Additional costs you may not be aware of
When purchasing a home, there are additional costs besides the purchase price that you must take into account.
The cost is also a factor in determining who is liable: the person who sells the house or the buyer. No matter which canton you are from, do not hesitate to contact us because we will assist you in managing these costs. You must specify in the contract who is liable for how much of the incidental purchase costs, which is a requirement in every canton.
1st Notary
To buy a house you can’t just go to a Real Estate Agent and buy the house like food in the grocery store. A contract must be signed by both parties and notarized to ensure its legality and validity. As was already mentioned, each canton sets its own percentage for how much a notary costs, but all costs fall within the per mille range.
2nd Real estate transfer tax
When the owner of the property changes, this tax is a constant requirement that must be paid. Once more, the percentage or method used to calculate the real estate transfer tax varies by canton. The highest percentage is 3.3% in Neuenburg.
3rd Land registry fee
In Switzerland there is a land register, all the information about the land can be found in this register, such as the size, the percentage of houses on the land etc… To change this, of course, there has to be done some work, and this work is paid by the land registry fee. Some cantons like Zug calculate the price based on how much work is done, and other cantons calculate the sum on the real estate price.
4th Debt levies
As we explained in “mortgages” most properties are bought with a mortgage. We also recommended that you should not pay the whole mortgage back because the interest is tax deductible. A debt levies letter informs you about the equity or mortgage value from the previous owner. If he listened to experts like us, he would still have debts because of the mortgage. Now there are two options. Either you take over the mortgage from the previous owner or you will get a new mortgage. If both parties decide to go with option one, then the debt levies letter is free.
Together the Incidental purchase costs can add up to 5% of the real estate price. The value of this Incidental purchase costs must be available, and cannot be paid by the mortgage.
