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PROPERTY

Buyer’s market: a step-by-step guide to bidding on an apartment in Sweden

It's now a buyer's market for property in Sweden, with one fifth of sales taking place below the offer price in the first two weeks of June. In Sweden the apartment-buying process often moves fast and has fewer additional fees than in many countries. We've outlined the steps you need to take and the pitfalls to look out for in this guide for potential buyers.

Published: 30 July 2021 12:14 CEST
Updated: 1 July 2022 09:56 CEST
Buyer's market: a step-by-step guide to bidding on an apartment in Sweden
How to get your dream Swedish apartment in six steps. Photo: Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Buying a property abroad can be daunting, but in Sweden the apartment-buying process often moves fast and has fewer additional fees than in many countries, meaning it can be an appealing option compared to the precarious rental market. Here are some things to know before you step in and buy. 

1. Decide if buying is right for you and set your budget

Historically, buying property has been a good investment in Sweden but with interest rates on the rise and property prices falling in recent months, this may not be the case over the next few years. 

Whether or not you should buy depends on a range of factors including how long you expect to stay in Sweden, whether or not you have access to a stable first-hand rental contract, your budget, and of course your personal preference.

New arrivals may find it harder to buy; although there are no rules stopping non-residents from buying, it can be hard to get a mortgage without a history of income in Sweden. We’ve outlined the pros and cons in detail in the following article:

If you decide buying is the route for you, you’ll want to begin researching properties available in your preferred area to decide on your budget and which features are must-haves. 

2. Get a loan promise

Once you know how much the properties you are interested in cost and how much you think you can afford, it’s time to talk to the bank. 

A loan promise (lånelöfte) isn’t a necessity when you attend viewings, but because the market tends to move fast it is generally a good idea to speak to your bank before you start the process. Make sure to shop around and speak to different banks, as some may offer better deals, although you don’t have to take out a mortgage with the one that gives you a loan promise.

When you buy a house in Sweden, you’ll usually need to pay a minimum of 15 percent of the total price as a deposit (kontantinsats), so the remaining amount will be covered by the mortgage. You’ll pay back a certain amount each month over a fixed length of time, often 25 or 50 years. If your deposit is less than 15 percent, then your mortgage will be split into two different loans, including one that covers the cost up to 15 percent of the total price which will typically have a higher interest rate and a shorter term. 

Find out more about how the system works and how to choose your mortgage wisely in this article:

3. Go to viewings

Now the fun part begins as you can start your search in earnest. Most apartments in Sweden are advertised on property site Hemnet, but you can also speak directly to estate agents. Researching as early as possible will help you get a feel for typical prices per square metre, and what type of place and location you can afford.

On Hemnet you can refine your search to show properties which have been on the market a long time, which may help identify sellers who can be persuaded to sell below the list price.  

Once you have found a few places that pique your interest, it’s time to start going to viewings. Usually these take place on Sunday afternoons and Monday or Tuesday evenings, with two initial viewings per apartment, but this may vary. Viewings are often just 30 minutes long and as a buyer, you cannot later claim compensation for any flaws in the property that you could reasonably be expected to have identified at the viewing, so use the time wisely. You should be on the lookout for things like damp, mould or pests, but also whether the layout suits your lifestyle and whether any renovations are needed. The more viewings you go to, the more you will get a feel for exactly what you want from your Swedish home.

A tip: it’s sometimes possible to skip the bidding process (see step 7) if you can arrange a pre-viewing and put in the right offer before anyone else is given a chance to see the apartment. You can do this either by contacting estate agents directly and sharing your requirements (many agents will advertise apartments before they go on the market described as kommande försäljningar or “upcoming sales”), or by acting fast and asking for an early showing as soon as an apartment you like is published on Hemnet (usually Fridays).

People viewing an apartment in Sweden. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

4. Analyse the association’s finances

Doing your homework on the housing association (bostadsrättsföreningen) and its finances and making sure they are in good shape is at least as important as a careful viewing of the actual apartment, possibly even more so. You can find most of the information you need in its annual reports (årsredovisningar), which will usually be available online as well as in paper copies at the viewings.

Key things to look for include the level of debts the association has; any planned renovations and how much money has been set aside to pay for them; income sources; and how vulnerable the association would be to future changes in the interest rate. These figures can seem intimidating, especially in a second language, but we have explained how to make these calculations in the article below:

5. Start bidding

When you know you want to bid on an apartment, let the estate agent know, and they will tell you when you can put in an offer. 

You might get lucky and be the only bidder, but in the larger cities it’s more common that there will be a bidding war, carried out over text. Once the first bid is made, everyone who’s expressed interest is notified of each following bid via a group text message, and they can raise the price by responding to the text with their own offer.

Bids aren’t legally binding, so you have a small window of time to change your mind or look into anything that’s worrying you without any liability, but once you’ve won a bidding war, it will usually only be a day or two before you need to sign contracts.

In Sweden, bidding is usually done by text message. Photo: Tomas Oneborg/SvD/TT

6. Write the contract

Once all bidders but one have dropped out, the winner is invited to sign contracts, and this often takes place the very same day. 

This is when you commit to buying the apartment, signing a transfer of ownership agreement (överlåtelseavtal) and agreeing to pay the agreed amount, usually beginning with a ten percent deposit (handpenning) within one week. Until this agreement is signed, it’s possible for someone else to outbid you by putting in a new offer, and it’s also possible for you to back out or even change your own offer. Once these agreements are signed, however, you cannot back out and would be liable to pay compensation if you do (typically this would cover the cost of putting the property back on the market, plus any difference in price between what you agree to pay and what the property eventually sells for). 

The överlåtelseavtal will be conditional on your acceptance into the bostadsrättsföreningen. Once that happens, you (and your bank, assuming you have a mortgage) pay the rest of the money for the purchase and take over ownership of the apartment on the move-in date (tillträdesdag) agreed with the seller.

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PROPERTY

INTERVIEW: ‘Most foreigners in Sweden don’t know they can get back excess rent’

In Sweden, people subletting apartments are not allowed to charge more in rent than they themselves pay. But foreign subtenants don't always know this. We asked Roland Sjölin, lawyer at the Swedish Tenants' Association, about how to get back excess rent.

Published: 18 April 2024 15:19 CEST
INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'

More and more of the people asking the Swedish Tenants’ Association, Hyresgästföreningen in Swedish, for help with excess rent are foreigners, Sjölin told The Local in an interview.

“The problem is that if you’re coming from another country, and you’re subletting an apartment, you’re probably not familiar with the rules in Sweden, because in other countries, it might be okay to overcharge your tenants.” 

He said that clients from India in particular seeking help from the association were now “very common”. 

“Many people come here to work as engineers in the IT sector and then have to rent somewhere,” he said, adding that as a group Indians appeared to be “very aware of their rights.”

Sweden’s rental sector is heavily regulated, with first hand contracts negotiated between landlords and the Tenants’ Association, and the rent that can be charged for second-hand contracts limited to only a small fraction above what the first-hand renter pays. 

“You’re not allowed to make any profit subletting an apartment in Sweden,” Sjölin explains. “You can only charge the subletting tenant the same rent as you [the first-hand tenant] are paying to your landlord, and then you can add the costs for internet and electricity, and perhaps a parking lot, if that is included.” 

Tenants’ Association lawyer Roland Sjölin. Photo: supplied.

You can also add a påslag or “markup”, if you are renting out the apartment fully furnished, but this cannot exceed more than 15 percent of the rent. 

That doesn’t mean that most landlords follow the law. The competition for rental apartments, especially in Stockholm, is so intense, that unscrupulous sublet landlords often try to get away with charging well over the legal amount, charging what is known in Sweden as ockerhyra, or “excess rent” and hoping that their tenants are too desperate to complain.  

What many foreigners do not realise is that even after the rental period is over, they can still get back any excess rent they have paid by applying to the Rental Board or Hyresnämnden, which functions like a court judging rental disputes. 

“If you have the evidence then it’s fairly easy,” Sjölin said. “I get a new case every second week on repayment of unfair rent, and I think that I win most of them.” 

“Nowadays, you can get paid back excess rent up to 24 months back in time, so people tend to get more money,” he added. “In some cases, they can get 200,000 kronor. In other cases, perhaps it’s only 30,000 kronor or 60,000 kronor. It depends on how long you have rented the apartment, and how excessive the rent you’ve been paying has been.”

The first step is to establish what would have been a fair rent, either by asking your landlord what they themselves pay directly or by checking with the Tenants’ Association.

“Because we negotiate most rents in Sweden, we normally know what the firsthand rent is,” Sjölin explained.

Then you need to collect together your evidence.

“It’s a good thing to have a written contract and also papers from your bank showing that you paid rent every month, and perhaps photographs of the apartment, so the rental board can get an idea of the apartment you were renting and what would be a fair rent, and also the termination for the contract so you can show the court how long you’ve been living in the apartment.” 

But Sjölin underlined that since Sweden has free burden of evidence, none of this is essential. 

“Even if you’ve been paying in cash, if you have witnesses who can testify what you were paying each month, you still have a chance of getting your money back. It’s a bit more tricky, but I’ve won two cases like that this year.” 

People in Sweden, he explained, tend to wait until the rental period is over before seeking to get paid back excess rent rather than challenging their landlord while they are still living in the apartment. 

“You don’t have any legal protection for your home for the first two years, so if you bring the matter up with the person you’re renting the apartment from you risk losing your contract and having to move out, so most people wait until they’re supposed to move anyway,” he said.

If you apply to the rental board for a refund close to the day you move out, you can then make your landlord pay back all excess rent paid in the 24 months leading up to the date you contacted the rental board.

If you are a member of the Tenants’ Association, you can contact them and ask for help with your application, but there are also specialist companies, like Orimlig Hyra AB who will buy your case off you and give you a refund within 48 hours, saving you a long wait in exchange for a cut of the money reclaimed. 

Sjölin said that the rental board normally took about 8 months to come to a judgement, but that if the person with the first hand contract appeals, that could extend the waiting time by between six months and a year.

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