Home Expo is the flagship event of National Housing Week in the Grand Duchy. It brings together organisations and professionals who can support you in buying a property. When it comes to financing, however, watch out for the pitfalls!
Held from 5 to 8 October, the Home Expo trade fair is intended as the highlight of National Housing Week. Among the hundred or so exhibitors, visitors determined to take the plunge and buy a home in the Grand Duchy can meet, all in one place, representatives of the public authorities to remind them of the legal and tax rules, for example, or associations specialising in social inclusion and social housing. Also present are estate agencies and developers presenting their properties “from the catalogue”, specialists in energy renovation, interior design and home automation, and architects.
It should of course be noted that, as every year, there will also be other stands where bank advisers will be available to meet you. For the great majority of people considering a property purchase, the process involves negotiating a mortgage, and there is no denying that certain pitfalls can arise at that stage. At a time marked by a property crisis, not least because of rising interest rates, great caution is essential.
The banks present at Home Expo display loan offers that are particularly hard to compare in a few minutes from one stand to the next. To begin with, not every institution is there: by definition, the bank potentially best placed to offer the solution most suited to your profile (defined among other things by the amount to be borrowed, the sum available as a deposit, the household’s current or future income, and so on) and to your project may simply not be at the fair. What is more — and this is another pitfall to watch out for in all circumstances, outside the October event too — banks do not present their offers in the same way. Put differently, it is not enough to compare the headline rate on display. Otherwise the choice could be made in a few minutes, like a lightning trip to the supermarket to buy a tin of food!
The rate is not the only thing that counts…
The term over which the repayments are spread, the insurance terms (in the event of job loss, for instance), the charges or flat fees payable on early repayment (full or partial) — a possibility always worth factoring in, particularly in the event of an inheritance — and the costs and conditions for renegotiating that loan should your situation change significantly or rates move (all the more so if they fall sharply) are all important chapters.
But can parameters as important as these really be examined in a few minutes at a stand, all but surrounded by the crowd?
The answer is of course NO. That is why, National Housing Week and Home Expo notwithstanding, the best partner for comparing offers and negotiating a loan remains the broker. That is precisely LuxKredit‘s vocation. Analysing the market, understanding your project properly and then going round the various partner banks likely to offer terms that match your profile… That certainly involves negotiating the headline rate well, but also going through every condition and clause of the loan agreement with a fine-tooth comb… It takes expertise, and ours has enabled many households to complete their purchase on optimal terms.
In October as throughout the year, put your trust in a specialist!
