The cost of buying a property

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When buying a property (house, building, apartment, land, etc.), the acquisition costs amount to several thousand Swiss francs and should be taken into consideration when setting a budget, even before you start your property search. The rates are set in the various cantonal regulations and are therefore not negotiable. The largest part goes to the state. In Geneva, these costs are borne entirely by the buyer. In other cantons, especially in German-speaking Switzerland, they are shared between the buyer and the seller.

A distinction is made between the following expenses:

Costs for an agreement to sell and purchase

If the sales contract is subject to one or more conditions, the contractors may sign a commitment to sell. The final sale will take place once these conditions are met. For further explanation on commitments to sell, forward sales and final deeds of sale, please have a look at our page on notarised deeds. For example, a commitment to sell for a CHF 1,500,000 villa costs approximately CHF 7,100.

Costs of the final deed of sale

The deed of sale costs the most money. These costs correspond to approximately 4% of the purchase price (including 3% in registration fees to the state). For a villa of CHF 1,500,000, you will have to spend around CHF 57,000.

Costs for setting up a mortgage arrangement

You have to calculate 2.5% of the amount to be secured in the mortgage arrangement. If you can take over an existing mortgage arrangement from the seller, these fees are reduced.

Other costs

Depending on your personal situation, there may be other costs, for example, the costs of a marriage contract or translation fees.

Reduced registration fees: Casatax

If certain conditions are met, buyers of dwellings in the canton of Geneva can take advantage of a discount on property transfer taxes. You can find more information about this on our Casatax - reduced registration fees page.

Standard financial plan

We add a suitable standard financial plan to all our sales packages and, if necessary, we consider Casatax. We also perform our calculations for buyers who have 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of the capital requirements.

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