Oslo - House buy

Buyer expenses     
When buying a house, the buyer has to pay a document fee (taxes and duties) - dokumentgebyr - which is 2,5 % of the sales price. An estate agent will be able to explain the details of the charges involved in a property purchase. In addition, there are advertising expenses and payments to an assessor.

Most houses in the Oslo area are bought via estate agents (eiendomsmeglere), see Estate Agents. An estate agent both sells and rents houses. When buying a house, the estate agent charges the seller between 1,5 and 2,5% of the sales price. The buyer has to pay a document fee (taxes and duties) - dokumentgebyr - which is 2,5 % of the sale price. Most houses and apartments are sold by competitive bidding. When buying a new house/apartment, ask to see the certificate of completion (ferdigattest) to check if all legally required work is finished. The certificate is issued by the municipal building control (bygningsetaten). In general, when purchasing property, you would need to see the property condition report (tilstandsrapport) developed by an assessor (takstmann). The assessor examines any damages and the quality of maintenance and he estimates the value (verditakst) of the property. The estimated value will normally be included in the advertising when the house/apartment is for sale. Both seller and buyer would want to hire an assessor to estimate the value and condition of the property. For a list of assessors, see House Inspection.

Advertising
The estate agents most often take care of the advertising for houses that are for sale or rent, either in the newspapers or on the Internet or in special leaflets. The main estate agents will have their own web sites with information and pictures of the properties that are for sale. You will also find their ads in the main newspaper in Oslo, Aftenposten, or the local paper for Asker and Bærum, Asker & Bærums Budstikke. Housing advertisements are placed under Eiendom (property) or Bolig (dwelling).