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Køberguide
05 January 2023
4 min.

An Overview on How to Buy Property in Denmark as a Foreigner

This guide is for foreigners interested in buying real estate in Denmark.

It is a general and not a comprehensive overview, as the whole home-buying process is unique to every situation and far more complex.

Tomas
Tomas Maltha Krogh
Advisor and Partner
Nyhavn lejligheder
Buyer's Agent

The process of buying real estate in Denmark.

We hope to help illuminate a confusing and challenging topic with this step-by-step guide; furthermore, we have elaborated on some topics, as you can see below: 

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Buyer's Agent

We help you throughout the purchase process

  • Find housing: We find relevant homes that match your dreams and criteria
  • Finance the dream: We collect multiple quotes to fit your finances and life situation.
  • Negotiate the agreement: We negotiate contracts and prices so that you get the best possible deal.
  • Complete the purchase: We provide legal help so that you can safely move into your new home.

In 2022 alone, we bought homes for over 2.4 billion DKK.

Our knowledge and experience give you a clear market advantage.

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A step-by-step guide to purchasing a property in Denmark.

Here is what foreigners need to know about buying a home in Denmark:

  • You might have to obtain permission from the Department of Civil Affairs under the Danish Ministry of Justice.
  • Get approved for a mortgage as quickly as possible.
  • The best part: Find your dream home.
  • You will receive the reports on the property, including a house condition report (tilstandsrapport and el-installationsrapport). You might also want to get your own inspection on the property.
  • Negotiating the right price based on several factors. You can also start applying for mortgages and bank loans if your offer is accepted.
  • Review purchase and legal documents – preferably with a lawyer by your side
  • Sign the purchase agreement with the seller; hereafter, the acceptance of your offer will be legally binding.
  • Remember to find an ejerskifteforsikring (insurance).
  • Sign the deed prepared by your lawyer.
  • The transfer is complete – Move in!

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Get approved for a mortgage as quickly as possible

Apply for a mortgage as soon as you have decided on purchasing your next home. The reason for this is that the mortgage approval process can take weeks. And you don’t have this kind of time when you have found your dream home and there are several other potential buyers interested in it as well.

By starting your homebuying journey with a visit to your bank, you get to know exactly how much you can borrow. Moreover, you can continue the home hunting process with the confidence that the bank has greenlighted your mortgage application. This means you can skip directly to negotiating with the real estate agent once you have found your new home.

Be aware that there are differences in how you can finance your property, depending on your citizenship.

If this seems like a mouthful, Bomae can help you obtain your financing and negotiate with several banks. This will also ensure you the right counselling across all products available with the different banks.

Need to transfer money from your home country to Denmark? Consider using Wise and save up to 9x when you transfer and exchange internationally.

How much is the registration fee for a deed?

Land registration of a deed usually costs 1750 DKK plus 0.6% of the transfer sum. In a typical home transaction, the change of ownership sum corresponds to the purchase price:

Example: If you bought a home for  2.000.000 DKK your land registration tax will be 1750 DKK + (0.006 x 2.000.000) = 13.750 DKK

In the case of a family business (e.g. transfer by parental purchase), the transfer sum cannot be less than the public assessment minus 15%:

Example: If you have been given a home by your parents, where the public assessment corresponds to 2.000.000 DKK, your land registration tax will be at least DKK 1750 + (0.85 x 2.00.000 x 0.006) = 11.950 DKK.

Danish and EU/EAA citizens

The law in Denmark dictates that Danish and EU/EAA citizens can finance up to 80% of their property with a mortgage.

The next 15% can be financed with a bank loan, and the final 5% is the down payment, i.e., your savings.

Non-Danish and Non-EU/EAA citizens

If you are neither a Danish nor an EU/EAA citizen, then the down payment varies from 10-40% of the purchase price.

You can still finance up to 80% of your property with a mortgage but how much you can really borrow is determined by your bank.

Also, non-Danish citizens might have to obtain permission to buy property from The Department of Civil Affairs under the Danish Ministry of Justice.

Buying property in Denmark after Brexit

Since the UK has left the European Union it has been that much harder to buy in Denmark.

Brits are now classed as non-EU citizens which means you'll need a visa and permission from The Department of Civil Affairs under the Danish Ministry of Justice.

This is of course all something we can help with at Bomae.

Find the right home

This is without doubt the most fun part of buying a home.

In this step, you search for your future home – or at least your home for the next 5 years (any less might negatively impact your investment). Make sure you choose a home that fits your current and future needs. Things to take into consideration when house browsing include:

  • Infrastructure
  • Schooling
  • Daycare opportunities
  • Grocery stores

Our clients’ bids are often favoured

If you have not decided exactly where to buy or don't know what sort of property your budget will yield in different areas, we can help get a precise overview.

Once the ideal property has been found we undertake a detailed price comparison re­search using Land Registry data and on-market comparables to establish what we believe to be fair market value.

We will then agree on a negotiation strategy and work to secure the most favourable terms with the selling agent. Simultaneously to this process, we will make sure your financing is obtained to your needs.

We have an excellent track record of successfully negotiating very substantial savings from asking prices.

Our clients’ bids are often favoured over competing bids because agents and vendors value our involvement and have greater confidence the deal will reach a successful conclusion.

Review purchase documents - preferably with a lawyer by your side

Once you have found your dream home, and the parties have agreed on a price, it’s time to meticulously go through each purchase document. This is to ensure that you are getting exactly what you are paying for.

Most people hire a lawyer to go through the documents, as these kinds of papers tend to be written in a manner that is difficult to understand.

A lawyer is not required to complete the purchase but keep in mind that the cost of hiring a lawyer is tiny compared to the huge amount of money you are spending on your future home.

If there is a time when you don’t want to make a mistake, then this is it.

Finally, when all the documents have been read and approved - either with or without a lawyer – the deed is created and sent to the Registry Court, officially making you the new owner of the property.

What should I pay attention to when looking to buy a house in Denmark?

Once you have set your eyes on a specific house (not an apartment – we will get back to that later on), make sure you get an independent surveyor to inspect the property.

Though the seller will always provide you with a home condition report that describes the state of the property, including deficiencies and damages, there is a chance that the surveyor who made it missed some crucial issues.

By hiring your own surveyor, you get an independent evaluation of your future home. Also, the surveyor can help you to better understand the issues listed in the property condition report and how they will financially affect you in the long run. These findings can then be used as negotiation advantages when dealing with the real estate agent.

But what if I want to buy an apartment - shouldn’t I also get a surveyor to inspect it?

The short answer is no. The long answer is that if you want to perform a survey on an apartment, you need to include the entire building in the survey. And that, dear reader, is very, very expensive.

Practically no one performs a survey when they want to buy an apartment in Denmark. The only exception is when the buyer seeks to purchase the whole building.

We hope you found this overview helpful. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the Danish homebuying process or just want to know more about the Danish real estate market.

    Or call 70 40 03 36, Monday to Sunday 9:00-20:00

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