A sales brochure (salgsopstilling) is a presentation of the property with key data and information, which the estate agent prepares in connection with the sale. It markets the home and at the same time gives you the information required by law that you need to decide on a purchase.
When an estate agent sells a home, a sales brochure must be prepared, and the agent is responsible for making sure the information in it is correct. The sales brochure is also part of the purchase agreement and must contain the information needed to make a decision to buy.
What does a sales brochure contain?
The sales brochure brings the home’s basic facts and financial figures together in one place, so you get an overview before you decide whether to buy. The content and the requirements are fixed, so you will find the same types of information in every sales brochure.
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The basic facts always come at the top: address, type of home, living area, plot size, number of rooms and year of construction.
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The cash price and the purchase price are shown here, together with how much cash the buyer needs and a financing proposal based on a 30-year bond loan.
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You will also see the property’s finances: property taxes (land tax, known as grundskyld), refuse collection, the TV aerial fee, any homeowners’ association and insurance details.
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The document also covers how the property is used (year-round, holiday or business), easements (servitutter), debt and encumbrances, energy performance, contamination, and any movables and white goods that come with the sale.
Read the points as a whole, because it is the sum of the facts and figures that gives you a basis for assessing the home.
The mandatory information in a sales brochure
The content of a sales brochure follows a set of minimum requirements, not the agent’s own choice. The requirements come from the executive order BEK nr 1230 of 21/11/2014, and the mandatory information must always be included, whatever the type of home.
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Among other things, the executive order requires the estimated cash price, i.e. the asking price, and the price dates for mortgage loans and home loans.
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It must be stated that the gross and net costs are calculated on the basis of a standard financing proposal, and that this standard financing cannot be obtained in some cases.
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The owner costs (ejerudgift) for the first year must be itemised with the current property value tax, land tax and buildings insurance for the property in question.
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For summer houses and holiday homes, the primary and any supplementary heat sources are stated, and it must be made clear that the cost and amount of heating consumption are not shown in the sales brochure.
When you read the brochure, you can use these four points as a checklist to see whether the mandatory information is in place.
Owner costs and financing: understanding the figures
The figures for owner costs and financing determine whether the home is really within your financial reach. So spend a few minutes understanding what the different amounts cover and how they fit together.
Owner costs in a sales brochure typically cover the fixed items that come with owning the home. They do not cover every cost of living there, only the items linked to the property and its shared arrangements.
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Property tax, i.e. land tax and any property value tax.
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Membership fees for a homeowners’ association, if the home is in an area that has one.
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Refuse collection.
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Rat control.
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Chimney sweeping.
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Any shared costs.
The sales brochure usually shows both the owner costs and a gross/net figure, and many people confuse the two. They are not the same. The owner costs are the ongoing running costs of owning the home. The gross and net figures, on the other hand, show what the home costs you each month once the financing of the loan is included. Gross is the cost before tax deductions; net is the amount after them. So read them as two separate calculations that each tell you something about your finances, not as one combined cost.
You also need to allow for costs that the sales brochure does not put a figure on. Under §16, the brochure must state that there will be costs for energy, water, any mandatory inspections of utility installations, any other consumption-related items and ongoing maintenance, but that these costs are not shown in the sales brochure. In other words, you are told that they exist, but no amounts are given. Remember this when you draw up your budget.
The heating bill appears in the sales brochure as information on consumption-related items, and it must state what kind of figure has been used, for example the calculated consumption from the energy label (energimærke) or the seller’s actual consumption. If the primary heat source is different from the one the energy label is based on, the seller’s actual consumption over the past year is used instead. So check whether the figure is calculated or actual, and which year it covers, before you compare it with your own expectations of heating consumption.
How to read the sales brochure alongside the condition report and the energy label
The sales brochure does not give you the whole picture on its own. To understand what you are really buying, you need to read it together with the condition report (tilstandsrapport), the electrical installation report (elinstallationsrapport) and the energy label.
None of the documents is an overall guarantee for the home. The condition report, the electrical installation report, the energy label, the seller’s disclosures and the offer of change-of-ownership insurance shed light on different risks, and they must be assessed together, not one at a time. If you only look at the sales brochure, you risk overlooking issues that the other documents are designed to catch.
Much of the information in the documents comes from the same source. Bygnings- og Boligregistret (BBR, the Danish building and housing register) holds information on Denmark’s plots, buildings, technical installations and private homes. BBR data feeds into the sales brochure, the condition report and the energy labelling, and is used for things such as the year of construction, years of conversion and extension, external wall and roofing materials, heating installation and heating source, and living area.
That is why an error in the BBR can spread to several documents at once. The BBR area, the area registered in the land register and the floor space you experience in the home are not necessarily the same. As an owner, you are responsible for following up on whether the BBR information for your property is correct. So check whether the figures in the sales brochure match what you can measure and see for yourself.
Once you have the documents in front of you, there are five errors in the sales brochure that buyers are especially prone to overlook:
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Check the property value tax, because it may have been calculated on outdated assumptions and so may not match the tax you will actually pay.
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Take a closer look at the public property valuation. An old or inaccurate valuation can give a misleading picture of the home’s value and the taxes that come with it.
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Read the monthly payment critically, because the amount depends on the financing proposal it was calculated from, not on the loan agreement you actually end up with.
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Compare the living area with the BBR and with the dimensions you see for yourself in the home, so you do not pay for more square metres than there really are.
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Check the running costs, because the sales brochure does not put figures on energy, water and ongoing maintenance, and those items can change your budget noticeably.
These five points do not mean that anything is wrong. They are simply where a sales brochure most often prompts a follow-up question before you make up your mind.
There is also a property data report (ejendomsdatarapport), which gathers information from several public registers and authorities and can lead you on to the BBR, the energy label, soil contamination, planning, building case files and utility supply. The report can confirm or challenge what you read in the sales brochure, and it points on to matters beyond the home itself.
Get the full picture of the home, and help from Brikk
The sales brochure is not a document you skim on the side of the deal. It is part of the purchase agreement, and the purchase agreement refers to the other documents in the sale. The sales brochure therefore carries the same weight as the agreement itself. When you read the sales brochure as a buyer, keep in mind that what it says is not marketing you can ignore.
The seller has a duty of loyal disclosure and must tell you about all material aspects of the home. The estate agent acts for the seller and is responsible for making sure the information in the sales brochure is correct. In other words, the agent is not your adviser, and you should remember that when you ask questions along the way.
You get the full picture of the home when you read the sales brochure together with the property data report, the BBR information, the land register information and the easements:
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The property data report gathers information from several registers and can confirm or challenge what you read in the brochure.
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The BBR information shows how the home is registered, with its area, year of construction and technical details.
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The land register information tells you which rights and encumbrances are registered against the property.
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The easements describe the restrictions that apply to how you may use the home and the plot.
Read the documents together before you decide. If you need help understanding a sales brochure or with the purchase itself, you can contact Brikk, an estate agent that can guide you through the documents and the process.
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