Hi All

I am about to go and discuss arranging a mortgage with my bank. What type of mortgages are there in switzerland and what pitfalls should I watch out for ?

To prevent disappointment: to jugde your lending capability they use the average interest rate of the last 20 years. Since this is higher than the current interest rate you may be disappointed by the amount they are willing to lend you. But it is for your own good I would say...

A standard is 80% of the purchase price.

The other 20% is handled dependent on Banking policies.

Fixes last from 2-10 years.

For the remaining 20% a combination of the following can lead to a "in all but name" 100% loan (personally I achieved 97% exactly 2 years ago with 3% cash from the ZKB).

Therefore the other 20% can be a combination of:

1. cash
2. pillar 2 pledging or cashout
3. pillar 3 pledging or cashout
4. other securities/assets in Switzerland

Some banks have a policy of the 20% being cash or a minimum of 50k in cash.

The pros and cons of all these options have been debated on another thread. Search for details.