clergy

Thanks in advance for any and all help!
My wife and I are planning a move to the Leiden area this summer. We're both EU nationals.
We have no work setup, as of yet, and no property there. The plan is, all being well, to Airbnb for a few weeks until we find a place to rent for 6 months to a year. In that time, we hope to buy a home there and settle into that. Workwise, we're thinking of PT work until something permanent turns up. If it doesn't, we'll rent the new home and go abroad again. My question is do you see any major flaws in this plan? One query I have is about the BSN. How can we register if we haven't got an address? And will a landlord rent to us without one? Can we smooth the way by offering more rent in advance?
Thanks again for any expertise offered here

Casa Santo Estevo

Your plan is the same as the question posted in Dec 2018?
You can only get a Burgerservicenummer when you register at the Gemeente (municipal offices).
https://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-info/o...on-netherlands

clergy

You're quite right Casa, it's the same question! Stuff's getting real for us now...maybe just looking for reassurance
Thanks for the reminder.

calman014

You should first look at the website ind.nl and see what your obligations are regarding immigration status and residence requirements.

If that is not in order you won't be able to do anything.

Cynic

The fact you live in an AirBnb doesn't necessarily mean you can't register from it; my daughter registered from an AirBnb address when she moved back a few years ago and I've known others to register from a hotel address; it really depends if the owner of the property permits registration - some don't - you should ask before you make any contractual commitment. Houses are not cheap in the Netherlands; I was looking at a technical report on a house last night not far from Leiden, 90 years old, in poor condition, 2 bedrooms - 300,000 euro; it needed 20k spending on it to make it habitable, not improve it.

You get 5 working days to register for your BSN; there is no real benefit in asking for a temporary BSN, they have the same requirements; the only real difference is that temporary BSN is aimed at Temporary workers in the Netherlands (i.e. 4 months or less) and they sit on a different database; not all Gemeentes offer Temporary BSN's (i.e. mine in Enschede doesn't).

clergy

Thanks for info so far, guys, really helpful. Cynic, I hear you on the property front. It's an endless feeling of missing the boat, searches on funda give results further and further out of Leiden
Can I ask about bank accounts? I imagine an address and BSN are required to open one?

Cynic

Yes, absolutely.

Red_Wine_Fairy

By EU citizen, which country gives you EU citizenship? (Just checking, as this forum is British Expats and Brits won't be EU citizens as of Friday)

Major flaws depend on whether you are a cash buyer or not. Cash buyer, and you shouldn't have many - house is yours, do what you want, taxman will want asset tax off you every tax years. Until then, the main issue will be finding a rental of 6 months without a job contract, expect to have to pay the whole lot up front (plus deposit, usually the equivalent of another month's rent).

If you're not a cash buyer, you face the following issues:

1) Getting a mortgage without not only a job, but without a vaste (permanent) contract, which are fewer on the ground these days.

2) Getting a mortgage that the bank will allow you to convert to a Buy-to-let mortgage. These are not generally available in NL
: if you can find one, you will need a huge deposit. You risk having the house repossessed if your mortgage lender finds out you're letting it and not living there (trust me, we were evicted from our rental home because of this - it does happen). All costs and the difference between the mortgage remaining and the sale value at auction stays with you and they will pursue you for it, no matter where you move on to. Then there is the Tax Man who might be giving you mortgage rebate based on it being your residence, and they them finding out you aren't living there (they have direct access to your bank account here).

If there is a chance or likelihood that you will be moving on in the short to medium term, I would strongly advise you just to rent for the full term. The cost of buying a house means you are likely to make a financial loss if you sell it in the first few years.

Funda is generally out of date (ie houses there are usually sold when people view them)

SushiFan

In another thread I asked the same question. The answer was that he holds both a UK and Irish passport.

clergy

Yep, that's correct. Maybe I lose all rights to post...post-Friday!
Great help from everyone, a big thank you.