4 ms·
This is desperately needed. And not just in the major cities; this is happening in every Dutch town. Amsterdam may have prices beyond absurd, but the whole nati
by Freak_NL 5y ago
This is desperately needed. And not just in the major cities; this is happening in every Dutch town. Amsterdam may have prices beyond absurd, but the whole nation is burdened by this problem.
In the street I live in the capital of the northern province of Fryslân (Frisia) most homes are owned by their inhabitants, but in the past few years we've seen several houses being bought by small-time investors (who already own their own home of course, are financially well on their way, and are looking for ways to save their saving from low interest rates and inflation), who charge renters four times what my fellow homeowners and I pay for mortgage.
You never get to know the renters, because they are really only here for as long as nothing better comes along (like buying a house or social housing), and who can blame them?
Meanwhile maintenance of these houses is minimal, because the market won't really reward proper upkeep at this point; they can always sell the house for an insane price tomorrow.
It's really upsetting to see my younger colleagues stuck renting a flat, while I own my house having even paid of the vast majority of the mortgage simply because I had the luck of buying it in 2013 (a major dip in the market where paying less than the listed price was common).
For the good of society we need to put a stop to this type of speculation on the housing market.
- beckman466 5y ago> In the street I live in the capital of the northern province of Fryslân (Frisia) most homes are owned by their inhabitants, but in the past few years we've seen several houses being bought by small-time investors (who already own their own home of course, are financially well on their way, and are looking for ways to save their saving from low interest rates and inflation), who charge renters four times what my fellow homeowners and I pay for mortgage. specifically the last part: > small-time investors who charge renters four times what my fellow homeowners and I pay for mortgage But what about maintenance costs though? Those costs are very high, definitely 4x the cost of the mortgage! /s
- joelbluminator 5y agoWhen I was living in NL I knew a guy who had a mortgage for a house in Australia, a mortgage on a house in Groningen and then he was looking to get another mortgage for a house in Den Haag. Banks don't seem to cooperate internationally or even nationally; he never told the banks he has mortgages already.
- samsonradu 5y agoYou’re right, banks don’t cooperate internationally in this area, but it cuts both ways no? How can one get a mortgage in Holland without being a resident/having income declared there? The bank will not loan a foreign resident in those circumstances. Did he pay taxes in all those countries?
- joelbluminator 5y agoHe is a Dutch resident but no bank knows he has other mortgages. He is not even allowed to rent out his house yet he does.
- berkes 5y agoWhile banks may not check this on signing, they'll certainly check it when you start defaulting. This really is the worst advice ever. It's a sure way to get you in Real Trouble when shit hits fans. This is not legal advice either, btw. Just someone who read the tiny letters in the mortgage contracts.
- joelbluminator 5y agoIf he defaults. From his point a view he is not risking too much; he never put his own money as down payment it was 100÷ mortgage which NL is too generous with. Then the rent he earns is higher than the mortgage due to the low interest. So best case he ends up with 3 houses in 25 years. Worst case he gets some angry letters from the bank and loses houses that arent really his. I am not condoning his actions but they are not irrational.
- seanmcdirmid 5y agoBut he lied on his mortgage application about loans in other countries. So he could be up for some fraud criminal charges, and jail time.
- joelbluminator 5y ago