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All the best of luck to you. The market is awful 😞 let me know if there is anything down the line (renovations related) that I can help with 😅

And that's low 😅

@@michelle_kahn ouch 😭

Lol can you tell?

😂 I am by no means Afrikaans. But yes I am South African. 😊

We did use a buying agent. I actually want to dive into this a bit more in another video. So many people here talk about the makelaar mafia, but while being in the market for over a year, I actually question if this is truly a thing. I was not at any advantage to anyone else by having a makelaar, and based on reactions from the selling agents (and I met a lot of them) they were not at any advantage either. I just think the market is wild and there's nothing you can truly do to predict what to bid. We had a number of properties taken off before we could even view or bid and I think this must just be through connections. We had a South African reach out to us when he was considering selling, and that could have potentially worked in our favour. I'll never know.

Thanks so much Steve!!! ☺️

This information will eventually be public anyway but I don't want to discuss my finances too much here. Listing price was €675k but you have to overbid. For a bit more context, we would have won another house potentially when overbidding 100k but unfortunately that one didn't workout. This one we overbid less because the house needs work done to it and unfortunately I think we overdid it so it's a touchy topic.

@@michelle_kahn Thank you for that. When I came back to see your comment I notice you only have a few hundred subscribers and aren't full time TH-camrs, so that definitely makes sense that you aren't sharing all your details on here. I really appreciate it still!! That is quite a lot but comparable to some places in my country (Vancouver, Toronto) so I understand. Really appreciate you answering my comment though - thank you :)

@@anonuser12345 indeed! I'm a newbie here haha! 😎 Thanks for respecting that ☺️ I don't know how much more our properties can rise, because salaries are just not matching it. I hear Canada is insane too.

@@michelle_kahn Thank you for sharing those details. I am sure you have it all worked out but it must be quite a high monthly payment. A few weeks ago we were told we could borrow €650k for a monthly payment of €3,051 and we felt we could not stretch it. We earn 11k net but €2,700 goes in childcare and school fees (and that's after the state subsidy) so this might be something to take into account depending on your future plans...

Dankjewel 🫶🏻

Thank you! It really is!

Congratulations to you too! I will share. For now, if you can try and get access to a Facebook group called "expats renovating in the Netherlands", I think this might be of help! Message me on Instagram if you have issues with this and I'll try help :)

I stand to be corrected, but I think this is the only country that does something like this. It's genuinely wild and it feels controlled but also totally out of hand. Even all the jubilees in the UK would not compare to the madness that is Koningsdag.

@@michelle_kahn wow crazy, thanks for the explanation. Well, the main thing is that everybody has fun 😄

For a lot of people it's less about the monarch, and more about the party (and the orange togetherness)

​@@dykam Right! It's more a chance for some "gees" as we'd say in South Africa. Everyone coming together to have a "jol".

Is this nicer? :)

We just have to keep our wits about ourselves Yulia <3 We've got this!

Not sure I follow?

😂 indeed

I don't think I've ever been so naive about something in my life before. The housing market here is really intense. We have placed 5 bids and not won any, even after having the highest bid on one. Everyone wants to live in the same areas.

@@michelle_kahn that’s insane! You’ll get there! Don’t give up. Can you please do a monthly expenses video? Thanks!

No idea of the relevancy of Marina Ambrovic :) There are ways to make these trips cheaper (specifically accommodation), but I think the cost was reasonable for everything it included. Nobody ever said skiing is a cheap activity/holiday. Groceries were nearly double the cost of Amsterdam so even self-catering was pricey AF for food.

@@michelle_kahn she is in a billboard in the background in the first 15 seconds of the video. just a joke because she is involved with diddy and jay z currently being in large controversy. skiing is not cheap but very worth it

I was so confused😂 so thanks for clarifying. Had no idea about this. 😅

Lesson learned!

Yeah, it's almost as if this was my second time in my life being in so much snow and first time skiing 😂

I would say the reviews are most likely true. I read a couple talking about how luggage all gets placed at the back etc. In the Netherlands, on big train trips on Thalys or Eurostar, luggage also gets placed at the back, so this wasn't unheard of to me, but it does make you a bit anxious (especially coming from South Africa). But at the end of the day, we got to Milos from Santorini safely (a little nauseous from the motion because the sea was quite choppy) and on time. I had just accepted this is how things are done in Greece so I don't know if I would do it differently. Good luck with planning your trip and don't hold back on the Catamaran trip in Milos if that's where you're headed!

I will go in English because I have slacked heavily in my Dutch lessons since middle of last year 😅 I didn't want to pry too much on the things that I feel negatively towards because it is still my home, but I just don't know how I could ever return there aftwr experiencing the freedom that I have found here. Within my running community I was constantly hearing about home invasion, attacks on the road (cellphone's and wedding rings), and so on. My husband has had three very sad experiences and a friend of mine ex boyfriend was shot dead over a laptop. That is a phonecall I will never forget. It's a beautiful country and if it was run well I think it would be one of the best in the world. The government just desperately needs to change, just like in Turkiye, for example. Thank you very much for your comment and for the compliment! Have a lovely day!

Ik heb sinds kort ook 2 zuid Afrikaanse "vluchtelingen" als collega's, gevlucht voor geweld, discriminatie. ( hé zijn niet altijd blank, shoot the boer more everybody)

same

In the Netherlands, blue letters are like the blue screen of death 😂 it's the tax offices coming after you. Especially as a zzp'er which is a self employed person.

@@michelle_kahn ohhhh ty

@@michelle_kahn thabks i didnt know im from America. Feck taxes 🥹 lol i love the explanation though blue screen of death lol

@@callistagibson7324 Feck taxes indeed !

I am not responsible for our housing crisis. The lack of housing and the demand for housing in Amsterdam is the reason why this has happened. Instead of pinning your anger towards expats, rather focus on the way that perhaps the public transport systems need to be more reliable to encourage people to live elsewhere in the country or perhaps more homes need to be built. Perhaps companies need to be incentivized to setup outside of Amsterdam to encourage people to live in a variety of cities as opposed to just Amsterdam. I did not even qualify for the 30% ruling, along with many of my friends who I have met. Additionally, everyone else in my building is Dutch. Single women being able to afford to buy AND rent in De Pijp (How??). I couldn't do this on my salary. So your comment is unnecessary and invalid. Have a good day :)

Out of curiosity, is that what it's like in central Haarlem or are you further out? I've been looking at Haarlem to buy as well because limiting ourselves to Amsterdam is making things very very difficult. We had the highest bid on a home last week Friday but they went with a lower bid that had no conditions. 😅 Our only condition was financing within 3 weeks. 🤯

@@michelle_kahn it depends I think. I bought it in 2016. Prices are double now. Good luck 🤞

WILD!!!!

Indeed!

Then you're gonna starve for a whole month! 😮

@@michelle_kahn nnnnnnnoooooooooooooaaaarrrrgggggghhhhhhh

Ze bedoeld het als een grap (geen haat btw!)😊