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Fees · independent mortgage advice in English

Mortgage advisor fees in the Netherlands

Fixed fees from € 2,995

You know what you pay before we start. We are not tied to any lender and no lender pays us: you pay us a fixed fee, agreed in advance, for advice in English from the first question to the notary.

Book a free intro call ↗See the four fees

AFM licence 12046005 · Kifid 300.017.178 · not tied to any lender

In short

Bouvy Advies charges a fixed fee for mortgage advice, agreed before we start. There are four fixed fees, from € 2,995, depending on whether you are employed or self-employed and whether it is your first home; all four are set out below. Our fee covers the advice and our guidance from the first conversation to signing at the notary. Dutch law bans commission from lenders on mortgage advice, so you pay us directly. Costs of third parties such as the valuer and the notary come on top. Other costs of our process are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign. The first hour is free; if we need more time after that, we agree the cost together beforehand. We know of no official average fee for mortgage advice in the Netherlands. Fees differ per advisor and per bank, so compare what is included.

Sketch: a small steam train with a fixed fee price tag on the locomotive runs past Dutch canal houses, pulling wagons labelled first call, advice and notary, with a relaxed expat reading a map. On the platform someone is shocked by a long receipt from another train.
Fixed fees

What is your advisory fee?

These fees apply to a standard advice process. Which one applies depends on how you earn your income and whether you already own a home. If your situation needs extra work, a supplement can apply, which we always discuss and agree beforehand. IB means you are self-employed and pay Dutch personal income tax on your business profit, for example as a freelancer or sole trader.

Employed

First-time buyer

€ 2,995

Your first home to buy, with income from employment. Includes advice, the comparison of lenders and arranging the mortgage.

Employed

Moving home or refinancing

€ 3,595

An existing mortgage or a move to a new home, with income from employment.

Self-employed (IB) or buy-to-let

First-time buyer

€ 3,495

Your first home to buy, with income as a self-employed person (IB), or a buy-to-let mortgage.

Self-employed (IB) or buy-to-let

Moving home or refinancing

€ 4,095

An existing mortgage or a move to a new home, with income as a self-employed person (IB), or a buy-to-let mortgage.

  • Advice tailored to your situation
  • Comparison of 40+ lenders
  • Application and paperwork handled for you
  • Guidance until you sign at the notary
  • Insurance advice that goes with the mortgage

Extra work, for example an application through several BVs, a family loan, release from joint and several liability (hoofdelijk ontslag), a starter loan or a gift from parents, costs a supplement, usually € 250 to € 400. We always discuss and confirm it before we start on it. The valuation, the notary and the NHG fee are third-party costs that come on top of our fee. The other costs that come with our process are discussed in the first conversation and set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.

For internationals

Do you handle this type of case?

The four fees cover buying a first home, moving to another home, refinancing an existing mortgage and buy-to-let mortgages, with income from employment or as a self-employed person. In the inventory we look at your whole income situation, including income from abroad, a 30% ruling or your type of contract, and your residence status.

Can I get a Dutch mortgage with foreign income?

It depends on the lender, and lenders differ a lot for internationals.

  • Not every lender accepts expats as clients.
  • Salary from abroad is accepted by part of the market: often only from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg or France, and at some lenders from an employer elsewhere in the eurozone, under strict conditions.
  • Profit from a business based abroad is declined by almost every lender. One banking group (ABN AMRO, including its label Florius) has a written exception, with strict conditions.
  • A lender’s standard list of required documents can ask for more than its own policy requires, for example a permanent residence permit where the policy also accepts a fixed-term permit under conditions. We check the policy itself before we rule a lender out.

Whether we can help you, and which fee applies, you hear in the free first hour. More about buying a home as an expat: expat mortgage advice.

Agreed in advance

What do I get for the fee?

The fee is fixed before we start. There is no recalculation afterwards. Our fee covers the advice and our guidance from the first conversation to signing at the notary. Other costs of our process are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.

  1. An inventory of your situation

    We map your income, own money, housing wishes and risks: what you can responsibly borrow, what fits your plans and what to take into account.

  2. A comparison of 40+ lenders

    We put the conditions, rate and small print of more than forty lenders side by side and choose on what fits your situation. With self-employed income the field is smaller: around 20 lenders.

  3. The application and all the paperwork

    We submit the application, collect the documents, arrange the valuation and NHG where it applies, and stay in contact with the lender until the offer is final. You do not have to chase documents.

  4. Guidance until you sign

    We stay involved until you sign at the notary: the binding offer, the conditions and the planning towards the transfer. We are your point of contact until the mortgage completes.

The insurance advice that belongs with the mortgage, such as term life insurance or cover for your monthly costs, is part of the process. For term life cover of around € 1 million or more we do a separate protection review, which we agree with you beforehand.

Free first hour

The first hour is free

In that hour you hear how we work, what a process costs in your situation and whether we can help you. If we need more time after that, we agree together beforehand what it costs. You know the fee before we start.

Advisor or bank?

Do I need a mortgage advisor in the Netherlands, or can I go straight to the bank?

You can go to many lenders directly, although some only work through an advisor. The difference is how many lenders get compared, and who prepares your application.

You borrow for thirty years, so a small difference in interest rate adds up, and the conditions decide what happens when you renovate, separate, start a business or repay early. For internationals there is a second reason: lenders treat income from abroad and residence status very differently, as described above.

We hold an AFM licence (12046005) and are liable for the advice we give. We are affiliated with Kifid, the Dutch complaints institute for financial services (300.017.178).

Fee, not commission

Is a mortgage advisor tied to one bank, or is there an independent one?

Some advisors work exclusively for one or more lenders, so ask any advisor which lenders they compare. We are not tied to any lender: we compare 40+ lenders and choose on what fits your situation, on rate, conditions and flexibility.

In the Netherlands a mortgage advisor may not be paid by the lender for arranging a mortgage: the commission ban. So you pay the advisor directly, as a fee. Ours is fixed and agreed beforehand, which means our advice does not depend on which lender you choose. There is nothing extra in it for us when you pick one lender over another.

Compare fees

How much are mortgage advisor fees in the Netherlands?

We know of no official average fee for mortgage advice in the Netherlands. You pay the advisor directly because lenders may not pay an advisor for arranging a mortgage. Our fee is fixed, from € 2,995 for an employed first-time buyer. Other costs of our process are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.

Compare how much of the process the fee covers and how many lenders the advisor compares. Our fee covers the advice and our guidance from the first conversation to signing at the notary. We assess your situation, compare 40+ lenders, handle the application and paperwork, and guide you until you sign. Third-party costs for the valuation, notary and NHG fee come on top.

Choosing an advisor

How do I pick a mortgage advisor in the Netherlands?

Check an advisor's registration, lender choice, fees and experience with situations like yours before you start.

  • Search for the advisor by name in the AFM register of financial service providers. The AFM is the Dutch financial markets authority.
  • Ask whether they are affiliated with Kifid, the Dutch complaints institute for financial services.
  • Ask which lenders they compare and whether they are tied to any lender. We are not tied to any lender and compare 40+ lenders.
  • Ask for the fee in writing before you start, with a clear explanation of what it includes.
  • Check that they understand situations like yours, including income from abroad or your residence status. Ask whether meetings, explanations and correspondence can all be in English. With us, they can.

Our AFM licence number is 12046005 and our Kifid number is 300.017.178, so you can check us the same way.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What are your fees, and is the first consultation free? +
A fixed fee for the standard mortgage process: € 2,995 if you are employed and buying your first home, € 3,595 if you are employed and moving home or refinancing, € 3,495 for a first home with self-employed (IB) income or a buy-to-let mortgage, and € 4,095 for moving home or refinancing in that situation. Extra work, such as a family loan or an application through several BVs, costs a supplement of usually € 250 to € 400, always agreed beforehand. The first hour is free; if we need more time after that, we agree together beforehand what it costs.
Which of the four fees applies to me? +
Which fee applies depends on how you earn your income and whether you already own a home. The self-employed or buy-to-let fees are higher because assessing annual accounts, forecasts and income stability takes more work and knowledge. After the free first conversation, you know exactly which fee applies to your situation and what you get for it.
Can I get an estimate of the costs before I start house-hunting? +
Yes. The first hour is free, and in that hour you hear what a process costs in your situation and whether we can help you. After the first conversation you know exactly which fee applies to you. The other costs that come with your process are discussed and set out in the engagement letter. The valuation, the notary and the NHG fee are third-party costs that come on top of our fee.
What else will I pay besides your fee? +
The valuation (paid to the valuer; the price depends on the home, from about € 125 for a desktop valuation, where the lender accepts one, to around € 800 to € 900 for a full valuation), NHG if it applies, and the notary. NHG, the Dutch national mortgage guarantee, costs a one-off 0.4% of the mortgage amount; in 2026 the NHG limit is € 470,000, or € 498,200 if you also finance energy-saving measures. The other costs that come with our process, and what applies if you stop before the mortgage is arranged, are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.
I am moving abroad and want to keep my home and rent it out. Which fee applies? +
If that means moving to a buy-to-let mortgage, one of the two self-employed or buy-to-let fees applies (€ 3,495 or € 4,095). Which one, and what your situation needs, you hear in the free first conversation.
Is the advice fee tax-deductible in the Netherlands? +
Usually, yes. Advice and arrangement costs for a mortgage on your own home are deductible once, as financing costs in box 1, in the year you pay them, provided the mortgage interest itself is deductible. They are not deductible if you decide not to take the mortgage, or for a buy-to-let property taxed in box 3, and the part of our fee that concerns term life insurance is not deductible either. The deduction is at most 37.56% in 2026; what you get back depends on your income, and we calculate it with you during the advice.
Can I add the advice fee to my mortgage? +
There is no tax rule against it; the limit is the lending rule that a mortgage may be at most 100% of the home’s value. When you buy a home, the loan is usually already at 100%, so there is usually no room and you pay the costs from your own money. If you move home and have equity in your current home, there is often room, but the tax treatment then needs working out. We look at that with you in the advice.
Is advice on term life insurance included? +
Yes, the insurance advice that belongs with the mortgage is part of the process. For term life cover of around € 1 million or more we do a separate protection review, which we agree beforehand. The part of our fee that concerns term life insurance is not tax-deductible.
Can this be done entirely in English? +
Yes, everything can be done in English: meetings, explanations and correspondence. Before the meeting you receive a fact-find form in English; you do not have to fill in everything, just what you know. We advise throughout the Netherlands, at our office in Naarden or online.
Which documents do I need for the first conversation? +
Nothing is required up front. You receive a fact-find form in English beforehand, which does not have to be complete: fill in what you know and we go through the rest together.
What could go wrong without a mortgage advisor? +
Mostly three things. The lender you went to may not accept your situation, the conditions may not fit your plans, or the financing may not be ready before the deadline in your purchase contract, which can cost you the home.
What is the average fee for a mortgage advisor? +
We know of no official average fee for mortgage advice in the Netherlands. Fees differ per advisor and per bank, so compare what is included. Our fee is fixed, from € 2,995 for an employed first-time buyer. Valuation, notary and NHG costs come on top. Other costs of our process are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.
How much do mortgage brokers typically charge? +
You pay the advisor directly because lenders may not pay an advisor for arranging a mortgage. We have four fixed fees, depending on whether you are employed or self-employed and whether it is your first home. Our fee starts at € 2,995 for an employed first-time buyer. Third-party costs come on top. Other costs of our process are set out in the engagement letter you receive before you sign.
Is it worth using a mortgage advisor? +
An advisor is especially useful if your situation is not standard, such as income from abroad, self-employed income or questions about your residence status. Lenders treat these situations differently, and not every lender accepts expats. We compare 40+ lenders and prepare your application. Some lenders only work through an advisor, while many also accept direct applications. You pay for advice, so ask what the fee includes.
What not to say to a mortgage advisor? +
Do not leave anything out. Tell your advisor about every loan and financial obligation, including student loans and alimony payments. Explain plans such as moving abroad, changing jobs or starting a business. We need a complete, correct picture to give advice that fits and may ask follow-up questions or request documents. For a student loan, lenders generally count the current monthly payment rather than the amount originally borrowed; with deferred repayment, they use a calculated monthly amount instead.
What is the downside to using a mortgage broker? +
You pay the advisor's fee yourself. With us, the engagement letter explains what applies if you stop before the mortgage is arranged. Read it before you sign. Lender choice also matters: an advisor tied to one or a few lenders sees only part of the market. Ask which lenders they compare. We are not tied to any lender and compare 40+ lenders.
How to pick a mortgage advisor? +
Search for the advisor by name in the AFM register of financial service providers and ask whether they are affiliated with Kifid. Check which lenders they compare and whether they are tied to any. Ask for the fee and what it includes in writing before you start. Check their experience with income from abroad and residence status, and whether they can work in English. You can check us the same way.
Questions?

Tell us what you need

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Urgent? Call +31 35 203 19 66.

We only use your details to answer your question. More in our privacy statement (in Dutch).

Curious which fee applies to you?

The first conversation is free and without obligation. Afterwards you know exactly which fee applies and what you get for it.

Book a free intro call ↗or call +31 35 203 19 66