Visning in Sweden: Questions to Ask the Mäklare

At my first visning (viewing) in Gothenburg, I spent twenty minutes opening cupboards and finally asked whether the kitchen was new. The mäklare (estate agent) said yes. Both things were true, and both were completely useless.

The Swedish property market has a quirk that newcomers often find hard to grasp: the mäklare works for the seller and is paid by the seller, but is legally obliged to inform you correctly as well. He may not lie to you. But he also does not have to volunteer that the förening (the housing association) is going to redo the roof next year.

The quality of your viewing therefore depends almost entirely on your questions. Here they are, sorted by property type. The Swedish wording is included so that you can ask them even if your Swedish doesn't yet stretch that far, or simply show them.

If it is a bostadsrätt

The förening

Its finances are your finances. Over the next ten years that matters more than the flat itself, and it is the part that newcomers most often skip. A bostadsrätt is a tenant-owner flat: you do not buy the flat itself, but a right to live in it through membership of a bostadsrättsförening (housing association).

• Kan jag få föreningens senaste årsredovisning och stadgar? — Can I get the association's latest annual report and its articles of association?
• Hur stor är föreningens skuld per kvadratmeter? — How large is the association's debt per square metre?
• När är föreningens lån bundna till, och till vilken ränta? — Until when are the association's loans fixed, and at what interest rate?
• Finns en underhållsplan, och vad står närmast på tur? — Is there a maintenance plan, and what is next in line?
• Har avgiften höjts de senaste tre åren, och är en höjning beslutad? — Has the avgift (the monthly fee) been raised in the last three years, and has an increase been decided?
• Är föreningen äkta eller oäkta? — Is the association äkta or oäkta (a "genuine" or "non-genuine" housing association)? This has tax consequences if you sell later.
• Äger föreningen marken, eller är det tomträtt? — Does the association own the land, or is it tomträtt (site leasehold)?

The first question is the most important. The årsredovisning (annual report) is public, the mäklare has to hand it over, and it tells you more about the next ten years than any viewing. How to read it is covered in the article on the bostadsrättsförening.

The flat

What the listing says is the sales version. These questions target what it leaves out.

• Vad ingår i avgiften — värme, vatten, bredband, kabel-tv? — What is included in the avgift: heating, water, broadband, cable TV?
• Vilka renoveringar är gjorda, av vem, och finns kvitton? — Which renovations have been done, by whom, and are there receipts?
• Är badrummet och köket fackmannamässigt renoverade? — Have the bathroom and kitchen been renovated professionally?
• Finns det någon känd fukt- eller ljudproblematik i huset? — Are any damp or noise problems known in the building?
• Vad är boarea och vad är biarea i den här lägenheten? — What is the boarea (living area) and what is the biarea (secondary area)?
• Ingår förråd och eventuell parkering, eller köas det separat? — Are the storage room and any parking space included, or is there a separate queue for them?

It is especially worth pressing on the bathroom and kitchen. A wet room that was not renovated professionally is an expensive defect in Sweden, and the burden of proof later lies with you.

Purchase and process

• Hur många har anmält intresse, och har bud lagts? — How many people have registered interest, and have any bids been placed?
• Vilka villkor ställer föreningen för medlemskap? — What conditions does the association set for membership?
• Vilka avgifter tar föreningen vid överlåtelse och pantsättning? — What fees does the association charge for transfer and pledging?
• När är tillträde tänkt? — When is tillträde (handover) planned?

If it is a house

Building fabric

Here the undersökningsplikt (the buyer's duty to inspect) applies: anything you could have discovered through careful inspection, you cannot complain about later. This is the starkest difference from German purchase law, for example.

• Finns en överlåtelsebesiktning, och får jag läsa den? — Is there a handover survey, and may I read it?
• Vilken grundkonstruktion har huset — krypgrund, platta på mark eller källare? — What kind of foundation does the house have: crawl space, slab on ground or cellar?
• Har det funnits fukt i grunden eller på vinden? — Has there been damp in the foundation or in the loft?
• När byttes taket senast, och vilket material? — When was the roof last replaced, and with which material?
• När drogs elen om senast, och finns jordfelsbrytare? — When was the wiring last redone, and is there a residual-current device?
• Vilka renoveringar är gjorda med bygglov, och finns slutbesked? — Which renovations were done with a building permit, and is there a final certificate?

The krypgrund (crawl space) is the term where your own survey almost always pays off. Damp underneath is the classic among expensive surprises, and a besiktning (independent survey) costs roughly 9,600 to 10,800 kronor, the cheapest insurance in this purchase.

Technical systems and running costs

The driftkostnad (running costs) in the listing is the seller's consumption, not yours. A family of four following a pensioner who lived alone will see a different figure in the first winter.

• Hur värms huset upp, och vad kostade uppvärmningen förra året? — How is the house heated, and what did the heating cost last year?
• Är vatten och avlopp kommunalt eller enskilt? — Are water and sewage municipal or private?
• Om enskilt avlopp: när godkändes anläggningen senast av kommunen? — If private sewage: when was the system last approved by the municipality?
• Om egen brunn: finns ett vattenprov, och hur gammalt är det? — If it has its own well: is there a water test, and how old is it?
• Vad står i energideklarationen? — What does the energy certificate say?
• Ingår huset i en samfällighet, och vad kostar den? — Is the house part of a samfällighet (joint property association), and what does it cost?

There is a separate article on wells and private sewage systems. This is the point where houses outside the city are most often underestimated.

Plot and legal matters

• Hur mycket pantbrev finns uttagna i fastigheten? — How many pantbrev (mortgage deeds) have been issued on the property?
• Vad är taxeringsvärdet? — What is the taxeringsvärde (the tax assessment value, explained here)?
• Finns servitut, ledningsrätter eller andra belastningar? — Are there easements, rights of way for cables and pipes, or other encumbrances?
• Berörs tomten av strandskydd? — Is the plot affected by strandskydd (shoreline protection)?
• Finns detaljplan, och vad får byggas på granntomterna? — Is there a detailed development plan, and what may be built on the neighbouring plots?
• När sotades och brandskyddskontrollerades eldstaden senast? — When were the fireplace and chimney last swept and fire-safety checked?

The question about pantbrev sounds technical and is the most lucrative on this list. Existing pantbrev pass to you and cost nothing; for every newly issued one you pay two per cent. On a loan of four million kronor, that is the difference between zero and eighty thousand. More on this under stämpelskatt (stamp duty) and pantbrev.

If it is a holiday home

Usability through the year

The difference between a summer house and a home that can be lived in all year round quickly costs six figures. A holiday home is called a fritidshus in Swedish.

• Är huset byggt för åretruntboende eller för sommarbruk? — Was the house built for year-round living or for summer use?
• Är vattnet avstängt vintertid, och är ledningarna frostsäkra? — Is the water switched off in winter, and are the pipes frost-proof?
• Hur är huset isolerat, och vad kostar det att värma i februari? — How is the house insulated, and what does it cost to heat in February?
• Plogas vägen fram till huset vintertid, och vem betalar? — Is the road to the house ploughed in winter, and who pays for it?

Location and access

With a holiday home, the way there is part of the property.

• Vem äger och underhåller vägen fram till fastigheten? — Who owns and maintains the road to the property?
• Finns vägsamfällighet, och vad är årsavgiften? — Is there a road association, and what is the annual fee?
• Berörs tomten av strandskydd, och vad får göras närmast vattnet? — Does shoreline protection apply, and what may be done closest to the water?
• Finns bryggrätt eller båtplats, och följer den med? — Are there jetty or mooring rights, and do they come with the property?

Technical systems and legal matters

The same questions as for a house, except that the systems here are often older.

• Är vatten och avlopp kommunalt eller enskilt? — Are water and sewage municipal or private?
• Om enskilt avlopp: när godkändes anläggningen senast? — If private sewage: when was the system last approved?
• Finns en överlåtelsebesiktning? — Is there a handover survey?
• Hur mycket pantbrev finns uttagna? — How many pantbrev have been issued?
• Får huset hyras ut, och finns begränsningar? — May the house be let, and are there restrictions?

The most expensive surprise with a holiday home is almost always the sewage. An unapproved private sewage system has to be replaced, and that quickly costs more than a new kitchen. More on the country house in Bohuslän.

This list is also available as a tool for switching and copying (currently in German): choose the property type, get all 48 questions in Swedish and German, and send them to your notes app with one click.

Two things this list does not do

It does not sort the answers. "The association has debts of 18,000 kronor per square metre" sounds like a number but is really a judgement call: whether it is high or normal depends on the neighbourhood, the year of construction and the interest-rate fixing.

And it does not replace a besiktning. The questions draw out what the mäklare knows. What nobody knows, because nobody has looked yet, only a surveyor will find.

If you have the documents in your hands and want someone to read them for you before you bid: that is what the property check is for. You send me the Hemnet link and the documents, and I write you a two-page assessment in English or German.

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Buying a house in Sweden: practical guide is the in-depth guide on this topic: view in the shop (currently available in German).

I'm Sebastian Schiefner, a photographer in Gothenburg, and I help people who are moving to West Sweden with finding a home and buying property. Free intro call.