling-off period:
- Dissolving through a resolutive condition
- Withdrawing without a resolutive condition
Dissolving through a resolutive condition
After the cooling-off period, you can only dissolve the agreement if an agreed condition is not met. The most commonly used one is the financing condition (financieringsvoorbehoud). With it, you dissolve the purchase if the mortgage does not come through. When buying your first home, this condition protects you against a rejected mortgage application. You always record it in writing with the seller. That is why you can include a financing condition in your offer. Pay attention to the financing period, which is often six to eight weeks.
Withdrawing without a resolutive condition
After the cooling-off period, you cannot get out of the purchase free of charge without a valid condition. Many purchase contracts then provide for a penalty, often 10% of the purchase price. For a home of €400,000, that is €40,000. You pay that penalty to the seller, and your deposit often already covers it. So if you have doubts about the purchase, use the cooling-off period and do not wait any longer. Read the contract carefully before signing, because it states the exact penalty.
How does homeup help you with the purchase agreement?
As a buying agent, homeup checks your purchase agreement before you sign. That way you can be sure that all the arrangements and resolutive conditions are correctly set out. We do not draw up the contract; that is done by the selling agent or the notary.
This is what you get with homeup:
- A legal document check is included with a buying agent on the open market. That support costs €2,999.
- You only pay at the key handover, so not when you sign.
- A mortgage certificate is arranged by homeup, so your financing is in place before you start searching.
- All buyers on the homeup platform are financially screened in advance.
- Buyers with homeup buy a home three months faster on average.
Take a look at our purchase guidance, or contact us for personal advice.
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