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How to prepare for applying for a home loan

You should apply for a home loan before going house hunting, if possible, in order to find out in advance how much you can borrow.

The loan application contains questions about your employment and family relationships and your income, savings and loans. Fill in the application carefully and have the following information at hand:

  • your salary before and after tax 
  • other income and benefits
  • other loans and credit cards
  • savings to be used to buy a home
  • savings and other assets that can be used as collateral for a loan
  • information on the home you are planning to buy or a preliminary plan.

How careful should you be when filling in the loan application?

Based on your loan application we will have a loan negotiation with you to find the best loan solution. By filling in the application carefully, you ensure that we will be able to process your application as quickly as possible.

We can obtain information on your loans and credit cards from the positive credit register, so you only need to enter an estimate of your current loans on the application.

We also ask you about the value of your assets on the application. Check the value of your savings and investments before filling in the application. For your current home, it’s sufficient to state an estimate. We will appraise its value later. We will also discuss the value of any additional collateral you have in the loan negotiation.

When filling in the application, it’s important that you think about how much of your own savings you can use to buy the home. To obtain a loan, you must always be able to provide 5–10% of the home’s price from your own savings or from the money you will obtain from selling your current home.

When filling in the application, you don’t need to know exactly which home you are going to buy or the exact price of the home. Our home loan calculator and application allow you to assess in advance how much you can borrow. Often the numbers will be finalised in the loan negotiation.

Read more about the self-financing share

Home loan negotiation

Once you have submitted your home loan application, we will call you as soon as possible to book a meeting. 

In the loan negotiation, we will discuss the interest rates, repayment methods and types of collateral you can choose from. We will also tell you how you can secure the repayment of your home loan.

Read more about loan negotiations

What are the requirements for getting a home loan?

Getting a loan and the amount of the loan depend on your income, other loans and credit cards as well as your savings and other assets that can be put up as collateral for the loan.

You can get a loan even if you don’t have a regular monthly income. The main thing is that your household’s income and expenses are balanced, and therefore a permanent job is not an absolute requirement. When planning the loan amount, you should always keep in mind that you should have money left for other expenses after your monthly payments.

But bear in mind that you must have a clean credit record in order to get a loan.

Sometimes your own collateral is not sufficient to cover the repayment of the home loan amount you wish to obtain. If so, you can ask a family member or a friend to provide additional collateral for the loan. Your parents’ holiday home or other assets can be pledged as collateral, for instance. Another option is that you agree that you will use Nordea’s OwnGuarantee or a state guarantee.

Read more about collateral

Frequently asked questions about applying for a home loan

Home loan negotiation >

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