Not every sale starts with a wish to move. Sometimes it has to happen, and sometimes at the moment you can least cope with it. What is involved then, what room you have and where you stand.
The short answer. There is almost always more time and more room than you think right now. Even with a forced sale, even with a divorce where things are tense, even with an inheritance with four heirs who disagree. What you need is not speed, but someone who explains exactly what is happening and which choices you still have.
Feel free to call, even if you do not want anything yet. A conversation is not an instruction to sell.
This page is different from the rest of this knowledge base. There is no sales advice here, because that is not what matters if you are reading this.
A considerable share of our instructions arises from a situation nobody had planned. A divorce. A death. A letter from the bank. A job abroad that starts tomorrow. Technically, the sales process is the same as for any other home, but everything around it is not.
What we hear most often in those conversations: I did not know that was possible. Or: if only I had known that sooner. That is why it is set out here.
In a divorce, the home is rarely just a home. It is the largest item in the division of assets, it is where the children live, and it is usually also the subject on which the conversation gets stuck.
| Option | What it involves | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Selling | The home goes to a third party, the home equity is divided | Both agree, or through the court |
| One stays and buys the other out | The one who stays takes over the mortgage alone and pays out the other's share | The bank must approve the mortgage on one income |
| Keeping it jointly for now | Both remain owners, one lives there | Only works temporarily, and only if the relationship allows it |
In practice, a buyout most often founders at the bank. What was affordable together on two incomes is rarely affordable alone. That is not a question of willingness; it is a calculation that can be made in advance. Have it done before you make agreements, not afterwards.
How you divide it depends on how you were together. In community of property: half each, regardless of who contributed what. Under a prenuptial agreement: whatever that agreement says. Cohabiting with a cohabitation agreement: whatever that agreement says. Cohabiting without an agreement: whatever the Kadaster (Land Registry) records about the ownership shares.
That last one causes the most surprises. If you lived together without putting anything in writing and the home is in one name only, you are legally left empty-handed, however much you contributed. It happens more often than you think.
Each party chooses their own estate agent to feel supported. The result: two valuations that are forty thousand euros apart, and a conversation that from that moment on goes nowhere. The formal appraisal that follows costs money and time that nobody wanted to spend.
One appraiser whom both trust is cheaper than two estate agents each selling their own version of the truth.
We often hold these conversations with both parties at the table. Not because we are therapists, but because a single account of the value makes the process months shorter. Such a conversation comes with no obligation whatsoever.
Four things you need to know before you decide anything. They sound technical, but together they determine thousands of euros.
Inheritance tax is based on the WOZ value (the municipal property valuation), not the market value. You may choose between the WOZ value for the year of death and that for the following year. Choose the lower of the two; it can sometimes save thousands of euros. Is the value for the following year not yet known? Then file your return using the value for the year of death. If it later turns out that the other value is lower, you may still lodge an objection, even after the usual six-week deadline.
How much you ultimately pay depends not only on the WOZ value, but also on your relationship to the deceased and the exemption that goes with it. A partner has a considerably higher exemption than a child, and a child in turn a higher one than a nephew or niece. So do not calculate with the WOZ value alone.
The current rules and amounts are on the Belastingdienst website under inheritance tax on an inherited owner-occupied home. Have the figures checked before you make a choice.
This is a choice nobody makes for you automatically. If you do not know about it, you leave money on the table.
If you sell the home for €380,000 while the WOZ value used was €320,000, the inheritance tax is calculated on that €320,000. The difference is not additional taxable gain for inheritance tax. This is why selling in a rising market often works out better than holding on.
A sale is only possible if all heirs sign. One who refuses blocks the whole thing. In practice, this is rarely unwillingness and almost always an information problem: someone thinks the home is worth more, or wants it for themselves.
What it gets stuck on is almost never the amount. It is the question of who decides. A joint conversation with one independent valuation resolves that in most cases.
The inheritance tax return must be filed within eight months. Selling the home has no deadline. There is no reason whatsoever to decide within six weeks, and the decisions made within those six weeks are rarely the best ones.
Three children, a home in Helmond-Noord, and four months without speaking. The youngest thought the home was worth four hundred thousand, the eldest thought three hundred thousand. They were both wrong. One half-hour valuation, one hour-long conversation, and three weeks later it was on the market. The problem was never the money. It was that nobody had a figure everyone trusted.
The practical side of something that is not practical. Here you will only find what you will need at some point, not what you have to do today.
The most important thing first: there is no rush. People think something has to happen, that deadlines are running, that the home has to be emptied. That is not the case. The inheritance tax return has a deadline of eight months. The home has none.
What does continue: mortgage payments, insurance, municipal taxes. Report the death to the mortgage lender and the buildings insurer. An unoccupied home may fall under adjusted insurance terms, and you want that arranged before anything happens.
From the notary. This allows you to act on behalf of the estate. Without this document nothing can happen; with it, everything can wait until you are ready.
Notify the mortgage lender and insurer. This is the only thing that is somewhat urgent.
For your own decision: sell or keep. It costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and gives you a starting point for the conversation with the others.
The hardest part, and the part people dread the longest. It does not have to be done in one go, and it does not have to be finished before an estate agent comes round.
When everyone has reached a decision, not before. A home that is sold before the people around it are ready always causes friction.
The home does not need to be empty before we come to look. We can value it perfectly well with the belongings still in place. For many people, that is the hurdle that holds things up for months: the idea that something has to be cleared before anyone may come. That is not necessary.
If you are reading this because there is a letter from the bank: there is almost always more room than that letter suggests. Below you will find exactly what happens and where the way out is.
The bank has the right to sell your home if you do not pay the mortgage. This happens through an auction. At such an auction, a home fetches on average fifteen to thirty per cent less than in a normal sale. That blow falls entirely on you, because the residual debt remains yours.
Private sale. You sell your home yourself, on the normal market, at the normal price. The bank must agree to this, and in most cases it does, because the bank also loses out at an auction.
This is the point people do not know: the bank does not want that auction at all. An auction costs the bank money and yields less. Call them. Ask for permission for a private sale. In the vast majority of cases, you will get it.
| Foreclosure auction | Private sale | |
|---|---|---|
| Proceeds | 15 to 30% lower | In line with the market |
| Who decides | The bank | You, within limits |
| Residual debt | Higher, sometimes considerably | Lower or none |
| Time | Set by the bank | Normal timescale |
| Costs | Auction costs on top | Normal selling costs |
| Your position | Looking on | Having a say |
That last point is important. If you have a mortgage with NHG (the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee) and you sell at a loss, the residual debt may possibly be written off if you meet the conditions. These conditions concern, among other things, whether the loss arose through no fault of your own, for example in the event of divorce, incapacity for work, unemployment or the death of your partner, and whether you cooperated to achieve the highest possible proceeds.
It is not automatic, and it is not a right you can simply claim. It is, however, a scheme that exists and that many people do not know about. Ask your lender or NHG itself about it, and do so before you sell, not afterwards.
A seller in Helmond received a notice of auction. He thought it was all over. One phone call to the bank, permission for a private sale, and three months later the home sold for a normal price. The difference compared with the auction was an estimated sixty thousand euros. That is not an estate agent's trick. That is one phone call he did not dare to make.
The bank is not your enemy. The bank wants its money back, and that works better without an auction.
Your home is worth less than your mortgage. That is called negative equity (onderwaarde), and what is left after the sale is called residual debt (restschuld). In this market it happens less often than ten years ago, but it still exists.
When it applies: with homes that are sold again shortly after purchase, with interest-only mortgages from the years around 2008, and with people who back then bought above the asking price with a maximum mortgage.
| Option | When |
|---|---|
| NHG write-off | With an NHG mortgage, the residual debt may be written off if you meet the conditions. These concern, among other things, the cause of the loss and your cooperation with the sale. Enquire beforehand |
| Financing the residual debt | If you buy a new home, the residual debt can sometimes be included in the new mortgage |
| Personal loan | The residual debt becomes a loan with a fixed term. Expensive, but it solves the problem |
| Payment arrangement | With the bank. Possible more often than people think |
| Keeping and letting | If the rent covers the costs and the bank gives permission. Please note: this requires permission |
What you should not do: wait for things to get better by themselves. If you cannot meet the payments, the arrears grow and so does the problem. Taking action in month two is considerably cheaper than taking action in month eight.
A new job that starts the day after tomorrow. A home that has already been bought. A deadline set by the court. There are plenty of reasons to have to sell quickly, and the question is always what it will cost.
The honest answer: speed costs money, but less than people think, provided you go about it smartly. What you should not do is lower the asking price. What you can do is adjust the terms.
| Tool | Effect on speed | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive asking price | Large | Directly in the proceeds |
| Flexible completion date | Large | None |
| Home ready for sale when the listing goes live | Large | Limited |
| Generous viewing times | Moderate | None, just inconvenience |
| Sale by tender | Moderate | None |
| Cash buyer or investor | Very large | 10 to 20% below market |
That last option will be offered to you unsolicited as soon as someone knows you are in a hurry. There are parties who specifically target people in this situation. They call, they are friendly, they pay cash and they can be there tomorrow. They also pay ten to twenty per cent less.
Sometimes that is worth it. More often it is not. On a home worth four hundred thousand euros, the difference between waiting six weeks and selling immediately can easily be sixty thousand euros. Work that out before you sign anything.
If you receive an unsolicited offer from a party claiming it will buy your home straight away: that is no coincidence. Your situation has become visible somewhere. Do not take it up without first knowing what your home is worth on the open market.
You are moving abroad. The question is not only whether you sell, but also what happens for tax purposes if you do not.
If you keep the home and let it out, for tax purposes it moves from box 1 to box 3. That means: no more mortgage interest relief, but you do pay the deemed return tax on assets. For most people that calculation works out negatively, but not for everyone.
On top of that, you cannot simply let it out. Your mortgage lender must give permission, and many mortgage terms do not allow letting without amending the mortgage. If you do it without permission, the bank can demand repayment of the loan.
A practical point people forget: the transfer at the notary requires your presence or a power of attorney. That power of attorney must be legalised abroad, and that takes weeks. Arrange it before you leave, not afterwards.
Often not your own decision but that of a child, with a parent who can no longer oversee everything. Two things you need to know.
For care under the Long-term Care Act (Wet langdurige zorg), you pay a personal contribution to the CAK. There are two versions: a low one and a high one. In most situations the low one applies for the first four months, or when you receive care at home through a modular package at home. After that, or with a higher income and assets, the high one applies.
| Version | Amount per month (2026) | When |
|---|---|---|
| Low personal contribution | €212.60 to €1,115.80 | Usually the first four months, or with a modular package at home |
| High personal contribution | Up to €3,061.80 | After the first four months, or with a higher income and assets |
What you actually pay depends on your income, your assets, your age and your household situation. The CAK (the government agency that collects care contributions) calculates it; you cannot estimate it yourself. Important to know: the CAK always uses your income and assets from two years earlier. So for 2026, the CAK looks at 2024.
If you sell the home, your home equity (overwaarde) becomes an asset in box 3. Those assets count through the asset income addition (vermogensinkomensbijtelling): four per cent of the amount above the threshold is added to your income. That added amount partly determines the level of your personal contribution. In 2026 the threshold is set at €36,952 for single people and €73,904 with a partner. Because the CAK uses figures from two years earlier, a sale in 2026 only affects your personal contribution in 2028.
In practical terms: selling a home can increase your personal contribution. Not immediately, but it will. That is no reason not to sell, but it is a reason to know what it does before you sign.
The current amounts and the calculation method are available from the CAK. Have your situation calculated, because the gap between the low and the high contribution is big enough to take into account.
If your parent can no longer make decisions, you need a power of attorney (volmacht) or court-ordered administration (bewindvoering) or guardianship (curatele). Without one of those three you can do nothing, even if you have the person's best interests at heart.
If there is a lasting power of attorney (levenstestament), that is usually enough. If there is not, and your parent can no longer sign, you have to go to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). That takes months.
Do not rely on what a family member tells you about the personal contribution, nor on what you read online. Have the CAK calculate your situation. The difference between the low and the high contribution runs into thousands of euros a year, and you only know it once someone works it out for your own income and assets.
The rule is simple, and many landlords are shocked by it: a sale does not end a tenancy (koop breekt geen huur). The buyer takes over the tenancy agreement, including the tenant and all the rights the tenant has.
This means you cannot sell with the promise that the home will be handed over vacant, unless the tenant actually leaves. And you cannot force that with an open-ended tenancy agreement.
| Situation | Effect on value |
|---|---|
| Let, open-ended | 15 to 30% lower than with vacant possession |
| Let, fixed term with end date | Slightly lower, depending on the remaining term |
| Tenant leaves voluntarily | Normal value, provided it is put in writing |
| Selling to the tenant | Normal value, often the simplest route |
The buyers for a let home are investors, not private individuals. They calculate based on returns, not on the pleasure of living there, and that calculation comes out lower. Hence the difference.
The most overlooked option: ask the tenant whether they want to buy it. In this market, tenants say yes more often than landlords expect, and it solves the whole problem in one go.
In a forced sale (executieverkoop), the bank can have the home auctioned on the basis of its mortgage right. But before it gets that far, you can almost always ask for permission to sell privately. The bank also loses out at an auction and usually cooperates. Call them, even if you dread it.
On average fifteen to thirty per cent less than with a normal sale. For a €400,000 home, that is €60,000 to €120,000. You bear that loss in full, because the residual debt remains yours.
All heirs must sign. One who refuses blocks the whole thing. In practice this is rarely unwillingness and almost always a difference of opinion about the value. One independent valuation that everyone trusts usually resolves it.
On the WOZ value (the municipal property valuation), not on the sale price. You may choose between the WOZ value for the year of death and that for the following year, if it is already known. The lower of the two is the most favourable. If you sell above that value, the difference is not additional taxable profit. How much you pay also depends on your relationship to the deceased and the corresponding exemption. See the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) for the current rules.
Only if the bank approves the mortgage on your income alone. What was feasible together on two incomes is rarely feasible alone. Have that calculation made before you make any arrangements, not after.
The amount left over when the sale proceeds are lower than your mortgage. If you have an NHG mortgage (National Mortgage Guarantee), the residual debt may be written off if you meet the conditions. That is not automatic: check with your lender or with NHG beforehand. Other routes are including it in a new mortgage or a payment arrangement.
No. We can value a home perfectly well with all the belongings still in it. For many people, that idea is the hurdle that holds things up for months. Feel free to call before anything has been cleared out.
Not as a first step. A flexible handover date, a home that is ready when the listing goes live and generous viewing times speed things up considerably without costing you money. Lowering the price is the last tool, not the first.
In these situations, calm and experience matter most. We explain what is happening, what room you have and what is sensible, even if the outcome is that you do nothing for now.
Feel free to call. Even if you are not sure whether you want to sell. Even if you feel it is too early. Discretion goes without saying and there is no obligation whatsoever.
Your language. We speak English, German and French. Write to us in Polish by WhatsApp and we reply in Polish.
No surprises in the contract. The purchase agreement is in Dutch and comes with an English translation, so you understand every clause.
Selling from abroad. We guide the whole sale remotely and arrange the paperwork with the notary.
