Pre-Purchase Inspection Amstelveen
You've seen a house or an apartment in Amstelveen, you like it, and now there's a date by which the seller wants offers. This page is about those few days. When do you book the inspection, do you bid first or inspect first, and what do you do with the cost estimate once it's in your inbox? A lot of the people who call us from Amstelveen are expats buying for the first time in the Netherlands, so we explain the Dutch terms as we go.
Premiumkeur is an inspection company that works only for its own clients. Our office is at Heiligeweg 30 in Amsterdam and we inspect homes all over Amstelveen. Fred Tokkie, who set up the company, was a contractor from 1983 to 2009 and has inspected houses since 2009. Our clients have given us 4.9 stars from 704 Google reviews and 104 Trustpilot reviews. You can read them on Trustpilot, or go straight to reviews from our English-speaking clients.
☎ Call 020-7736842 or send a WhatsApp to +31 6 2956 3190. A pre-purchase inspection costs € 499 including VAT for a home up to 800 m³, plus € 0.50 for each extra m³. We're at the property for 1 to 1.5 hours and you get the report within 2 working days. Often we can come the next working day.
Are you from the US or Canada? Home Inspection Amstelveen sets the Dutch steps next to the ones you know from home. The Dutch version of our site starts at Bouwkundige keuring Amstelveen (in Dutch).
The clock starts at the viewing
In Amstelveen a well-kept family home can sell quickly. The selling agent often sets a deadline for offers, and you might have two or three days between the viewing and that deadline. That's not much time to find an inspector, get the house opened up and read a report.
So make your plan before the viewing, not after. Decide if you want the inspection done before you bid or after, and have our number ready. People who do this tend to bid calmer, because they already know what they'll do with the outcome.
Can you come tomorrow?
Quite often, yes. Send us the address, the year the house was built and the deadline you're working to. If the seller's agent has to give access, we can call them to set the time, and you're welcome to be there yourself. If we really can't make your deadline we'll tell you straight away, so you can look elsewhere.
Below this section are two videos in Dutch. "Building inspection Amstelveen" follows one of our inspectors through a house in Amstelveen, and "Technical building inspection Amstelveen" shows what we test on site and why (both in Dutch).
Inspect first, or bid with a condition
There are two ways to fit the inspection in. You can have the house inspected before you make an offer, so your bid is based on facts. Or you can bid with a bouwkundig voorbehoud, a building inspection condition. That's a form of ontbindende voorwaarde, a condition that lets you cancel the purchase if the inspection turns up serious problems.
In a busy market some sellers prefer an offer without conditions. If you inspect first, you can leave the condition out and still know what you're buying. That's one reason why many buyers book us before the bid.
Three days to change your mind
After you and the seller sign the purchase agreement, Dutch law gives you three days of bedenktijd, a cooling-off period. In those days you can cancel without giving a reason. Some buyers squeeze the inspection into that window. It can work, but only if the slot is booked before you sign. Three days goes fast when one of them is a weekend.
The two Dutch videos after this section are "Why Premiumkeur is a professional organisation", about how we're set up and how we work, and "Why you are better off choosing Premiumkeur", about what an independent inspector does for a buyer (both in Dutch).
Clay, peat and the phase 0 check
Amstelveen is built on clay and peat. Houses on piles usually stay put, but an extension or a shed built without piles can sink over the years. For older houses, and for any house where you see sloping floors or cracks, we suggest adding a foundation quick scan, called phase 0. Together with the inspection it starts at € 898.
During phase 0 we measure the bed joints of the brickwork and the floors to see how far the house has moved, and we look at what's known about the street. It's a snapshot, not a guarantee. If the readings call for more, there's phase 1 (€ 699 to € 1,499) or phase 2, where a pit is dug next to the foundation (from € 3,000). More on this on our foundation investigation page (in Dutch).
Cracks don't always mean a bad foundation
Buyers sometimes pull out the moment they see a big crack. Wait for the measurements. A crack can come from a sagging lintel, a heavy floor or plaster that never bonded, and those are things you can fix for a known price. Our case from 1934 further down this page is a good example.
Two Dutch videos follow. "How to recognise a foundation defect" shows the signs we look for on the outside and the inside, and "What a crawl space inspection adds to a building inspection" explains why we go under the floor (both in Dutch).
A report within a day
Tim carried out a foundation investigation for us. The contact was pleasant, he gave a clear explanation of his observations and within a day we received a report with clear points of attention and recommendations. Very nice to receive such a quick and clear report, which gives us more information about a house we want to buy.
Review on Trustpilot (translated from Dutch), July 2026, 5 stars
Told us we could skip it
I contacted Fred to ask if he can make an appointment to do an inspection of a house we're going to buy. He told us when he can find a time, but also he asked about the house (when it was built and what the roof is made of etc.) and so he said honestly we do not need to spend money on an inspection because in that house it will all be fine. He also mentioned a few areas that we can check ourselves for possible problems and told me about the costs of fixing that. Altogether Fred's free advice saves us 200-300 euros which is a lot when you need to buy everything for your new household!
Review on Google, 5 stars
In the photos below, from left to right: 1. tracing the source of a leak in an Amstelveen home; 2. inspector inside the crawl space under the ground floor; 3. inspector investigating cracks to find the cause; 4. inspecting a concrete edge beam of a foundation.
Booking the inspector yourself
Because the Dutch system is new to you, it makes sense that you lean on your realtor's suggestions. Keep in mind that the realtor is paid when the sale goes through. An inspector who gets a lot of jobs through realtors has a reason to keep that relationship good. That's a structural conflict of interest, and it applies to your own buying agent as well as the seller's.
So pick the inspector yourself, also when your realtor or mortgage adviser mentions a 'partner'. You can always bring your own. Ask any inspector you call: do you get work or fees from realtors or mortgage advisers? Will you go into the crawl space and onto the roof where it's safe? Do you look at the foundation? Would you sign a statement that you're independent? And read the terms for words like 'global inspection' and for what's left out.
Premiumkeur doesn't work with realtors or mortgage advisers. We don't pay or accept referral fees, we don't recommend repair companies and we don't inspect for sellers.
What the cost estimate is for
Every defect in our report gets a rough repair cost, with the price level of that year. We split them into costs you'll face right away, costs that come later, and improvements you might choose to make. That split is what you need when you talk to the seller, and later when you plan your budget for the first few years.
After this section there are two Dutch videos: "How to inspect a roof during a building inspection", filmed on a roof, and "Foundation investigation Amstelveen", about measuring a house in Amstelveen for foundation risk (both in Dutch).
Going back to the seller with the numbers
Don't send the whole report with a request to knock off the total. Sellers rarely pay for normal wear like paint or an old boiler. Pick the two or three items the seller couldn't have expected you to see at the viewing: a leaking gutter, a roof that's past its life, wiring that has to be replaced. Your realtor takes them to the seller's agent, with a lower price or a repair before the handover as the request.
It works better when you're specific. "Concrete gutter at the rear needs repair, about € 1,250" lands differently than "the house needs a lot of work".
When it's time to walk away
Sometimes the right answer is not to buy. We'd say so when a large part of the cost is unknown: an extension that isn't on piles and has started to sink, a leak nobody can locate, drains under the floor in bad shape. You can only cancel without penalty while you still have a condition or the three days of bedenktijd. That's why timing matters more than anything else on this page.
In the photos below, from left to right: 1. fred Tokkie inspecting a timber pile foundation; 2. damp survey in a cellar, measuring moisture in the walls; 3. inspecting a kwaaitaal concrete floor, a known problem floor in older houses; 4. inspecting concrete rot (betonrot), where rusting steel cracks the concrete.
A valuation is not an inspection
Your bank will want a taxatie, a valuation. The appraiser looks at what the house is worth on the market and checks it for the mortgage. They don't open the crawl space, they don't climb onto the roof and they don't put a price on each defect. An inspection and a valuation answer different questions, and for most buyers you need both. Premiumkeur is recognized by NHG, the Dutch national mortgage guarantee.
Buying an apartment: questions for the VvE
With an apartment you also become a member of the VvE, the owners' association that looks after the building. Before you bid, ask for the last meeting minutes, the reserve fund and the MJOP, the long-term maintenance plan. If a new roof is due in two years and the fund is thin, the owners pay extra, and you'd be one of them. We look at the shared parts we can reach as well as the apartment itself.
The two Dutch videos below this section are "All about installing solar panels" and "How to trace leaks at a dormer" (both in Dutch).
He knew the building before he arrived
Premiumkeur helped us with their 'bouwkundige keuring' during the process of buying a home in Amsterdam, and we are so happy to have contacted them! Daan had already informed himself about the building beforehand and knew the history of it! The inspection was conducted with great attention to detail, he discovered things that I think others would have missed. Can only recommend this service, 5*!
Review on Google, 5 stars
Short and to the point
Very skilled! Highly recommended.
Review on Google (translated from Dutch), October 2026, 5 stars
In the photos below, from left to right: 1. roof boarding checked for damp and old leaks; 2. roof inspection on a house in Amstelveen; 3. inspecting a dormer on a pitched roof; 4. measuring a horizontal mortar joint along the front facade to check for uneven settlement.
Concrete gutters on 1960s houses
Many terraced houses in Amstelveen from the 1950s and 1960s have concrete gutters. After fifty or sixty years the steel inside can rust, which pushes the concrete apart. In Dutch that's called betonrot, concrete rot. A gutter slab that's cracked and sags, with water standing in it, is a job for a specialist. Have it looked at before you sign, because the cost depends on how much of the gutter is affected.
Retrofit insulation and the crawl space
Post-war houses often had their cavity walls or floors insulated later. That's good for your energy bill, but sometimes the vents in the facade were closed off during the work, and the crawl space under the floor gets damp. Some houses from that time also have kwaaitaal floors, a type of concrete floor that can break down in a humid crawl space. We go into the kruipruimte, the crawl space, wherever we can, because that's where those answers are.
What to arrange before we arrive
Ask the seller's agent for the seller's information form and for any invoices for a new roof, boiler or foundation work. Make sure the crawl space hatch can be opened and nothing heavy stands on it. If there's a loft hatch or a roof hatch, the same goes for that. You're welcome to walk around with us. The inspector explains everything in English while we're there.
The report: when and in which language
The report comes within 2 working days. It's written in Dutch. An English translation costs € 100 extra, and many expats find the explanation on site plus the photos enough to start talking to the seller. Our inspectors speak Dutch and English, not Japanese or Hindi, though there is also a short page in Japanese and in Hindi on this site.
Quick to answer
Fast and professional response. Fred is very experienced and was able to give us some really good advice.
Review on Google, 5 stars
Other pages that help with your purchase
- Building Survey Amstelveen: for British, Irish and Australian buyers who know a survey from home.
- House Survey Amstelveen: what we usually find in Amstelveen terraced houses from roof to crawl space.
- House Inspection Amstelveen: how the day of the inspection goes, step by step.
- Property Inspection Amstelveen: for VvEs, landlords and owners of non-residential buildings.
- Pre-Purchase Building Survey Amstelveen: which extra checks to add for which kind of house.
- Building Inspection Amstelveen: our general English page about inspections in Amstelveen.
- Building Inspection Amstelveen Knowledge Base: 15 cases from Amstelveen in more detail.
- Buying a House in Amsterdam: the Dutch buying process explained, from bid to notary.
- Foundation investigation knowledge base: phases 0, 1 and 2 explained with examples.
- Crawl Space Inspection: what we look for under the floor.
- Building Inspection Amsterdam Knowledge Base: cases from our Amsterdam work.
Two Amstelveen cases where timing mattered
Terraced house from 1964, Amstelveen, September 2025
An empty three-storey terraced house without a VvE. We did a standard pre-purchase inspection, without a foundation investigation. The concrete gutters had concrete rot. At the rear the gutter slab was cracked and sagging, with water standing in it, and repairing the parts we could see was estimated at € 1,250. Our moisture readings pointed to an active leak, and there was older exposed wiring. Most windows still had single glazing. Double glazing wouldn't fit in the existing frames, so new frames were listed as an improvement at € 27,500, on top of € 18,400 in direct costs (2025 price level). We advised having the gutter slab checked by a specialist before signing, a leak detection and a visit from an electrician.
What this shows: a cracked, sagging concrete gutter needs a specialist before you sign. And if you plan double glazing in an older house, check whether the frames can take it, because new frames change your budget a lot.
End-of-terrace house from 1934, Amstelveen, May 2025
An occupied end-of-terrace house with two storeys and a cellar, and moderate to severe cracks in the rear facade and at the balcony landing. We carried out a crack assessment. The front facade was out by 6 mm over 6,000 mm (1:1000) and the side facade by 6 mm over 10,220 mm (1:1703), both 'negligible'. The rowlock course above the frame under the balcony had dropped 12 mm over 1,900 mm (1:158, 'moderate'). The second floor sloped 23 mm over 2,800 mm (1:121) towards a bathroom with an unusually thick cement and concrete floor. We advised crack gauges. If the cracks grow more than 3 mm a year, the structure above the frame should be calculated and the bathroom floor replaced with a lighter one.
What this shows: severe cracks don't have to come from the foundation. Here local overloading was the more likely cause, and that's something a buyer can price in.
Questions about a pre-purchase inspection in Amstelveen
How soon can you do a pre-purchase inspection in Amstelveen?
Often the next working day. Send the address, building year and your offer deadline by phone, WhatsApp or email and we'll look for the earliest slot.
Should I get the inspection before or after my offer?
Before, if you can. Then you bid knowing the condition and you can leave out the building inspection condition. If there's no time, bid with a bouwkundig voorbehoud and book us right away.
Can I use the 3-day cooling-off period for the inspection?
Yes, if you book the slot before you sign. The three days of bedenktijd start after signing and go quickly, especially over a weekend.
How much does a pre-purchase inspection cost in Amstelveen?
€ 499 including VAT for a home up to 800 m³, plus € 0.50 per extra m³. With the foundation quick scan (phase 0) it starts at € 898.
How long does it take and when do I get the report?
We're on site for 1 to 1.5 hours. The report follows within 2 working days, so plan that into your deadline.
I'm an expat and don't speak Dutch. Is that a problem?
No. Our inspectors explain everything in English on site. The report is in Dutch, and an English translation costs € 100 extra.
Can I renegotiate the price after the inspection?
You can try. Pick the few defects the seller couldn't expect you to see and give the estimated cost from the report. Normal wear rarely gets you money off.
Do I need a foundation check for a house in Amstelveen?
For older houses, and for houses with cracks, sloping floors or an extension, we'd add phase 0. The soil here is clay and peat, and extensions without piles can sink.
Is the bank's valuation enough instead of an inspection?
No. A valuation is about market value for the mortgage. It doesn't include the crawl space, the roof or repair costs per defect.
When would you advise me not to buy?
When a big part of the cost can't be estimated, for example an extension that's sinking or a leak nobody can trace. You can only cancel freely while you still have a condition or the cooling-off period.
Where we go for pre-purchase inspections
We get asked most often for terraced houses in Westwijk and Bankras-Kostverloren and for newer homes in Middenhoven. We also inspect the older houses in the Oude Dorp and out in Bovenkerk. Just outside Amstelveen we work in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel and Uithoorn too, with the same prices and the same short notice.
Contact details Premiumkeur Amstelveen
Premiumkeur B.V.
Heiligeweg 30
1012 XR Amsterdam
Phone: 020-7736842
Email: premiumkeur@gmail.com
Chamber of Commerce (KvK): 81106130
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