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Download your free Dutch mortgage guide: how your mortgage is calculated

It's not just your salary. Income, interest rates, debt, energy labels and employment type all play a role. This free guide explains every factor — in plain English.

All the factors that determine your Dutch mortgage

All covered in the free guide — in plain English, with no jargon

A 6-page guide to how your Dutch mortgage is calculated

Clear, practical guidance on how your maximum mortgage is calculated — explained in a very simple way.

  • Understand how lenders use your gross annual income as the starting point — and what other income types (bonuses, holiday pay) can be included.

  • Why the rate you choose and how long you fix it directly changes your maximum mortgage — with a real example showing the impact of a 1.5% rate difference.

  • How a home's energy efficiency can increase your borrowing capacity — and how to borrow extra specifically for sustainability improvements.

  • The specific rules for ZZP freelancers and BV company owners — what documents are needed and how banks assess irregular income.

  • 100% independent mortgage advisors
  • Access to 40+ lenders
  • Clear, fast, and personal guidance

Every factor that determines your Dutch mortgage

  • Gross annual income: the starting point. Lenders typically allow around 4.25× your gross income — but bonuses, holiday pay and other allowances can also be included.

  • Interest rate & fixed period: a lower rate means lower monthly costs, allowing you to borrow more. Locking in for 20–30 years can also increase your maximum mortgage.

  • Loan-to-value (LTV): in the Netherlands you can borrow up to 100% of the property value. Additional buying costs (4–6%) must come from your own savings.

  • Personal debt & BKR: all existing obligations — student loans, credit cards, car leases, alimony — reduce your available mortgage. BKR registrations are checked by every lender.

  • Energy label of the home: homes with a better energy label (A, B, A++) allow higher borrowing. You can also borrow extra specifically for energy-saving improvements.

  • Employment type: permanent contracts, freelance (ZZP), and BV ownership are all assessed differently. Self-employed borrowers need 12–36 months of income history.

Our happy clients

We focus on delivering great results — and our clients' feedback tells the rest of the story.

5.0/5 op basis van 851 reviews

Luc has been amazing at helping us navigate all the procedures regarding our mortgage. He is quick to respond and is always available over call. We had a great experience with him.

Balaaj

22-06-2026

Bart was an amazing advisor; especially, given my situation as an American expat. He made it clear on what the process would be, documentation, and even guided me through some portions to help me understand how to best approach the Dutch home buying process. Overall, I would recommend anyone to work with OHAO and Bart as he will take good care of you.

Isaac

04-06-2026

Working with Bart as our mortgage advisor was a great experience from start to finish. He took the time to understand our situation, explained everything clearly, and patiently answered all our questions along the way. Bart is knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely looks out for his clients' best interests. He turned what could have been a stressful process into a smooth one. Highly recommended!

Pouyan

10-05-2026

Luc Zwaan at OHAO provided top-tier service for our home purchase. He is knowledgeable, proactive, and very clear in his explanations of Dutch mortgage rules and tax benefits. Our mortgage was approved quickly and without any issues. If you want a mortgage advisor who is reliable and stays on top of every detail, Luc is the person to go to. 5 stars!

Mayur

26-03-2026

Toni was happy to help us out quickly and was able to secure a good deal for us. He helped us out regurarly with a bunch of questions. - From a happy customer and a first time home owner.

Gedeon

13-03-2026

Our mortgage application was quite complex and Tony helped us through it very well. He gave brilliant advice that really saved our mortgage and enabled us to buy a home.

Abdullah H

26-02-2026

Luc's advising is very professional, detailed, honest and tailored to what is the best for me. He covered all aspects that needs to be considered and explained everything thoroughly. He is also always very fast in responding and managed to get my mortgage approved within 3 working days. Definitely would highly recommend his services if you are looking for a reliable mortgage advisor.

Yinuo

18-02-2026

I had the pleasure of working with Luc to find a new mortgage, and refinance my existing one. His expertise made the process smooth and clear, answering all my questions promptly and securing a great rate. I highly recommend him for anyone navigating Dutch mortgages!

O.B

07-01-2026

I had a very pleasant experience with OHAO, especially with Bart. He is great and truly an expert in his field—always responsive, supportive, helpful, and quick to provide any required information. The mortgage approval process was fast and smooth. I highly recommend OHAO if you’re looking for a quick, professional, and trustworthy service.

Maryam

06-11-2025

Bart is very knowledgeable and very quick while helping us. He's already helped us with multiple mortgages and every time he knows exactly how to approach the process so that we get the highest chance for the bank to accept our request on the best possible terms. Highly recommended.

Alex

05-10-2025

Bart Kooijman was recommended to us and we had a great experience. He is a nice and friendly person and very easy to work with - available, proactive, friendly, and very good at explaining. He provided us with invaluable advice during the mortgage process.

EM

18-08-2025

I have really appreciate Luc service! Gentle, accurate, fast, responsive, immediate, and tailor driven - that's all makes my experience with Luc just amazing. We have found a good mortgage provider very fast, I think, we have spent only 2-3 weeks for the whole process from A to Z. Really recommend this company and Luc as an adviser!

Aleksandr

28-07-2025

Luc was very informative, he made sure to explain everything I needed to know as a first time buyer. He made sure to be available for all my questions and inquiries. The process went very smoothly, and approval was quite quick.

Reem

23-06-2025

Bart is such a great mortgage advisor. He is reliable, knowledgeable and explains every details to me with great patience. It is a very smooth process to get 2 mortgage applications approved!

Melanie

19-06-2025

He helped us through the whole proccess, always helping us with our doubts and questions

F.N.S

15-06-2025

Toni was always helpful and reachable. He was very patient with us, explaining every step. My husband and I were in our probation period, and he was the only person who agreed to give us the mortgage statement, which gave us peace of mind. Highly recommended!

Maryam

22-04-2025

Toni has helped us in every possible way to make us comfortable and well informed about the mortgage process which helped us a lot in taking big decisions. He helped us through out the journey from selecting a house till buying and getting the mortgage approved. We would highly recommend him for this purpose.

Satabdi Chatterjee

02-04-2025

Meet our mortgage advisors

✓ 10+ years’ experience working with expats ✓ Independent advisors with access to 40+ lenders ✓ Guidance in English from start to finish.