Buying a home step by step: 12 steps from budget to keys

In brief

• Buying a home can be split into five phases: get ready, find your home, buy your home, wait for the keys and take over the home.
• It starts with your finances and the bank, not with the purchase agreement (købsaftale).
• A preliminary purchase approval (købsgodkendelse) is not necessarily an approval of a specific home.
• The estate agent (ejendomsmægler) handles the sale on behalf of the seller.
• The statutory right of withdrawal (fortrydelsesret) is 6 working days and normally costs 1 per cent of the purchase price.^[1][2]
• Adviser and bank conditions (rådgiver- og bankforbehold) follow their exact wording and can run at the same time as the right of withdrawal.
• The purchase agreement sets the actual dates in your purchase.

The home-buying timeline

Here is the process in the order a buyer typically experiences it. Some steps happen at the same time.

Phase 1: Get ready before you fall for a home

Step 1: Know your budget

It is hard to judge a home if you do not know what it means for your everyday life. Gather income after tax, debt, fixed expenses, disposable income (rådighedsbeløb), savings, down payment (udbetaling), purchase costs and the buffer you want left after the purchase.

Read the four pillars of your home finances and the guide to the purchase budget.

Step 2: Get a preliminary assessment from the bank

Among other things, the bank looks at income, debt, savings, disposable income and the risk that comes with the purchase. A preliminary purchase approval or a financing certificate (finansieringsbevis) is not a final approval of a specific home. The bank normally also has to assess the home and the final financing.

Use the checklist for preparing for your bank meeting, so you know which figures and documents the bank typically asks for.

Phase 2: Find a home that also works in everyday life

Step 3: Search for a home

The price is only one figure. Also look at owner costs (ejerudgift) or shared costs, heating and electricity, transport, maintenance, insurance, upcoming projects and the area at different times of day.

You could start with the guide to property portals and prioritising your requirements for the home.

Step 4: Read the documents and examine the home

For a house, the condition report, the electrical installation report, the energy label, the property data report, the BBR record and the easements are central. For an owner-occupied flat (ejerlejlighed), also read the owners' association's accounts, budget, articles, minutes and maintenance plan, and look for shared loans and upcoming projects.

A viewing does not show everything, and the reports are not a full technical inspection of hidden defects. Read what a building surveyor's inspection can uncover.

Phase 3: Offer, purchase agreement and deadlines

Step 5: Make an offer and negotiate

An offer can include more than the price: handover day, right-of-disposal day, what comes with the home and the conditions you need. The seller can accept, reject or make a counter-offer. Read the guide to bidding rounds and negotiation.

Step 6: Sign the purchase agreement

The purchase agreement is the buyer's and seller's contract for the purchase and contains much more than price and date.^[3] Read the deadlines, conditions, deposit, bank guarantee, handover, transfer of risk and included chattels, and check who handles completion and prepares the settlement statement. Do not sign expecting unclear wording to be sorted out later.

Step 7: Keep track of the deadlines

Once the seller has signed, several tracks often start running at once:

Put the deadlines in your calendar the same day, and note who is responsible for each task.

Step 8: Get the final approvals

Your adviser and the bank take a position on the specific purchase within their deadlines. The right of withdrawal and the conditions are three different things:

The right of withdrawal is not a free inspection period. On a home costing 3.000.000 kr. it normally costs 30.000 kr., and both the written notice and the payment must arrive before the deadline. An adviser condition can have a deadline shorter than five working days, and a condition only protects you within its wording.^[4] Read the full guide to adviser and bank conditions.

Phase 4: Financing, deed and the waiting period

Step 9: Deposit and bank guarantee

It is common for the buyer to deposit a cash amount with the estate agent shortly after the agreement is made. The purchase agreement often calls this amount the down payment.^[5] The bank normally provides a guarantee to the seller for the rest of the purchase price, and on the handover day the guarantee is usually replaced by a cash deposit.^[6]

The deposit is not the same as the minimum down payment the bank uses in the financing. The same word is used for two different things, so look at the amount and who receives it.

Step 10: Choose your loan and register the deed

Once the conditions are settled, the financing is completed: mortgage loan (realkreditlån) and possibly a bank loan, fixed or variable rate, repayments (afdrag) or an interest-only period (afdragsfrihed), price hedging (kurssikring) and registration of the mortgage. Read about the difference between mortgage loans and bank loans and fixed or variable rate.

The deed (skøde) records the change of ownership. Land registration (tinglysning) does not check every term of the purchase agreement, so deed, payment, keys and handover day are different parts of the same purchase.^[7] Read about completion, deed and land registration.

Step 11: Get the practical things ready

While you wait, you can take out the insurance you need, register for electricity and heating, order internet, plan the move and prepare your change of address. Use the week-by-week moving plan and the guide to insurance when buying a home.

Phase 5: Handover and keys

Step 12: Take over the home and follow up

Go through the home calmly on the handover day: keys and access fobs, meters for electricity, water and heating, visible changes since the viewing, appliances and included chattels, fuse box, main water valve, smoke alarms and heating system. Take photos of meter readings and anything significant.^[8]

If you find faults or defects, use the checklist for the first 14 days after handover. The settlement statement (refusionsopgørelse) divides items such as property tax, shared costs and advance payments for heating and water between buyer and seller. Read the guide to the settlement statement.

Who works for whom

• The estate agent handles the sale on behalf of the seller. The agent must give you relevant information but is not your personal adviser.
• The bank and the mortgage credit institution assess finances, home, security and financing, and decide which loans they will offer.
• The buyer's legal adviser reviews the purchase agreement and documents for you within the wording of the condition.
• A building surveyor (byggesagkyndig) assesses technical matters within the agreed inspection.
• BoligKlar gives you a second pair of eyes and an overview of the order, the questions and the documents. The professional assessments belong with the bank, your legal adviser and technical specialists.

Common misunderstandings

A purchase approval does not cover every home

The specific home and financing normally also have to be approved.

The right of withdrawal is not 6 free days

It normally costs 1 per cent of the purchase price and requires written notice and payment on time.

An adviser condition does not always last five working days

The deadline and effect follow the wording of the purchase agreement.

You are not done once the purchase agreement is signed

Approvals, deposit, guarantee, financing, deed and insurance all follow afterwards.

In short

The order is budget, bank, house hunting, documents, offer, purchase agreement, deadlines, approvals, deposit and guarantee, loan and deed, practical preparation and handover. If this is your first home, buying a house for beginners brings together what to watch out for in one checklist.

Start with your first purchase budget.

BoligKlar gives you a second pair of eyes and an overview. The bank, your legal adviser and technical specialists assess your specific finances, agreement and home.

Frequently asked questions