Norway is a beautiful country, no doubt about that. Many foreigners have a dream about buying a house in a rural area in Norway. On the countryside, by the fjord or ocean and maybe also north of the polar circle.
I have had several inquiries about this and been able to help some of them to fulfil their dream.
However, there are some obstacles, that makes this a little bit more difficult than buying a home or cottage in densely populated areas.
First of all, the market are a little bit limited.
Many rural homes, especially the less expensive one, are not put on the market very often. Relatives, that inherit these properties, tend to keep them for themselves. To use them for holiday purpose or Airbnb for tourists. This is especially common in the North of Norway. Some places it is difficult even for young people who want to stay in their home community or move to a small village to buy a house for their family.
The same problem applies for small farms. It is seldom for sale. The family keeps them, or they are merged with other bigger farms nearby.
Also many Norwegian are dreaming of buying a small farm, but they tend to wish for objects that are near a city or bigger village. This increase the demand and the sales prices are quite high.
Even if the market is a bit limited, there are still homes for sale.
But it is important to be aware of some Laws and Regulation that can be connected to these properties.
- Obligation to live rule. Boplikt
Municipalities can implement rules these rules. You cannot leave the house empty. You must either live there yourself the whole or part of the year and rent it out for the rest of the year. This is a policy to prevent the creation of ghost towns. - Duty to get official permission for owning the house – Konsesjon
This is very common for agricultural properties. There may be a duty to run agricultural activities. It is the buyer’s responsibilities to get these permissions after the purchase. It is also a possibility to subcontract the land. But you will never know if this is possible before you are applying for permission to own the property.
The realtor will inform about conditions for the sale in the sales material. It is very important to check out these things very carefully. I will strongly advise you to seek help from an consultant like me before you give a bi on a rural property.
Remember – the bid is binding in Norway!
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