A question occurred to me: Did you find it simple to get the information about the housing company and to estimate it's future economical outlook before you made the decision to become a shareowner?
The whole process was straightforward, but saying it was "simple" might not be entirely accurate. We had been actively discussing with our local friends in Finland for years before deciding we were ready to buy our first property there. By the time we started the process, we felt as prepared as we could be. However, dealing with important documents like esite, kunnossapitotarveselvitys, isännöitsijäntodistus, and asbestikartoitusraportti was challenging, as everything was in Finnish and understanding what each document meant took some time. Fortunately, our local Finnish friends helped us go through all the documents together. The same applies to the neighborhood we now live in - it is a great place for families, with many kindergartens and schools nearby, and the city also plans to expand its public transportation options. So, it is very likely that the property value will increase in the near future.
You should be in direct contact with the banks, as only they can review your financial situation and see if they are able to grant you a loan to help buy a house.
Having or not having citizenship or residence permit doesn't much matter in buying real estate or shares of a company owning real estate. If you're buying it from a strategically important location, then it's possible that foreigners are prevented from buying based on legislation protecting national defence interest. There is legislation of how this is handled and when a permission to buy needs to be asked. But if you're asking about getting a loan for financing the purchase, in such situations financing institutions can have different challenges in verifying your creditworthiness, if you don't have history in Finland. You need to contact banks and ask about their procedures in making loan decisions.
Do you mean by buying a house buying real estate or an apartment? Regarding the requirement for a permit for the acquisition of real estate Since January 1, 2020, transferees outside the EU and EEA regions have needed a permit to acquire real estate in Finland. However, the law does not apply in the territory of the province of Åland. The acquisition of real estate refers to a legal act by which the ownership of a real estate or its portion or area is transferred to another (e.g. sale, exchange, gift or other transfer). Applying for a permit only applies to real estate. A permit is therefore not needed if it is a sale of a housing stock. Who needs a permit? A permit must be applied for when the real estate is acquired by an individual who does not have the citizenship of an EU member state or a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA). A company or other entity whose registered office is outside the EU or EEA also needs a permit. In addition, a permit is also required for an entity that has its registered office in the territory of a state belonging to the EU or EEA area, but in which a natural person or entity outside the EU or EEA area has at least 1/10 of the total number of votes of all the shares of the limited company or similar effective influence. When calculating the share of votes from the total number of votes of the shareholders of the limited company, the shares are also taken into account: 1) which belong to a company belonging to the same group as the transferee; 2) that belong to a family member of the transferee or to an entity or foundation controlled by a family member; or 3) on the basis of which the transferee is entitled to exercise voting rights on the basis of an agreement or other measure.
Translation from the Finnish Unofficial translation, legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish. Act on Transfers of Real Estate Requiring Special Permission By decision of Parliament, the following is enacted: Section 1 Scope of application and relationship with other legislation This Act applies to transfers of real estate in the territory of Finland if the transferee is: 1) an entity with a seat in a state other than a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area or a citizen of a state other than a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area; 2) an entity with a seat in a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area when a natural person or entity within the meaning of the foregoing subsection 1 holds a minimum of one tenth of the aggregate number of votes carried by the shares of a limited liability company or exercises equivalent actual control in the company. When the percentage of votes carried by the aggregate number of shares in a limited liability company referred to in subsection 1(2) above is determined, such a determination shall also include shares: 1) held by a company forming part of the same group of companies to which the transferee belongs; 2) held by a family member of the transferee or an entity or foundation in which such a family member exercises control; or 3) by virtue of which the transferee is entitled to exercise voting rights under a contract or other arrangement. The provisions of the foregoing subsection 2 shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the determination of the transferee’s percentage of votes in entities other than limited liability companies. For the purposes of this Act, transfer of real estate means a legal act by which title to a piece of real estate or to a share of real estate or to a parcel of real estate is transferred to a new owner. This Act shall not apply in the territory of the Province of Åland. ...
Surely you realize there is no simple fixed cost for housing in any country. It all depends on the quality of housing and the exact location and the market price at the location. It's also a market price, meaning it will change as the market conditions change. You need to specify a location and what kind of housing you're looking for anyone to be able give you relevant answers.
@adventurepreet The total cost of housing in Finland can vary significantly depending on the location, type of housing, and other factors. It also depends if you want to buy or rent a property. To get a better understanding of the housing market in Finland, you could explore housing options available on Oikotie for example: asunnot.oikotie.fi
Why did you use a bank to register the ownership or the apartment on your behalf? Was it just more convenient for you? From the National Land Survey of Finland price list: Registration of ownership upon application of the owner or notification of the housing company, EUR per apartment 69,00
Thanks, this is a good question. To be fair, we were never informed that this was something we could do ourselves. Once we placed the bid, won the bid, and started the paperwork on DIAS, the bank and the realtor pretty much took care of all the other important matters. Apart from signing the papers and paying the fees, we were not instructed to do anything else. But yes, the whole process for us went rather smoothly.
@@couple_of_expats It's understandable that when you use a realtor, or someone else selling their services, they prefer to take over the process and make it simple for them and customers. They don't encourage people to take care of things by themselves unless it's something they cannot handle as part of their services.
@@couple_of_expats A smooth process has been one of the key goals driving the many legal chances over recent years in the apartment and ownership registration system. Many years ago I was reading the justifications for these proposals, which have now been implemented. Good to see that people experience it as something positive even though it has added new fees and was clearly driven by the interest of realtors, banks and other professionals in this field. I was representing the interest of non professional homeowners and housing companies.
@@just42tube Yeah, although we have no experience with how things were done in the past, navigating this whole process for the first time in 2024 was a pleasant experience. Additionally, being able to receive service and complete most paperwork in English was a great benefit. We didn't want to sign any papers unless we could fully understand them.
@@couple_of_expats What languages does your housing company use for official purposes and for other purposes. It used to be that housing companies themselves maintained registers of their shares, share owners and apartments as specified in Asunto-osakeyhtiölaki. If you read the previous versions of the act, you'll see the difference. It was the housing company's task to verify the documents made about the change of ownership of a group of shares and verify that required tax is paid and then update its own register.
Watch next ➡We Bought Our First Home in Finland I Tips for Immigrants ua-cam.com/video/HUn3JWwJSo4/v-deo.htmlsi=7qWIYD6xkL2Z8f0m
A question occurred to me: Did you find it simple to get the information about the housing company and to estimate it's future economical outlook before you made the decision to become a shareowner?
The whole process was straightforward, but saying it was "simple" might not be entirely accurate. We had been actively discussing with our local friends in Finland for years before deciding we were ready to buy our first property there. By the time we started the process, we felt as prepared as we could be.
However, dealing with important documents like esite, kunnossapitotarveselvitys, isännöitsijäntodistus, and asbestikartoitusraportti was challenging, as everything was in Finnish and understanding what each document meant took some time. Fortunately, our local Finnish friends helped us go through all the documents together.
The same applies to the neighborhood we now live in - it is a great place for families, with many kindergartens and schools nearby, and the city also plans to expand its public transportation options. So, it is very likely that the property value will increase in the near future.
Is it possible to buy a house if my fiancee is a citizen and am still a resident permit holder? We looking to buy a house next year
You should be in direct contact with the banks, as only they can review your financial situation and see if they are able to grant you a loan to help buy a house.
Having or not having citizenship or residence permit doesn't much matter in buying real estate or shares of a company owning real estate. If you're buying it from a strategically important location, then it's possible that foreigners are prevented from buying based on legislation protecting national defence interest.
There is legislation of how this is handled and when a permission to buy needs to be asked.
But if you're asking about getting a loan for financing the purchase, in such situations financing institutions can have different challenges in verifying your creditworthiness, if you don't have history in Finland.
You need to contact banks and ask about their procedures in making loan decisions.
Do you mean by buying a house buying real estate or an apartment?
Regarding the requirement for a permit for the acquisition of real estate
Since January 1, 2020, transferees outside the EU and EEA regions have needed a permit to acquire real estate in Finland. However, the law does not apply in the territory of the province of Åland. The acquisition of real estate refers to a legal act by which the ownership of a real estate or its portion or area is transferred to another (e.g. sale, exchange, gift or other transfer).
Applying for a permit only applies to real estate. A permit is therefore not needed if it is a sale of a housing stock.
Who needs a permit?
A permit must be applied for when the real estate is acquired by an individual who does not have the citizenship of an EU member state or a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA). A company or other entity whose registered office is outside the EU or EEA also needs a permit.
In addition, a permit is also required for an entity that has its registered office in the territory of a state belonging to the EU or EEA area, but in which a natural person or entity outside the EU or EEA area has at least 1/10 of the total number of votes of all the shares of the limited company or similar effective influence. When calculating the share of votes from the total number of votes of the shareholders of the limited company, the shares are also taken into account: 1) which belong to a company belonging to the same group as the transferee; 2) that belong to a family member of the transferee or to an entity or foundation controlled by a family member; or 3) on the basis of which the transferee is entitled to exercise voting rights on the basis of an agreement or other measure.
Translation from the Finnish
Unofficial translation, legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish.
Act on Transfers of Real Estate Requiring Special Permission By decision of Parliament, the following is enacted:
Section 1 Scope of application and relationship with other legislation
This Act applies to transfers of real estate in the territory of Finland if the transferee is:
1) an entity with a seat in a state other than a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area or a citizen of a state other than a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area;
2) an entity with a seat in a Member State of the European Union or a member country of the European Economic Area when a natural person or entity within the meaning of the foregoing subsection 1 holds a minimum of one tenth of the aggregate number of votes carried by the shares of a limited liability company or exercises equivalent actual control in the company.
When the percentage of votes carried by the aggregate number of shares in a limited liability company referred to in subsection 1(2) above is determined, such a determination shall also include shares:
1) held by a company forming part of the same group of companies to which the transferee belongs;
2) held by a family member of the transferee or an entity or foundation in which such a family member exercises control; or
3) by virtue of which the transferee is entitled to exercise voting rights under a contract or other arrangement.
The provisions of the foregoing subsection 2 shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the determination of the transferee’s percentage of votes in entities other than limited liability companies.
For the purposes of this Act, transfer of real estate means a legal act by which title to a piece of real estate or to a share of real estate or to a parcel of real estate is transferred to a new owner.
This Act shall not apply in the territory of the Province of Åland.
...
How long have you been in Finland?
6 years now.
@@couple_of_expats You still needed someone English speaking?
@@chimosh what do you mean?
@@couple_of_expats You said in your video that you required someone that spoke english
Total cost of housing how much in Finland?
Surely you realize there is no simple fixed cost for housing in any country. It all depends on the quality of housing and the exact location and the market price at the location. It's also a market price, meaning it will change as the market conditions change.
You need to specify a location and what kind of housing you're looking for anyone to be able give you relevant answers.
@adventurepreet The total cost of housing in Finland can vary significantly depending on the location, type of housing, and other factors. It also depends if you want to buy or rent a property.
To get a better understanding of the housing market in Finland, you could explore housing options available on Oikotie for example: asunnot.oikotie.fi
Why did you use a bank to register the ownership or the apartment on your behalf?
Was it just more convenient for you?
From the National Land Survey of Finland price list:
Registration of ownership upon application of the owner or notification of the housing company, EUR per apartment
69,00
Thanks, this is a good question. To be fair, we were never informed that this was something we could do ourselves. Once we placed the bid, won the bid, and started the paperwork on DIAS, the bank and the realtor pretty much took care of all the other important matters. Apart from signing the papers and paying the fees, we were not instructed to do anything else. But yes, the whole process for us went rather smoothly.
@@couple_of_expats
It's understandable that when you use a realtor, or someone else selling their services, they prefer to take over the process and make it simple for them and customers. They don't encourage people to take care of things by themselves unless it's something they cannot handle as part of their services.
@@couple_of_expats
A smooth process has been one of the key goals driving the many legal chances over recent years in the apartment and ownership registration system.
Many years ago I was reading the justifications for these proposals, which have now been implemented. Good to see that people experience it as something positive even though it has added new fees and was clearly driven by the interest of realtors, banks and other professionals in this field. I was representing the interest of non professional homeowners and housing companies.
@@just42tube Yeah, although we have no experience with how things were done in the past, navigating this whole process for the first time in 2024 was a pleasant experience. Additionally, being able to receive service and complete most paperwork in English was a great benefit. We didn't want to sign any papers unless we could fully understand them.
@@couple_of_expats
What languages does your housing company use for official purposes and for other purposes.
It used to be that housing companies themselves maintained registers of their shares, share owners and apartments as specified in Asunto-osakeyhtiölaki.
If you read the previous versions of the act, you'll see the difference.
It was the housing company's task to verify the documents made about the change of ownership of a group of shares and verify that required tax is paid and then update its own register.