With the help of Boligdama, it was super easy to buy an apartment in Norway.

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Despite the time difference and a bit of formalities, Trude took care of every step in the process, which made us feel very confident that things were done correctly and as expected. She was with us in all the video conversations with the broker and made sure that all things were cleared out and that all relevant information was given.

She answered all possible questions we had and did a solid check of the builder and what quality we could expect in the apartment. With her expertise and long experience, we received lots of good advice and fantastic follow-up. We could not have completed this process and bought an apartment in Norway without her help.

Thank you very much for this good feedback from Astrid and Arik that I have helped with purchasing a home in a super exciting project in Nydalen in Oslo.

This is how the home purchase became a reality

The couple, who live in the USA, wanted a base in Norway that they could stay in when they were visiting. And maybe settle down permanently, when they retire. Oslo and Norway were not chosen randomly, since Astri is from Norway and has family here. They also have a son who has settled in our country.

After some waiting time from the first contact with Boligdama to prepare financing and survey wishes for the new home, we started our joint house hunt, just before Christmas 2022.

With today’s technology, long-distance home buying is not a problem. Both digital meetings and Boligdama’s communication system were used extensively. The only thing that could be a little confusing was keeping in mind the time difference.

When house hunting in collaboration with Boligdama, both parties usually are eager to follow what comes out on the market. It is naturally difficult to stay away from finn.no, home buying platform in Norway, when you are in buying mode!

After checking a number of proposed homes during the month of January, which were not entirely to their liking, Astri and Arik themselves found a home in the Vertikalen project. It is a very special building that is under construction in central Nydalen, Oslo. Here there was a vacant home that suited their budget. Vertikalen is an innovative building with a strong focus on environment and sustainability.

Boligdama did research on the project, contacted the broker and advised them to go ahead with the home. Broker Jan Græsvig from DnB arranged a joint digital meeting with us where we could see a solar diagram, illustrations of the building and apartment , optional extras and answers to all questions. They decided to submit a purchase offer. Which the seller approved.  Thus, the home purchase agreement was concluded, at least almost.

There was a little bit of fuss afterwards, with formalities and things that had to be sent by post from the USA. But, with a little patience, it also worked out.

Bureaucracy and slow mail are trifles in the grand scheme of things.

The most important thing is that they have bought themselves an exciting home that they are very much looking forward to taking over in the autumn of 2023.

Congratulation !

Best regards
Boligdama – Trude Larsen
950 37 330 – trude@boligdama.no

 

 

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How to buy a house in rural parts of Norway

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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!

Download my booklet about home buying in Norway

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The home buying market in Norway right now

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The economy in Norway, as in a lot of other countries, are in a strange situation right now. We experience all time soaring prices in food and energy prices. At the same time, we must cool down the economy by raising the mortgage interests. So far this has not affected the prices of homes very much. August had rising prices in most part of the countries, in average they increased with 1,9%. The number of homes for sale the market has increased in august and will continue to increase. This is good news for the buyers, because lack of homes for sale usually means that the bids increase to very high levels. As you probably know we are practising open bidding rounds according to the auction principle in Norway.

It is expected that the home prices will decrease this fall when people feel the effect of interest rate effects. And the banks’ lending policy will change according to higher interest rates. They are obliged to stress test that the customer can manage a 5% increase of interest. That means that people will get less money for their home buying and the bidding rounds will become much cooler.

Norwegian Home buyers are financing their home buying in all essentials by bank mortgages. Read more about home buying financing in Norway here.

Big drop in the sale of cottages.

Norwegian people are crazy about cottages or “hytta” as we called it. Many people even have two cottages, me included. If you do not own one yourself, you may have access to one through your family. During the pandemic, the cottage sales were extremely high, both in volume and price. Now the sale has dropped by 45% – in volume. But not yet in price. But at some point, close to now, I think we will see a drop in prices too. So, if you are planning to buy a cottage in Norway this fall will be a good opportunity. And please ask me for help. The buying process is the same as for homes and there I am an expert. And as a cottage lover and user I have a good pulse on the holiday home market.

Sorry about all the economic talk in this blog. But in Norway the housing market is so depended on the economy in general. It will serve you well to follow to keep yourself updated on the market.

If you download my booklet about home buying in Norway you will get my tips about home buying and market updates direct in your inbox.

And I will do what I can do keep you in the loop here on the blog!

Best wishes

 

 

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Can you trust the bidding and the home sale system in Norway?

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When I am working with my home buyer costumers from different countries, they are often wondering if we can trust the various actors and the transparency of the process.

The question is wise, and I totally understand it.  The process is quite complicated with a lot of different people and systems involved.  And maybe you have bad experiences from your own home market.

I like to put some remarks on this issue.

All in all, the home buying sale process in Norway is safe and transparent.  Of course, the realtor is trying to get you to pay as high price as possible.  The seller is his client, and he is paying his fee.

But according to the law the realtor is also obliged to take care of the buyer’s interest.  And make sure that the adds, sales material and oral information are correct.  The realtor is together with the seller, responsible to give all known information about the property, before the bidding round.

Read:  Be aware of new regulations for home buying in Norway

The last twenty years the home buying market and the real estate business has become more and more regulated.  This is based on a wish from the authorities to create a safe home buying process.  But it has also been necessary because of some professional short cuts the realtors have taken to promote their own interests. You know, when profit is in the picture, people always want to take advantage of it.  Within in the law or on the edge of the low.

The Norwegian “Finanstilsynet” is responsible for the supervision and control of the real estate agents

We also have the consumer authority and other  complaint bodies where consumers, seller and buyers can complain if they experience bad practice. And of course, we have the the court system.

So, on the formal side everything is in order.

But when it comes to whom to trust in the home buying process, many buyers tend to not put totally trust in the realtor.  Because he is the seller’s representative, and his priority is to get the highest price The realtors in Norway have to fulfil the Bachelor grade in Real Estate and have work practice before they can take independent sales assignment.  So, they know what to do, and what laws to follow.  But because of the competition among the realtors and the hunt for the highest price, some buyers experience bad customer care on their behalf.

This unbalance between seller and buyers need in the home buying process, is the reason why I started as a home buying consultant.

One important thing in the end:

Fake bids

Many of you are anxios about this. Understandable, especially when we practise the principle of auction and  bidding rounds administrated by the realtor.

Fake bids are luckily no longer an issue in Norway.  All the bids must be registered in a journal by the realtor. If you buy the property, you will receive the bidding journal with all the bidders name, time of the different bidders and amounts.  If you are only participant, but not a buyer you can ask for the same journal but without names.

Also, the realtor is obliged to check the bidders financing in their bank.  In that way he will know that the bidder is a serious one that are able to pay for the property.

 

 

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