Buying a flat

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
so, I have been looking to buy a flat.

can you recommend some internet page where I could read more about the process? what needs to be done first, what additional costs are expected etc...

even more, if I hold B-permit.

my plan is to find something in canton Bern, around the Thun area or somewhere between Thun and Bern.

thanks!

2
There's a lot of information available on the forum.

I would start with actually finding a flat and making sure to have the 20% down payment.

3

This explains the special form of “ownership” of an apartment within a block: https://en.comparis.ch/hypotheken/im…ckwerkeigentum

It is called “Stockwerkeigentum”.

4
Already done that.....

5
Theres loads you can read and probably will. But jumping in is really the best way to pick it up. Plan some bank meetings and ask them to run through everything with you, this will give you a very good idea. See some places, speak to the agent, start getting the feel hands on.

Have a look at what money you have, what money you need, and what you can afford. Probably add at least 10% to all of that after a few weeks once you get more realistic.

And set up the alerts for a search area you want at a budget you have. Homegate and all the others (I dont know if Bern Kantonal Bank has it, I would suppose it does, ZKB have a great site for searching for property, very good filters)

Good luck

6
With a non-EU B permit you can only buy for your main residence, you can’t buy a holiday flat.

Some Cantons restrict the size of the property as well.

Cardinal rule for almost everything in Switzerland: Every Canton is different.

And don’t depend on estate agents to know the answers to your questions. From experience they can and do lie if it’s to their advantage.

7
thanks for your comments.

one thing I am not sure about, what is the stepwise thing to do

1. find an apartment I like

2. ask the bank for money for the property

3. then offer the money to the estate agent

4. ask the gemeinde if I can buy the apartment.

I am not sure which step from 2-4 steps should be first?

I already had my first talk with UBS, so from their side, the first answer was "no problem with your idea"

and is it really worth buying the apartment in 20-30 year old building or would you recommend looking for something newer?

8
There's nothing inherently wrong with 20-30 YO buildings. They're physically fine, they work.

However, they were conceived at a different time where ideas where different.

Window and balcony surface was smaller. Modern apartments have more natural light. Balconies are livable spaces that grew a lot from the 1 square meter to smoke. Building standards like Minergie have lead to better insulated buildings that get heat from renewable sources. Noise propagation from one apartment to other has also improved. I rent now in a Minergie building with a near surface geothermal heat pump. Only electricity is needed to power the system, heat comes from the ground.

But, these are general trends. It's possible that an older building has already being renovated or you simply don't care about natural light or heat source for winter. So, what are you looking for?

9
I know what I want. but my wishes are currently above my pay grade

so the solution is to either compromise with "an older building" or wait for another 3 -4 years so that wish becomes reality. but I am not happy, where I current live and don't want to move to rent something else (this takes the money away from future...)

10
It is a bit factor of luck from many aspects... buying now can also mean taking away from future if RE prices go down... You may also nd up with bad neighbours, etc. But it may also turn out to be a very good decision.

We could not find a place we really liked and then prices went up a lot so ours was probably a wrong decision.

Can't bank tell you more regarding your step 4?

11
If you are going to do that - i.e. buy, with the plan to move on and up in a few years that's a sound idea as mortgages are generally lower than rent and you can save more for a new place.

However, the old adage of "location, location, location" is pretty important here if you want to make some money on the property and want to sell it on easily.

Obviously, the other variable is the apartment style, building type and how new it is or how recently it has been renovated but again money is the deciding factor and if you can only afford an older building then that's what you'll have to factor in.

There will always be people trying to get on the property ladder, perhaps less so in Switzerland than in other countries but many of those people looking will also be looking for their first property - including the one you are ultimately trying to sell.

Good luck!

12
Hi there,

I have looked and can't find this so apologies if it has already been posted many times before.

Is there a list of general questions to ask when looking to buy an apartment?

My partner and I have created a list already but I am not sure as our first apartment to buy. We have visited the apartment itself many times due to friends currently renting it so we know some information already but would really like to ask more.

Thanks!

13

https://www.englishforum.ch/housing-…ying-flat.html

14

https://www.englishforum.ch/housing-…ing-house.html

https://www.englishforum.ch/housing-…n-capital.html

https://www.englishforum.ch/housing-…dominiums.html

and for the official part at the notary:
https://www.notariate.zh.ch/deu/grun…kwerkeigentum/

15
How much is the imputed rent (the fake rental value)?

What is the geiminder tax? Although you can find this, I would compare to what you pay today

What are the NK charges?

Whats in the maintenance fund?

What maintenance is coming up/due/planned?

Are there building plans in the area/can they build anywhere around you?

16
thankyou, these were the general beginning questions I was looking for

17
An important one - who owns the land?

18
How old is the building? Looking at the above:

Are age related 'big' renovations on the horizon? When a building gets ca 30 years old suddenly some large - and expensive - infrastructure projects might need to be tackled.

Maintenance funds might need to be significantly increased if the owners association has not sufficiently funded these. It's possible that you might be called on to make extraordinay payments to the tune of thousands, or you might see your annual maintenance fees rise sharply.

Second - is the building already equipped with (or wired for) electric vehicle charging stations? If not, what are the barriers to doing that (number of stations needed vs available electricity, for instance) and what would the cost to each owner be? Everyone wants an EV charger nowadays, buildings are going to have to install these, but older infrastructure might not be able to support this. Buying where EV charger installation is not possible could impact your resale value. Or the offer you make on the flat.

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You need to get copies of the minutes from the annual owners association meetings for the last 5 years or so in order to undetstand what has been discussed, what is on the horizon, and what has been ignored for too long.

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Also, are you planning on renovations to your flat? If so, consult the building management to determine if what you want to do is allowed, or not.

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Exciting times! Good luck with your purchase.

19
Biggest question when buying is - can I sell it again?

20

and to see which owners are problamtic, which ones pay, etc etc