Buying a property in Sweden

The first step is to find a property that meets your needs and budget. You can search for properties online, work with a real estate agent, or check local newspapers and classified ads. If you have a general idea of what you are looking for you can always contact us and we will take down that information so that we can contact you if we find a property that matches your specific requests.

Once you have found a property you are interested in, you will need to negotiate the purchase price with the seller. The seller may set a price or be open to negotiation, and you may need to make an offer and negotiate back and forth until both parties agree on a price. This is also when you add other terms in the deal, such as closing date and other terms, for example an inspection of the property.

Before you finalize the purchase, you will need to conduct due diligence to ensure that the property is in good condition, free of any liens or encumbrances, and complies with local regulations. You may want to hire a property inspector to assist you in this process. In most cases the seller will already have done an inspection of the house with an impartial property inspector. If there are any bigger remarks you can be obligated to have an additional inspection done just for these remarks. Always discuss this with the real estate agent who is neutral in the process in accordance with Swedish law.

If the due diligence checks out, you can move forward with signing a contract to purchase the property. The contract will outline the terms of the sale, including the purchase price, any contingencies, and the expected closing date. The contract will be in Swedish but you can always get a copy in English and during the signing the real estate agent can translate all the paragraphs. After signing the contract you normally have five banking days to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price. The deposit is transferred to a separate account belonging to the real estate agent and not until all the terms of the contract are fulfilled the deposit will be transferred to the seller.

There is in most cases some time between the signing of the contract and the closing date of the deal. A normal amount of time is three months but this can be negotiated. Observe that the time between signing and closing can never be more than two years due to Swedish property law.

When the purchase is paid in full the buyer will receive the keys to the house and the real estate agent will make sure that all of the seller´s mortgages are removed from the property.

Once the contract is signed and the purchase price is paid, you will need to register the property with the Swedish Land Registry (Lantmäteriet). This will transfer ownership of the property to you and ensure that you have legal title to the property. This process is normally done by the buyer’s bank but the service can also be provided by the real estate agent.

Note that when you buy property in Sweden you have to pay a tax (stamp duty) of 1,5 % of the purchase price plus 825 SEK in expedition cost. If you want to buy through a company the tax is 4,25 % plus 825 SEK expedition cost.