A First-Time Buyer's Checklist for Luxembourg Property

Before you start looking

• Work out your real budget with a bank, not from a portal's mortgage calculator. Ask for a written indication of how much you can borrow and on what terms. Our mortgage guide explains what banks look at, including loan-to-value limits.
• Add purchase costs to the price, not just the deposit. Registration and transcription duties run to 7% of the price in most of the country, before any reduction. Our guide to the Bëllegen Akt shows how the tax credit lowers this for a home you will occupy yourself.
• Check which state aid you may qualify for. Several schemes exist for first-time buyers, detailed in our guide to state aid for buyers: some are non-repayable grants, others reduce the interest rate or guarantee part of the loan. Conditions depend on income and household size, so check the current thresholds on guichet.lu before assuming you qualify.
• Decide new build or existing. Off-plan purchases (VEFA) follow a different payment schedule and different guarantees, covered in our guide to buying off-plan.

Documents to prepare early

Gathering paperwork early avoids delays once you have found a property.

• Valid identity documents for every buyer, and proof of address.
• Proof of income: recent payslips, an employment contract, or accounts if self-employed.
• A record of your savings and where they came from. Notaries are required to check the source of funds under anti-money-laundering rules, and foreign documents can take time to obtain, so start this well before you sign anything.
• If you are not an EU/EEA national, check whether any authorisation is needed to buy, covered in our guide to buying as a non-resident.
• Marriage certificate or partnership documents if you are buying with a partner, since the deed will record how you own the property together.

What to check at a viewing

A first viewing is not the moment to fall in love with the decoration. Before you make an offer, ask for or check:

• The energy performance certificate. Every sale must show the energy class, and a poor one can mean significant renovation costs. See our guide to the energy passport.
• The surface area on paper versus the plans. Advertised areas are not always measured the same way. Our guide to how surface area is measured explains why two flats both listed as "80 m²" can differ.
• For an apartment, the co-ownership documents: minutes of the last general assemblies, the level of monthly charges, and the state of the mandatory works fund, which has been compulsory since 2023. Our guide to buying in a co-ownership lists exactly what to request.
• Parking and cellar. Confirm whether a parking space or cellar is included in the sale or sold separately, and check the registration duty treatment differs; our guide to parking and cellars explains.
• For a house, consider an independent survey by an architect or engineer, particularly for anything older than a few decades.

Getting your finances lined up

• Approach two or three banks for indicative offers rather than relying on a single relationship, since terms and fees vary.
• Ask each bank to spell out the total cost of the loan, not just the headline rate: application fees, the cost of the mortgage inscription (an additional notarial deed with its own duty), and any required life or home insurance tied to the loan.
• Keep your financial situation stable while a sale is in progress. Do not change jobs, take on new credit or make large unexplained transfers between the compromis and the deed, since banks can reassess the file.

The compromis: what to insist on

Once you make an offer and it is accepted, the next document, the compromis de vente, is the point of no return in Luxembourg: a signed compromis is treated as a binding sale. Before you sign:

• Make sure it includes a financing condition giving you a realistic window, typically four to six weeks, to obtain your loan, with a clear process if the loan is refused despite a genuine application.
• Check the notary named, the target date for the deed, and the penalty clause for withdrawal without valid reason.
• Read every clause about what is included: fittings, kitchen appliances, garden sheds, parking.

Our guide to the compromis de vente goes through each clause in more depth.

Between the compromis and the deed

• Submit everything your bank asks for promptly; delays here are the most common reason a financing deadline is missed.
• Confirm your chosen notary has everything needed to run the title, mortgage and cadastre checks described in our guide to the notary's role.
• Apply formally for any state aid you plan to use, since some schemes require the application before or shortly after the deed, not afterwards.
• Arrange home insurance and, if required by your lender, the linked life insurance, so the policy is in place for the day of signing.

On signing day and after

• Bring valid identification and, if applicable, proof that your own funds have reached the notary's account.
• Listen to the reading of the deed and check the names, the description of the property, the price split and any special conditions before signing, not after.
• Once you have the keys, register your new address with the commune within the legal deadline, and arrange meter readings for electricity, gas and water on the day of handover.
• File any tax credit or aid paperwork the notary does not handle directly.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Signing a compromis without a financing condition because a seller pressed for speed.
• Underestimating total purchase costs by focusing only on the headline price.
• Skipping the co-ownership documents and discovering a large planned works bill later.
• Assuming state aid will be approved without checking eligibility first.
• Leaving translation of the deed to the last minute if you do not read French or German well.

Our take

None of these steps is difficult on its own. What causes problems is doing them out of order, usually because a competitive market pushes buyers to move faster than their paperwork allows. Build your file, get your bank approval in writing and know which aid you qualify for before you start viewing seriously, and the rest of the process becomes far less stressful. If you are ready to start looking, see our properties for sale, or contact us and we will help you plan the sequence for your situation.

This article describes general rules and market practice in Luxembourg and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and announced measures change; confirm the position that applies to you with a notary, your bank or a tax adviser before signing.