What is a Solvency Certificate?
How does it help me with my real estate acquisition?
A Solvency Certificate, also known as « buyer’s certificate » confirms your solvency and states your acquisition price capacity.
More and more real estate agents are asking for a buyer’s certificate to verify if you can afford a property. Such a certificate confirms to the seller that you have already had an interview with a financial institution which has pre-checked your mortgage loan capacity. Presenting a solvency certificate during a property visit is a powerful negotiating leverage which can make you stand out of the crowd as a solvent buyer candidate.
Who can issue my Solvency Certificate?
Banks and CSSF-approved mortgage brokers are entitled to issue this type of real estate buyer certificates.
Why is it better to check the maximum budget with a mortgage loan intermediary rather than a financial institution?
As each bank has its own lending guidelines. The maximum budget for a real estate purchase can vary greatly from one bank to another. Therefore, it is recommended to seek advice from a professional mortgage loan broker. Brokers know the different banks guidelines. Thus, they can estimate the maximum budget across the financial products jungle to find out the appropriate banks matching your individual case.
Who can issue my Solvency Certificate?
Banks and CSSF-approved mortgage brokers are entitled to issue this type of real estate buyer certificates.
Why is it better to check the maximum budget with a mortgage loan intermediary rather than a financial institution?
As each bank has its own lending guidelines. The maximum budget for a real estate purchase can vary greatly from one bank to another. Therefore, it is recommended to seek advice from a professional mortgage loan broker. Brokers know the different banks guidelines. Thus, they can estimate the maximum budget across the financial products jungle to find out the appropriate banks matching your individual case.
What information is required to issue a solvency certificate?
To make a precise assessment of your financial capacities, information on your personal situation and your financial profile is required.
The main factors that define a loan budget are:
Age of the customer
The age defines the maximum loan period. This is where the various banks differ greatly. While many banks only approve the loan term up to retirement age (65 years), other institutions can also finance up to retirement age. A person who is 40 years old can therefore only finance for 25 years with some banks, while other banks can approve a loan for 30 or even 35 years. This results in a large difference in the budget.
Income
The monthly income defines the maximum load capacity. Once again, the various banks differ greatly. While some banks approve a maximum of 40% of the household income as the maximum loan amount, other banks can go up to 50% or even 64%. With a household income of 10.000 EUR per month, the maximum loan instalment that can be approved varies between 4.000 EUR per month and 6.400 EUR per month. This limit also results in very large differences in the maximum budget.
Down payment
Another important factor is the saved amount that can be invested in the project. For first-time buyer, banks may finance up to 100% of the property value, but many banks require, on top of the acquisition fees, a minimum down payment on the acquisition price. For instance, the available savings amount to invest as down payment can lead to a different confirmed loan amount, from bank to bank, as the maximum budget. Learn more about loan-to-value.
How does FIDEM calculate my acquisition budget for my Solvency Certificate?
At FIDEM, we focus on your personal life goals and wishes. After all, which loan amount you can afford does not necessarily depend on what a bank would approve. What is more important is what YOU want. For example, a bank may approve a monthly installment of up to 6.400 EUR, but you do not want to pay more than 4.000 EUR on a monthly basis. For us, the most important factor is YOUR wished monthly installment. We check which bank can offer the best financing solution with these parameters. To put into perspective, we simulate your individual case using an exemplary financing plan. If this meets your requirements, we will issue you with the FIDEM Solvency Certificate. As soon as you have found a property that fits your budget, we only need the property documents to complete pre-checked loan application and to proceed with the banks.
This is a real time saver.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The most important learnings why you should have a solvency certificate by fidem.
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