Applying for a mortgage: these are the documents you need

Broadly speaking, a mortgage application must make two things clear: the applicant’s desired property and financial situation. As a general rule, it’s better to include too many documents with the application rather than too few. The following explains each document in greater detail.

Diese Unterlagen über die Liegenschaft müssen dem Hypothekarantrag beiliegen.

• Sales documentation: the most important document. It should contain, at least, the following information:

  • Interior and exterior photos of the property
  • Description of the property (address, number of rooms/floors, balconies/terrace and parking spaces)
  • Year of construction and renovations carried out (including the year)
  • Purchase price
  • Contracting parties
  • Possible deadlines
• Floor plan: this gives information such as the square footage and net living space of the property, the number of rooms, ceiling height, roof shape and flooring material. This is usually provided by the selling party.
• Site/cadastral/zoning plan: a cadastral plan is a true-to-scale representation of land and real estate. It shows their size, usage category and location. This geodata can usually be obtained either from the municipality’s surveying office or online. The Swiss portal for Public Law Restrictions on Landownership (PLR portal) is a good place to start. An ordinary extract is free of charge.
• Extract from land register: this contains descriptions of the land and rights related to the property, such as proprietorship and easements. Although the land register is publicly available, an extract must be authorized, usually by the selling party or management responsible for the property. The land register extract must be at least six months old.
• Estimation of market value: if available, this will facilitate the application check. However, the mortgage provider will make an independent valuation of the property to verify whether the stated value is plausible.
• Building insurance certificate: this mandatory insurance protects real estate from natural disasters, such as floods, hail and avalanches. Extracts can be obtained from the cantonal building insurance authorities or the property insurance provider.
• Energy efficiency certificate: certificates such as MINERGIE or GEAK (if available).
• For properties with building rights: the building right agreement contains information about the term of the building right and relevant payments.