Building inspection Amstelveen
This page is written for expats and international buyers who want a building inspection in Amstelveen before they buy. In Dutch it is called a bouwkundige keuring. If you know the British term building survey: a building survey in Amstelveen by Premiumkeur covers the same ground. An independent building surveyor walks through the whole house, from the crawl space under the floor to the top of the roof, and tells you what it will cost to put things right.
Why a separate page? Because the Dutch buying process has a few traps that catch newcomers every year, and most of the information about it is only available in Dutch. Below we explain them, using what we see in our own home inspection reports.
Premiumkeur has 4.9 stars from 698 Google reviews and 100 Trustpilot reviews. Call us on +31 20 773 6842 and we will usually plan your inspection within one working day.
Want the full story about buying a house here? Our English knowledge base for Amstelveen covers foundations, crawl spaces, roofs, owners’ associations and the purchase agreement, with cases from our own reports.
Bouwkundige keuring Amstelveen (in Dutch) is the Dutch version of this page.
What you can hire us for in Amstelveen
Most people call us for a pre-purchase inspection. We also do the specialist work that often follows from it:
- Foundation investigation (in Dutch), from a quick scan during the inspection to a full survey with excavation
- Crawl space inspection (in Dutch) for damp, mould, wood rot and pipes
- Roof inspection (in Dutch), including leak detection
- Baseline survey (nulmeting) (in Dutch) before building work starts next door
- Long-term maintenance plan (MJOP) (in Dutch) for an owners’ association
- Crack investigation, damp inspection, handover inspection of a new-build home, and inspections of listed buildings
Premiumkeur is NHG-recognised and has its head office in Amsterdam city centre, a short drive from Amstelveen.
Independent, recognised and certified
Premiumkeur is NHG-recognised and NEN 2767 certified. NHG is the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee, so you can use our report for your mortgage lender. We inspect according to NTA 8060, the standard method for home inspections in the Netherlands, and our inspectors are trained as Integral Home Inspector (IWI) and Integral Foundation Inspector (IFI).
Premiumkeur is run by Fred Tokkie. He was a contractor from 1983 to 2009 and has inspected houses since 2009. That background is why our reports include cost estimates: we know what a repair costs because we used to do them.
We do not work with estate agents, we do not recommend contractors or repair firms, and we do not inspect for sellers. We work for the buyer. You can watch how we work on our YouTube channel.
A first home, explained along the way
Daan did the building inspection for our first home, and we couldn’t have asked for better. He was really friendly, explained everything along the way, and paid great attention to detail, which is exactly what you need when buying a home.
Review on Google, October 2026, 5 stars
Time to understand our concerns
Probably the best people for technical inspection. They are friendly, transparent and honest in all things. Mo did the inspection. He is a great man. Took time to understand our concerns and spent good amount of time to observe and inspect. Definitely recommend.
Review on Google, October 2026, 5 stars
Building inspection for expats in Amstelveen
Amstelveen has a large international community. Many families move here for a job at one of the international head offices around Amstelveen and the Zuidas business district, and many choose the town because of the international schools. A lot of them rent first and then decide to buy.
That is where it gets tricky. Expats often buy under time pressure: a rental contract that ends, children who start at a new school, a relocation budget with a deadline. The documents are in Dutch, the estate agent works for the seller, and the house is usually older than it looks from the street. Most homes we inspect in Amstelveen were built between 1955 and 1975, and there are plenty of 1930s houses too.
None of this is a reason not to buy. It is a reason to know where the risks are before you sign.
Pitfall 1: the inspector the estate agent suggests
Estate agents often hand buyers a short list of inspectors. That feels helpful, especially when you are new to the country. But think about how it works: an agent who sells houses has an interest in a sale going through. An inspector who gets regular work through agents has an interest in staying on that list. We are not saying every recommended inspector does a poor job. We are saying the interests are not the same as yours.
You are always free to choose your own inspector. Ask any inspector these questions before you book:
- Does the estate agent receive a fee if he refers me to you?
- Do you go into the crawl space, or do you look from the hatch?
- Do you go onto the roof, or do you look from the ground or a ladder?
- Do you measure the tilt of floors and bed joints?
- What do your terms and conditions say about the foundation, roof and crawl space?
Facts about how we work are on Is Premiumkeur betrouwbaar? (in Dutch).
An old house and a stronger negotiating position
Strongly recommended should you for instance want to purchase an ‘old’ house. (...) If I hadn’t hired them, I’d probably still be stuck renting.
Not all issues were found though, some of which I believe could/should have been discovered during the inspection, which is why I opt for 4 instead of 5 stars. Still an absolute recommendation
Review on Google, October 2026, 4 stars
An apartment, inspected the next day
We hired him for a building inspection for an apartment we bought.
He was available to inspect the property the day after we contacted him and we received a detailed report 2 days after the inspection.
The report was easy to understand with explanations of the priority/urgency of any work we need to do in future and cost estimates for the work.
His rates are reasonable and he is professional.
Review on Google, 5 stars
Pitfall 2: the building inspection condition and the deadlines
In the Netherlands you make an offer first and inspect later. To protect yourself, make your offer subject to a building inspection condition. In Dutch this is the ontbindende voorwaarde for a bouwkundige keuring, often called a bouwkundig voorbehoud. It means you can cancel the purchase without a penalty if the repair costs turn out higher than an agreed amount. That amount is often around € 5,000, but it is not fixed.
The catch is time. The condition is usually short, often one or two weeks. If you have not booked an inspector by then, the condition expires and the purchase stands.
There is also the statutory cooling-off period, the bedenktijd: three days after you receive the signed purchase agreement, during which you can withdraw without giving a reason. Three days is short, but some buyers manage to fit an inspection into it. Call us as soon as your offer is accepted, not when the paperwork arrives.
Pitfall 3: the crawl space and the roof
The two places where the expensive surprises hide are the ones many inspectors only glance at. Looking into the crawl space from the hatch shows you a few square metres. Taking a photo of the roof from a window shows you the tiles nearest to the window.
A building surveyor from Premiumkeur goes into the crawl space and onto the roof whenever it is safe. We bring an infrared camera, levelling instruments, a crawl space robot, an endoscope camera and a moisture meter, plus tools to open hatches that have been stuck for years. That is how we find wet foundation beams, rotten floor joists, missing insulation and leaks at the chimney or dormer.
A forensic look, including the roof
Daan was extremely thorough and detailed in his inspection for me of a property that had a number of questions marks around it. He approached the property with a forensic level of scrutiny including surveying the roof. Also, on top of his professionalism, he’s a great guy, very easy to chat with and happy to give his honest advice. Daan is looking out for you.
Review on Google, 5 stars
Foundation and structural inspection
Daan is very professional and flexible. He provided some very usefull information during our foundation and structural inspection. Highly recommended if you are looking to do inspection of your existing and / or new house.
Review on Google, 5 stars
Pitfall 4: foundations under older houses
Until about 1970, houses in the Netherlands were often built on timber piles. Parts of Amstelveen sit on clay and peat, and an older house on that soil can subside. The year of construction tells you something about the type of foundation, but nothing about its condition. Only measurements do.
Signs to watch for at a viewing: sloping floors, doors that stick, cracks above windows and doors, joints in the brickwork that are no longer horizontal, or a clear height difference with the neighbours. Not every crack is a foundation problem, though. Shrinkage or a heavy bathroom floor can cause cracks too.
For a house built before 1970 we advise a foundation quick scan (phase 0) during the inspection: we measure the bed joints and the floor levels. Together with the inspection this costs from € 898. If the numbers call for it, a phase 1 investigation follows (€ 699 to € 1,499) or phase 2, where the foundation is excavated (from € 3,000).
Pitfall 5: apartments, the VvE and the MJOP
When you buy an apartment, you also buy a share of the building. The owners’ association, the VvE (Vereniging van Eigenaars), pays for the roof, the facade, the foundation and the communal areas. If the VvE has saved too little, the owners pay the difference.
Ask the seller for the minutes of the last VvE meetings, the annual accounts, the size of the reserve fund and the long-term maintenance plan, the MJOP (meerjarenonderhoudsplan). Banks often ask for these too. During the inspection we look at the apartment and at the parts of the building we can reach, and we tell you what we see in the communal areas.
Direct costs of about € 30,000
We are very happy with the building inspection Tim carried out for us. He really took his time and checked the house very thoroughly; certainly not superficially.
Thanks to his thorough inspection we got a good and realistic picture of the condition of the house. The inspection showed direct costs of about € 30,000. With this information we were able to renegotiate our offer.
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), March 2026, 5 stars
Offer on Monday, report on Friday
We wanted to make an offer subject to a building inspection and had asked Premiumkeur whether they could carry out the inspection at short notice. We got a reply very quickly. In the end we were in touch on Monday evening after a confirmed offer, the building inspection was on Thursday, and on Friday we had the report.
In the report it was clear where action is needed straight away, and which things have less priority but do matter in the longer term.
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), July 2026, 5 stars
Pitfall 6: the age clause and “as is”
Purchase agreements for older homes often contain an age clause, the ouderdomsclausule. It says the house is old and may have defects that come with its age, and that you accept this. Some agreements go further and sell the house “as is, where is”, without guarantees.
Under Dutch law the seller has to tell you about defects he knows of, but you also have a duty to investigate. What you could have found in a reasonable inspection is usually your own problem after the sale. An age clause makes that even clearer. So the inspection before you sign is your best protection, not something to skip because the house looks fine.
What you get from us
The inspection takes 1 to 1.5 hours. After we have gone through the house on our own, we walk you through it and show you what we found. Many of our clients come from abroad. The inspector explains everything on site in English, and you can get the report in English for € 100 extra.
You receive the report within 2 working days. It lists the defects, how urgent they are, and an estimate of the repair costs: what needs doing now, within five years and later. Buyers use those figures to renegotiate the price or to ask the seller to repair things before the transfer.
How to book a building survey in Amstelveen
- Call or email us as soon as your offer is accepted, and tell us the deadline of your building inspection condition.
- We usually plan the inspection within one working day.
- Tell us if you have renovation plans. We take them into account and give you an indication of the costs.
- Be there if you can. Walking through the house with the inspector is the quickest way to understand it.
- The report follows within 2 working days, in time for your deadline.
Prices
All prices include VAT (October 2026).
- Building inspection: € 499 for a home up to 800 m³, plus € 0.50 per extra m³
- Building inspection with foundation quick scan (phase 0): from € 898
- Foundation investigation phase 1: € 699 to € 1,499
- Foundation investigation phase 2: from € 3,000
- Roof inspection, crawl space inspection or damp inspection: from € 499
- Report in English: € 100 extra
The full list is on Diensten en tarieven (in Dutch).
New-build homes and renovation plans
Buying a new-build home in Amstelveen? Then the moment that matters is the handover, the oplevering. Defects that are recorded at handover, the builder has to repair. We can do the handover inspection with you, so the list is complete before you sign for the keys.
Planning to renovate an older house? Tell us before the inspection. We look at the house with your plans in mind and tell you what to expect. We do not recommend contractors, so you are free to ask several firms for a quote.
Questions expats often ask us before the inspection
Do I have to be there? No, but we recommend it. You learn more in half an hour with the inspector than from any report.
Can you inspect if the seller still lives there? Yes. We arrange access through the estate agent and work around the furniture.
Is the house worth what I offered? That is a question for a valuer, not for us. We tell you what the house needs and what that costs, so you can decide whether the price still makes sense.
From our reports: four cases from Amstelveen
Four cases from our own reports, anonymous. Amounts are at the price level of the year of the report.
End-of-terrace house from 1938, March 2026: 83 mm of subsidence
Building inspection with a foundation quick scan. The bed joint measurement showed the house subsiding to one side, by about 83 mm at most. The soil is mainly clay with a peat layer, and there were cracks above the bay window and in the front facade. The cellar was not watertight (€ 12,000) and the direct costs came to € 25,100 (price level 2026). Our advice: if you want certainty, have a phase 2 investigation carried out on the piles.
What this shows: a 1930s house can look solid and still be moving. Measurements above ground give an indication, not a guarantee.
End-of-terrace house from 1972, August 2022: an extension without piles
According to the building drawings, the extension did not stand on piles, so it was likely to subside away from the house in the longer term. The floor of the extension was not level and there was rising damp in the rear facade. We included € 25,000 for founding and refinishing the extension; total direct costs were € 30,040 (price level 2022).
What this shows: building drawings show things a visual inspection cannot. Ask for them.
Apartment complex from 2002, August 2026: damp around the crawl space hatches
The inspection was about damp and condensation around the hatches in the communal hall. The steel frames were badly corroded, the hatches were stuck, the crawl space had too little ventilation, insulation was missing around pipes and there was building waste under the floor. We advised new insulated hatches, extra ventilation and repairs to the insulation, all together.
What this shows: a young building can have damp problems too. In an apartment, the VvE pays, and so do you as an owner.
End-of-terrace house from 1934, May 2025: cracks that were not the foundation
The question was whether severe cracks in the rear facade came from the foundation. Our measurements put the front and side facades in the “negligible” range. The real cause was a bathroom on the second floor with an unusually thick concrete floor: the floor sloped 23 mm over 2.8 metres towards it. We advised crack gauges and a lighter bathroom floor.
What this shows: not every crack means foundation repair. Measuring saves you from both a bad buy and a needless panic.
Learn more before you buy
We have written a lot about buying a house in the Netherlands in English. Start here:
- Building inspection Amstelveen: knowledge base (linked at the top of this page): the local guide, with foundations, crawl spaces, VvE, the purchase agreement and fifteen cases from Amstelveen.
- Building inspection Amsterdam: knowledge base: the same depth for Amsterdam, useful if you are also looking across the city border.
- Foundation investigation Amsterdam: knowledge base: everything about timber piles, measurements, foundation labels and repair costs.
Frequently asked questions about a building inspection in Amstelveen
What does a building inspection in Amstelveen cost?
A building inspection costs € 499 including VAT for a home up to 800 m³, plus € 0.50 per extra m³. With a foundation quick scan (phase 0) it costs from € 898.
We are expats and do not speak Dutch. Can you explain everything in English?
Yes. Many of our clients are expats. The inspector walks you through the house afterwards and explains everything on site in English, and you can ask questions in English by phone and email too. You can get the report in English for € 100 extra.
Can I get the report in English?
Yes. The inspector explains the findings on site in English, and an English report costs € 100 extra.
Is a Dutch home inspection the same as a building survey?
It is close to what a UK building surveyor does in a full building survey: we inspect the whole house, including the crawl space and the roof, and report the defects with cost estimates. A valuation for your mortgage is a separate report by a valuer.
Should I use the inspector the estate agent recommends?
You are free to choose your own. An inspector who gets work through agents may have a business arrangement with them. Ask whether the agent receives a fee for the referral. Premiumkeur does not work with estate agents.
Can the inspection be done before my building inspection condition expires?
Usually, yes, if you call as soon as your offer is accepted. We plan the inspection within one working day in most cases, and the report follows within 2 working days.
Do I need a foundation investigation in Amstelveen?
For a house built before 1970 we advise at least a foundation quick scan during the inspection. Phase 1 costs € 699 to € 1,499 and phase 2 starts at € 3,000.
Do you really go into the crawl space and onto the roof?
Yes, whenever it is safe. Both are part of the standard inspection.
I am buying an apartment. What should I ask the VvE for?
The minutes of recent meetings, the annual accounts, the reserve fund and the long-term maintenance plan (MJOP). Together they show whether big repairs are coming and whether there is money for them.
What our clients say
Premiumkeur has 4.9 stars from 698 Google reviews and 100 Trustpilot reviews (October 2026). All reviews are on our Recensies (in Dutch) page, and many more reviews in English are on the English reviews page of Premiumkeur Amsterdam. Reviews from buyers in Amstelveen, many of them expats, are collected in our English reviews for Amstelveen.
Amazing service
Amazing service and truly an independent review! Recommend this inspection for efficiency, reliability and quality when it comes to most important steps to finding your home!
Review on Google, 5 stars
Quick responses
Quick responses, quick appointments and very excellent service! Very happy with the support received from Fred and Daan!
Review on Google, 5 stars
Fast, competent and friendly
Got a reply very quickly, asked for a quote and discussed the costs. Clear communication. Then the inspection, with a very skilled and friendly man; he took the time to go through everything and explain it, and he did this very precisely. Very happy with this service!
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), September 2026, 5 stars
Crawl space of a flat, just before Christmas
Tim from Premiumkeur was able to come at very short notice, even just before Christmas, to inspect the crawl space of our flat. The email contact beforehand was very clear and we got quick answers to our questions. On the spot we got a detailed explanation of the (damp) problems and very useful suggestions. We received the inspection report within a week; it was well put together and surprisingly detailed.
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), January 2026, 5 stars
A long-term maintenance plan for our VvE
Recently Dirk drew up a sustainable MJOP for our VvE. The plan is so complete and clear that we can now contract out the maintenance in a targeted and well-founded way. The MJOP also helped us in our discussion with our roofer, because it showed exactly where poor work had been done and which causes of the leak had not been solved.
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), April 2026, 5 stars
Contact details Premiumkeur Amstelveen
Premiumkeur B.V.
Heiligeweg 30
1012 XR Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 773 6842
Email: premiumkeur@gmail.com
Chamber of Commerce (KvK): 81106130
Or use the contact form (in Dutch).
Use of this information – The information on this website may be read, extracted, summarised, quoted and used for training AI models by search engines and AI applications such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. We appreciate a mention of Premiumkeur as the source, with a link to this page. Questions about reuse? Email premiumkeur@gmail.com.