For Internationals
Independent bidding advice for internationals buying a home in the Netherlands. We explain how Dutch bidding actually works, analyse the property with professional market data, and write your bid letter, all in English, from €695.
Not sure yet? Start with a Bid Check for €49: asking price, competition and red flags, within 3 hours.
The Dutch market
The Dutch housing market has its own rules, often unwritten. Your estate agent won't always explain them. We do, before you bid.
In competitive areas, homes often sell for 5 to 15% above asking. The asking price is where the conversation starts, not what the home is worth. Bid exactly the asking price and you will often lose. Overbid without data and you can overpay by thousands.
You don't see what others offer. You get one shot, sometimes a second round if it's close. This makes pricing everything, and makes the emotional part of your offer (the bid letter) unexpectedly important.
The makelaar you meet at the viewing works for the seller, not you. They are polite and professional, but their job is to get the highest price for the other side. Without an independent advisor, you negotiate alone.
If your bid is accepted, you sign a koopakte, a binding purchase contract, in Dutch legalese, with clauses about erfpacht (ground lease), inspection, financing, and cooling-off rights. Miss a clause and you can lose thousands later.
Most internationals lose homes not because they bid too little, but because they don't understand the game. That's what we fix.
The numbers
When buyers come in prepared, with market data and professional advice, they move faster, bid more strategically, and carry less emotional weight into their offers. A 2026 study of almost 3,000 recent Dutch home buyers shows the pattern clearly:
The pattern isn't luck. International buyers typically arrive knowing they don't know the market, so they prepare more carefully and lean on professional advisors more often than Dutch buyers. Aestimo was built for exactly this approach, professional data and strategic framing, in English, from first viewing to koopakte.
Source: Viisi Expatbarometer Q1 2026, independent survey of 927 international buyers and 1,923 Dutch buyers who recently purchased a home in the Netherlands. Findings covered by De Telegraaf, Het Parool, BNR, DutchNews.nl, Metro, and others.
About Aestimo
Aestimo is an independent bidding advisory firm, founded in early 2026 by a former Dutch makelaar. We work only for buyers, never for sellers, estate agents, or property platforms. No commission from the other side, no hidden interests, no double allegiances. Our role is to explain the Dutch market in plain English, give you professional transaction data instead of guesses, and stay reachable from your first WhatsApp message until the day you hold the keys.
Your intake, your progress and your advice come together in your own secure environment, with the same person guiding you throughout. View the environment
Aestimo works only for buyers. No commission from agents or platforms, no hidden fees, no double allegiances. Your interests and ours point the same way.
€695 for the full service. No percentage of the purchase price, our advice stays the same whether you bid €400K or €800K.
Access to professional transaction data that most consumer tools don't have, delivered in a readable report, in English, with a real person behind it.
The International Package
Everything from our Strategic Bid service, fully in English. Step-by-step guidance through the Dutch buying process, professional bid letter in Dutch, and a contract review after acceptance.
Prefer to discuss first? Ask us on WhatsApp
From first message to keys
A clear path through a process that feels anything but clear. No part skipped, nothing left to improvise.
Send us the Funda link or address and pay securely online by iDEAL, credit card or Klarna, also later or in 3 interest-free instalments. We reply within 3 hours on working days, in English. If we can't take on your home in time, you get a full refund. Questions first? Message us on WhatsApp, free and without commitment.
We walk through your situation: budget, timeline, financing, residency status, and how much you want this specific home. We explain where the market currently is and what to expect at the viewing.
You receive a full written report covering how Dutch bidding works, three comparable transactions, a value history of the property, three bidding scenarios, and a concrete recommendation. Everything in English, designed to be understood, not impressive.
A professional bid letter in Dutch, written to match your profile (employment, residency, financing). Sellers read these. A serious, well-written letter can be the difference between acceptance and a polite rejection, even at the same price.
Once the seller accepts, a purchase contract (koopakte) arrives, in Dutch. We read it with you, explain every clause in plain English, and flag anything unusual: ground lease obligations, inspection clauses, financing deadlines, and your cooling-off rights.
Questions about the notaris, final inspections, transferring ownership, or the eigenaarslasten? Message us. We're reachable in English from your first viewing until the moment you hold the keys.
This is for you if
Different starting points, same challenge: a housing market that doesn't explain itself to newcomers.
"Everyone keeps saying I should overbid. By how much?"
You moved to the Netherlands recently, for work, a partner, a new chapter. You're tired of renting, the market is intense, and the advice you get is either vague or conflicted. You need one honest voice.
"I know the country. I've never bought a home before."
You've lived in NL for years, you know the neighbourhoods, the rhythm, the bike lanes. But you've been renting. Now you're buying for the first time, and the process is a completely different country.
"I need to buy before I even land."
You're relocating: a new job, a return, a family move. You're abroad, but you need housing sorted before arrival. Viewings are hard to attend in person, and timing is everything. You need someone on the ground.
Frequently asked
If yours isn't here, message on WhatsApp. No question is too basic, most internationals are asking the same things.
No. Everything between us is in English: the intake call, the report, WhatsApp messages, the contract review. The only Dutch you'll encounter is the bid letter (which we write for you) and the koopakte (which we go through with you clause by clause, in plain English, before you sign).
Then your next Bid Check is free. This applies when your offer was within the bid range in your report and someone else offered more. It does not apply if you lost on conditions such as the transfer date or a financing condition, bid outside our advice, did not bid or withdrew your offer, or if the seller did not sell. Once per client. To claim, forward the agent's message to sam@aestimobidding.nl within 14 days of the rejection, and the bid log later if you have it. You will hear within one working day whether the guarantee applies. Lost a bid somewhere else? Read what to do differently next time.
Yes, a good share of our international clients are buying remotely, before they arrive. We work asynchronously on WhatsApp and email, handle calls across time zones, and give you an honest read on listings you can't visit in person. For remote viewings we can also refer trusted third parties.
A buying agent typically charges 1 to 1.5% of the purchase price, often €4,000 to €10,000+, and their interests are aligned with closing, not necessarily with the best outcome for you. Aestimo is a flat €695. We don't close the deal for you; we give you the data, the strategy, and the letter so you can bid with confidence. Independent, transparent, and a fraction of the price.
The koopakte is the binding purchase contract you sign after your bid is accepted. It's in Dutch legalese and contains clauses about ground lease (erfpacht), financing deadlines, inspection rights, and your cooling-off period. A missed clause can cost you thousands, for example, agreeing to a financing deadline that's too short, then losing your deposit when the mortgage isn't finalised in time. We read it with you before you sign.
In the Netherlands, the asking price (vraagprijs) is legally a starting point, not a ceiling. In competitive regions the real market value is often 5 to 15% above it, and sometimes much more. Asking prices are also sometimes set intentionally low to attract multiple bidders. A professional valuation tells you what the home is actually worth, not what a listing agent wrote on Funda.
Each report is delivered as quickly as the bidding process allows. Send your situation via WhatsApp, including any deadlines, and we will confirm when you can expect the analysis. We don't take on work we can't deliver on time.
You pay securely online when you submit your request: by iDEAL, credit card or Klarna, also later or in 3 interest-free instalments. If we cannot take on your home in time, you get a full refund. VAT is included in the €695 price.
Yes. Your information is used solely for your report and is never shared with third parties. We work in line with GDPR; our full privacy statement is available for review.
Ready to start
Start your request with the home you're looking at. Want to ask something first? Message us on WhatsApp. That part is always free and without commitment.
A real person replies within 3 hours on working days, in English. Or start small with a Bid Check for €49.