Hi
I wanted to ask what people have paid in fees to buy a house. Does the house price include the agents fees? What are normal notaire fees? We are buying in valais. I have been quoted 5% for the agents but it does not say if it is included in the price or not. I know I have to pay other fees for land registery, it is already owned by a foreigner so the permit is there. I am just getting a little confused and cannot find any info about it. Look forward to hearing from you
Cchalet

From what I understand, here is Vaud, the fees for taxes and fees are about 5% of which the notiare gets 1.5%. I thought the seller paid the agent

(or I guess that would mean that the agent fees are included in the price).

Hi
I am a little worrried and still confused. I have a copy of the act which I have not signed and it says that we have to pay the agent 5% I do not know if this is in the price or i will have to pay this later. I have searched and I cannot find any info. Has anyone else had any experiences and is 5% high or normal. In France the seller pays the fees but they are in the price, you pay notaire fees on top. Is this the same sort of thing. I an realising the agent is a little econmical on the facts and tuth and if you do not answer the question you do not get the info.
Thanks
Cchalet

We just paid the notaire and other fees of 5%. The seller paid the agent's fees.

Are you sure the 5% you're being quoted isn't the same thing?

echoing what has been said above. We bought a house recently and the 5% tax that you have to pay is not part of the price of the house.

If I may add my 0.5 CHF to the original poster.

You are not buying a TV - you are buying a house. You seem to me utterly and terribly mis/underinformed. I suggest you seriously work on getting the proper information before even thinking of buying; and this means talking to professionals, not only a random forum, where you may not get the best advice for your case, however well inclined the people here may be.

Hi Thanks
Just got back from Paris and the RWC. I am going to seek some pro advice before anything else. Thank you to all those to posted with advice
cchalet

I have recently (actually still in the process of) buying an apartment in Leukerbad, Valais. It is a new build too. My bank manager (Fortis) is very familiar with all the proceedings. Other than the price of the apartment, the only other fees i paid were the 1.4/1.5% to the notaire and 2.5% for the land registry. All the other fees were payable by the developer.

In my case i paid 80% of the notaire's fee up front which was charged at 1.25%, The remaining 20% will be paid when i receive the final deeds (up to 3 years ahead) which will be at 1.4%. overall fee..... 1.38 or somin like that.... no calc to hand..

New build land registry fees are lower than if you buy an existing property. IIRC, it's because for the new building the fees are only on the value of the land and not the building on the land.

Hi,

I'm looking for information about the fees the SELLER has to pay when selling an apartment (Zurich).

I understand that there are the following:
1) notary fee - about 1/2%, and usually split between seller and buyer
2) seller agent fee - this number is the main mystery to me
3) taxes on gains (if any) - (I've seen other in the forum, so not looking for more info on this, unless there are some recent changes...)

anything else ?
and again - seller agent fees ?

Thanks !

Notary fees are governed by cantonal legislation. Consider that the notary will not just charge you for his time (as per the law), but also for registration in the "Grundbuch" or "Registre Foncier" and these are also governed by cantonal directives. Some cantons may also charge a "Handänderungssteuer", in other words a tax on change of ownership. Generally notary fees are split between the parties, but a different arrangement may also be agreed upon between the parties, e.g. seller pays all or buyer pays all.

The seller agent fees are whatever is agreed between the seller and the agent. Logical no? It is not a number that is governed by law. The range that I personally have encountered has been 2% (for a piece of land in AG) to 6.7% (for a chalet in VS).

1) This varies with each community. I know of 2.4 o/oo and 1.00 o/oo (Per mille not per cent ie 0.24% and 0.1%) your local Notariat/Grundbuchamt - usually the same place - will advise. Yes, split between buyer and seller.

2) This is usually 3%, but more ambitious agents will ask 2%. If you are confident that you know the market price of your property, try selling it with Homegate - approx. CHF150 per month to advertise.

3) Grundstuckgeweinsteuer this is universal in Switzerland but the rate varies from canton to canton and decreases the longer you live in a property. This does not apply if you reinvest the same money or more in another property in Switzerland. Your local tax office will explain all and will require you to prove what you are doing with the proceeds of the sale by completing a form when you sell.

Some cantons have a sales tax (like the UK's stamp duty) on property sales, this no longer applies in Canton Zurich.

There are other costs such as VAT on everything, cleaning costs, removals, electricity check

Thanks for the info !

What do you mean by "VAT on everything" ??

Value added tax (MWST) at 7.6% on most bills including those from the Notariat - what else?

Shouldn't the contract state how the transaction fees should be spilt between buyer and seller?

Oh...
I thought you meant VAT on the price of the house...

BTW - electricity check - is that difficult / time consuming / expensive for an apartment ?

Thanks !

This thread for more info...

Proof of safe electrics before we buy house

Absolutely!