Preserve your home through your mortgage

If you want to make your house more sustainable, when you take out your mortgage, you can borrow a certain amount extra to carry this out (or have it carried out), based on the energy label.

The lower the energy label, the more it will take to improve the house and thus you can borrow extra to make it more sustainable.

Sustainability by energy label

Depending on the energy label, you can borrow more or less extra money. The oversight to borrow extra money to make sustainability possible is actually laid out quite logically.

The lower your home’s label is the more extra borrowing you can do to address everything. Because the better the label, the less modification is likely to be needed!

For example, owners of homes with energy labels E, F or G can currently borrow an additional €20,000, while for owners with a home with energy labels A or B that is a maximum of €10,000.

The table shows exactly at which label you can borrow how much extra to make your home more sustainable.

Recovering investment

How long it takes to recoup an investment in preservation varies, of course, depending on the adaptation.

Especially with the higher energy prices, the rule always applies: you pay for a remodel or purchase, but you have to pay less monthly charges for energy.

It is therefore wise to find out how long it will take you to get out of expenses.

A cavity wall insulation, for example, will pay for itself within 3 to 4 years, but insulating gaps is actually right away! And of course it’s helpful to have help figuring out all the options and rules, and fortunately this help is close at hand.

There are several ways you can pay for the preservation of your home. What is an appropriate choice depends entirely on your personal situation.

Using mortgage to finance sustainability

You can also pay for the preservation of your (current) home by increasing your mortgage.

But beware, due to higher closing costs, this is only wise if the remodeling amount is at least €25,000. You must also consider a 30-year repayment period.

It is most convenient to take out a higher mortgage right away when you buy your (new) home.

You won’t have to incur additional costs for a renovation. Moreover, you may borrow a higher amount if you are going to spend the money on making your home more sustainable.

This usually comes with an attractive low interest rate. So under certain conditions, you can also borrow thousands of euros extra on top of your maximum mortgage if you use this money for energy-saving measures.

Subsidy for making it more sustainable

Many modifications that make your home more economical require substantial investments. Sometimes it is possible to get a subsidy for this from the government.

Both the state, province and municipality offer various grants and loans with favorable terms for making your home more sustainable.

There are several websites that provide a complete overview of concessions, whether national, local or regional. The following website will help you get started:

Central government overview grants

SNN grants for individuals (Northern Netherlands).

So it’s really worth putting some time and energy into this and see what subsidies you may be able to get, apply for and ensure you borrow less!

Mortgage2Go

Do you have certainty about what you can borrow maximum for a mortgage and want to get the financing just about right before you start house hunting?

Then Mortgage2Go offers the solution. With a pre-checked mortgage, your financing is already pretty much in place and you can be sure you can afford your dream home.

Within two business days of your accepted offer, your financing is then complete and finally approved!

Start an application quickly and see if you qualify.

Relevant information:

Sustainable living and mortgage options