Notary costs for a mortgage

When a house is delivered, the buyer is obliged to engage a notary. The notary draws up a mortgage deed and a transfer deed (or deed of conveyance) for the purchase of your home. And do you transfer your mortgage or change your existing mortgage? Then you will sign a new mortgage deed at the notary. What are the notary costs for a mortgage? What do you pay notary fees for? Read more about the notary fees when buying a house below.

A notary for your mortgage

You are obliged to hire a notary when you buy a house. This is because only a notary has the right to draw up a notarial deed for you, consisting of a title deed and a mortgage deed. You will also have to sign the preliminary sales agreement at the notary. So you go to the notary for three types of deeds:

The preliminary sales agreement (right after your offer is accepted)
The mortgage deed (to finalise the mortgage)
The deed of transfer (to finalise the transfer of the house from the old owner to you)

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Notary fees for the registration of your mortgage

If you buy a new-build home, these costs are not your responsibility. You don’t buy a new-build house at buyer’s costs, but free on the title. This means that the notary fees for transferring ownership of the property and VAT are included in the purchase price. With an existing property, you do have to pay the notary fees. These, like the transfer tax, are then included in the buyer’s costs. In addition, you pay the notary fees for the registration of your mortgage deed in the Land Registry. You pay these costs through the notary, but the amount paid goes to the Land Registry.

Notary fees for a mortgage

Rates for notaries are not set by law. Each notary may charge their rates. But on average, for a €300.000 mortgage, you will end up with around €1.200 to €1.800 in notary fees. For more expensive homes, the notary fees for the mortgage are often slightly higher.

You may also have a cohabitation contract drawn up if you and your partner are not yet married or registered partners. In a cohabitation contract, you and your partner make agreements about, for instance, which part of the house belongs to each of you and how you divide the house and other possessions in case of divorce.

Extra notary costs for a mortgage

Not only when you buy a house, you may face notary fees. A new mortgage deed is also involved if you increase your mortgage, refinance your mortgage or take out a second mortgage. This requires extra visits to the notary, and thus extra costs for the mortgage. Notary fees for buying a house are not an expense you can get away from. The good news is that notary fees are partly tax deductible. In the year after you buy your home, enter them in your annual tax return. The notary fees will then be deducted from your taxable income. As a result, you will have to pay less tax all in all. This can save a substantial amount.

Signing a notary contract

When signing the deed or purchase contract at the notary’s office, it is always a good idea to check the deed or contract again. Is everything in it, including for example the resolutive conditions in your purchase contract? Are the details and amounts correct? This way, you can be sure you won’t be faced with any surprises or problems afterwards.

> Read more about the notary fees