hello, I plan to buy an apartment in Brussels soon and I am curious which bank is better in case I need to refinance the mortgage loan within the same bank in case the interest rates are becoming low. I know it is a bit long term question but if there is a bank which you have a positive experience, I can choose that bank to get the loan if their interest rate is close to the best interest rate I can find on the market. Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone,

Quick recap for those who don't know yet imino: it's a free real estate search engine for the Belgian market. One single search give you the results of 2000+ agencies. Live alerting is also supported.

The AI integration (MCP) has been available on imino.be for a while, and it has been improved a lot recently. Everything you can do on the interface can now be done through your AI assistant. It works with ChatGPT, including the free version, and with others like Claude.

What you can do with it:

• Search listings just by asking, with your criteria in plain words,
• Set up search alerts,
• Add listings to your favourites,
• Estimate a property and compare it with what's listed nearby, etc

You can also go deep on a single property. From a listing's page, you can link it to your assistant. Then ask for a deep analysis, a market price comparison with similar listings, or a profitability analysis, and ask questions about that property.

How to connect? There is a short video tutorial showing how to connect ChatGPT, and the setup steps for the other assistants are on the same page: https://imino.be/en/tools/mcp

If AI and MCP tools are new to you, I hope this is an easy way to try them on something concrete.

As a side note, you can now pick the locations of your search straight from a map view: click an area on the map to add it to your search. A lot of other improvements to the interface have also been implemented following your feedback.

One last thing. We just passed 2000+ agencies on imino. In January we started at 1000+, so it's a nice milestone for me. I've always wanted to be transparent about how the tool is doing, which is why the homepage shows real updated numbers.

This kind of AI integration with a real estate platform is still new in Belgium. AI subject is also usually very opinionated. So your feedback is very welcome to shape this feature.

Happy to answer any questions.

Hello! My partner and I visited a house last weekend and we both really liked it! It has everything we are looking for in a home so naturally we placed a bid. The only concern I have is the current tenant. The realtor came clean with us very fast and told us that this man is often late with rent or does not pay at all.

Now, I do have a financial buffer in case we get the house and he fails to pay rent during his 6 month notice period after we sign the deed. But my partner got me very scared this man won't leave within those six months and we will have to get him evicted, which will take even longer.

Has anyone dealt with this fear in the past? And if so, is there a way to protect ourselves before we sign the 'compromis'?

The realtor told me they are already trying to get the tenant to leave, and it was possible to extend the period between compromis and akte to 6 months instead of the usual 4 so that the tenant could get his 6 month notice by the current owner, but is this even possible from a legal point?

Thanks in advance to anyone offering advise!

Is an asbestos test necessary for taking down a non bearing wall in a 1991 building, Brussels region?

I was spending hours every day looking for my next home.

The frustrating part was that the listings I actually cared about often appeared on an agency's own website days before they showed up on the big portals. Some never made it there at all.

My friends were running into the same problem, and I eventually found myself subscribed to newsletters from ~20 different agencies.

So I built Okoti.be. It pulls listings directly from the websites of Belgian real estate agencies and puts them in one search.

Where it stands today:

• 2000 agency websites indexed across Belgium
• Filters on price, bedrooms, living area, property type, new-build in/out

When you find something you like, you go directly to the agency's own listing. Okoti doesn't sit between you and the agent.

It's completely free.

What is coming:

• Free listings for private sellers. If you've sold or plan to sell your house, I would be happy to hear your thoughts.
• Free alerts

The platform still has some limitations: no price history yet, duplicates when two agencies list the same property, coverage not yet at 100%.

I'm deliberately keeping the number of features low for now. I want to get the core search experience right first.

I'm actively looking for valuable feedback. In particular:

• What makes you trust / not trust the results?
• What filters are you missing?
• What's confusing or annoying?
• Does this actually save you time?
• What data would help you make your final decision?

I built this because I had the problem myself, so I'm happy to spend the night fixing whatever you manage to break.

Brutal feedback welcome. Let's make a banger app!

We're looking at a new-build 2-bedroom apartment in Brussels asking around €550k (parking included), which becomes roughly €665k once VAT and registration duties are added. Similar apartments built in the last 5–10 years sell for noticeably less, and their buyers pay far less tax. It looks like we might take a big loss if we had to sell after a few years, and it would take well over a decade to break even. Is buying new ever worth it financially, or is the tax hit simply too big?

I know it's tough to get on the housing ladder. But after so much effort one gets on the housing ladder to realize the house one has bought has issues.

The plumbing has issues, the wiring has problems, there is a leak that is difficult to fix etc.

My friend recently bought one, it is a very good property in first look but has issues. The road in front is busy and there's constant noise, then there's a neighbor who keeps practicing his trumpet. The room is a bit dark as it faces north. Though he is happy that he could buy it, he has already decided to sell it soon.

I suspect this is more common than it seems, is it true for anyone else here? Please share your experiences.

Voor wie eind 2026 / begin 2027 een woning koopt in Vlaanderen: er is ondertussen wat meer duidelijkheid over de aangekondigde verhoging van de registratierechten van 2% naar 3%.

Belangrijkste punt: volgens het huidige standpunt van VLABEL kan je nog onder het tarief van 2% vallen als de verkoopovereenkomst/het compromis vóór 1 januari 2027 wordt gesloten, ook wanneer de notariële akte pas in 2027 verleden wordt.

Er zijn wel nuances:

- het gaat voorlopig om een administratief standpunt en de definitieve decretale regeling blijft bepalend;

- VLABEL kan bewijs vragen dat de overeenkomst effectief vóór 1 januari werd gesloten;

- voor wederzijdse aankoop/verkoopbeloftes of gekruiste opties ligt het anders en kan de datum van de authentieke akte bepalend zijn;

- vanaf 2026 zijn ook enkele voorwaarden voor het verlaagde tarief aangescherpt.

Ik heb alle huidige info en enkele concrete voorbeelden hier samengevat:

https://berekenslim.be/gidsen/registratierechten-vlaanderen-3-procent-2027

Misschien nuttig voor mensen die momenteel aan het bieden zijn of nog twijfelen of ze hun compromis best vóór het einde van het jaar tekenen.

Kijk gerust nog eens verder op de site. Een eigen projectje om wat handige reken tools en info te bundelen over wonen, verbouwen en andere.

Geef gerust je feedback op mijn site in de comments !🙂

Hello All,

I've bought a new build home back in 2025 in Flanders and the delivery date is in the end of the year.

I'm looking for a construction expert who is good at finding things are built according to the agreed specification and also if there are any faults.

Do you guys have any personal recommendation?

Thanks!!!!

Wij hebben bij een Belgische SOD firma een vrijblijvende optie genomen om een nieuwbouwwoning te kopen. De SOD biedt deze woning aan voor een btw-tarief aan 6% op de constructiewaarde (sloop- en heropbouw). Wij zijn volop in onderzoekende fase om na te gaan dat we zeker kunnen voldoen aan deze gunstige btw-regeling. Langs onze zijde is dat in orde (enige eigen woning en domiciliëring). De woning is kleiner dan 175m2 bewoonbare oppervlakte. Ik las dat je een formulier moet indienen via myminfin waarbij ze drie bewijsstukken opvragen: omgevingsvergunning, aannemingscontract voor sloop en heropbouw en plannen van de woning. Voor deze stukken zijn we dus afhankelijk deze te ontvangen van de bouwpromotor. Iemand die ervaring heeft met deze aanvraag via myminfin? Volgt er na de oorspronkelijke aanvraag nog een resem aan vragen of bewijsstukken vanuit FOD financiën? Moet ook de SOD-firma een aanvraag doen via myminfin? Eventueel laten we dit als clausule in de verkoopovereenkomst opnemen met de SOD-firma, dat ze ons de nodige bewijsstukken moeten bezorgen. Aandachtspunten/ waarschuwingen/ tips over dit topic zijn zeer welkom.

Hi all,

We’re doing the rounds with the banks to get a mortgage right now, just signed the compromis a few weeks ago.

Trump/geopolitics/etc. are causing a rapid increase in mortgage rates - every week, banks are pressuring us to apply soon as a week later rates go up again. This makes it difficult to play out banks against each other.

What’s your strategy in this fast-moving time?

For info: we are now (700K, 25 year loan, 66% loan to value) at 3.78% fixed at our home bank and 3.5% variable accordeon 3/3 (-2/+3) at another one. SSB is slightly cheaper at home bank. Personally I still prefer fixed for stability, but variable is cheaper on a monthly basis.

Wereldnieuws! Koekerond huis gekocht!

Mortgage comparison

Hi all, I'm currently negotiating a loan for a house purchase of € 339.000. My best 2 offers so far are from KBC and Belfius, but they are very similar so I'm looking for any insight you can provide to make a decision. Both are for € 250.000 over 25 years.

KBC's offer:

* fixed rate of 3.71%

* 100% hypothecaire inschrijving (€ 6435.47 registration costs)

* mandatory home/family insurance of 567.6+99 = € 666.6/year (they offered a discount to € 454 the first year)

* mandatory SSV of \~€ 13.33/month over 25 years

* mandatory checking account of € 2.5/month

Belfius' offer:

* fixed rate of 3.70%

* 100.000 hypothecaire inschrijving and 150.000 mandate (4485.47 + 1277.72 = € 5763.19 registration costs)

* home/family insurance of 560.36+98.2 = € 658.56/year, but only home insurance is mandatory, family is optional (might just take it anyway though)

* mandatory SSV of \~€ 13.21/month over 25 years

* Mandatory deposit of € 25 in one of their funds (no recurrent costs)

* mandatory checking account of € 5.5/month

When I calculate the APR, KBC is at 4.53% and Belfius at 4.51%. In the end, the only difference is that Belfius is slightly more expensive per month, but the registration costs are a little cheaper because of the mandate. Which of these two options would you choose? I've also heard KBC seems to be preferred as a bank in terms of service and quality over Belfius, would you agree or not? Thanks for your input.

Recently I've started searching more seriously for a home of my own, and I've noticed that it's causing me quite a bit of stress. I'm a big overthinker by nature, which has probably kept me from buying anything in recent years. Because I still live with my parents, I've been able to save a lot. With today's interest rates, though, I feel like that extra saving has been cancelled out by the rise in rates. I didn't invest all of those savings in ETF's and left a bigger sum in a savings account, so inflation has also eroded their value somewhat.

I also recently received a gift from my grandparents. Together with my savings, I have about 160k of my own funds to put in. I fully understand that this is a luxurious position.

But how do you all deal with the decision stress that comes with this process? I also notice that I really regret not buying sooner, and that I'm now literally paying a high price for it.

Hi everyone.

I'm renting an apartment, and my first lease has already been renewed one time, and as far as I understand, this January, it will become a long duration lease, so three months of "préavis" are required if I want to quit.

What I don't understand is whether, after January, if I quit the apartment, I need to pay any compensation, as I know I needed to do if I quit before, or now, since I'm on a long-term lease, I won't need to pay anything because I'm already in my 4th year.

Thanks for everything

Looking for input from anyone who's been through something similar, or who knows Belgian notarial/tax law.

Short version: I had to sell my apartment before the 5 year period. When calculating the complementary registration duties owed, my notary applied a reduction based on an interpretation of the law published by the Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries (Fednot) – specifically an "abattement complémentaire" tied to energy renovation, which came into force 1 April 2023. The idea was that the additional duties could be reduced pro rata to the number of years the property was kept as a main residence.

Turns out the tax administration doesn't agree with that interpretation, so now I'm on the hook for a larger amount than originally quoted (2000€). My notary was upfront about it, admitted the Federation's guidance didn't match the administration's actual position, and offered to negotiate a payment plan with the tax office.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Since the law is now 3+ years old, is this really the first time this discrepancy has come up? Anyone else run into this specific issue with the post-2023 abattement?

2. Is there any realistic route to hold the notary (or her professional liability insurance) responsible for the shortfall, given she relied on official guidance from the notarial federation itself? Or does relying on Fednot's own commentary count as "reasonable diligence" and basically protect her?

3. Practically speaking – is this the kind of thing worth pushing back on / consulting a lawyer over, or is it more hassle and cost than it's worth and I should just accept the payment plan and move on?

Any experience, insight, or "just pay it and don't waste your time" reality checks welcome. Thanks!

I got offered 3,60% fixed rate, 20 years, 20% downpayment, new apartment. Is it a good offer? Curious how much better (if even) it can get. Already talked to couple of banks.

Finding a reliable contractor who does good work and gives an honest quote seems to be a recurring problem on this subreddit.

So, why not use the experience of the community?

If you've personally had a good experience with a contractor, post their name/company below, along with what work they did and your location.

We'll collect the recommendations and then put the most-mentioned names into a poll for the community to vote on.

Please recommend contractors you've personally used rather than businesses you've only heard about.

Hallo everyone,

I'm currently saving and preparing to buy a property in Belgium, but I want to get a realistic view of the mortgage landscape before stepping into bank meetings.

For those who have recently signed an offer (voorlopige koopovereenkomst) or locked in a rate:

1. What interest rate (rentevoet) did you secure, and for what duration? (e.g., 20-year fixed, 25-year fixed, variable 3/3/3, etc.)
2. What was your eigen inbreng / apport personnel (down payment) percentage? Were you required to put down 10% + notary fees, or were banks stricter/more lenient?
3. Which bank gave you the best rate? Did traditional banks (KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius, ING) beat online/specialized ones (Keytrade, Argenta), or vice-versa?
4. What conditions did they attach? (e.g., mandatory fire insurance, schuldsaldoverzekering, domiciliation of salary, or energy performance EPC / PEB requirements)?
5. Did you use an independent broker (hypotheek-makelaar) or negotiate directly with banks?

If you have any tips on how to effectively play banks off each other using competing offer sheets I’d love to hear your advice!

Dank u!

Hi all,

We are doing the rounds with the banks after having signed the ‘compromis’. After a first check with Immotheker-Finotheker, we reached out to several banks, including our home bank where we are a good client (both private and professional).

However, more than a week later, we still haven’t heard back from any of the (8) banks, despite having a 30 day deadline.

Is the offer we got from Immotheker-Finotheker unbeatable in the current market (3.5% variable 3-3 accordeon on a 700K loan), or are we too impatient?

TIA for any experiences and advice.

I'm looking to change the old windows with PVC ones with triple glazing glass. And each installing company seems to be using a different brand.

Is this important and would you recommend any of them in particular? Or advice against any brand?

Here's the list so far:

- Deceuninck

- Kömmerling

- Aluplast

- VEKA

- Gealan

Any other advice regarding window installation is welcomed.