Interview with Marjette Soeteman, Personal Banking client

“I was recently divorced and needed to borrow money to buy my own place. That was complicated because I’m paid from Brussels, even though I’m resident in the Netherlands. The bank my ex-husband and I borrowed money from eight years before would only count my basic pay and not the various allowances I receive, effectively halving the amount of salary I could put toward mortgage repayments.

In addition, I wasn’t eligible for Dutch tax breaks on mortgage interest payments, prompting the bank to decrease my allowable monthly charges by about 1000 euros a month. On that basis, I could have borrowed the same amount as when I started work as a primary school teacher 25 years ago. With the way real estate prices have gone in the Netherlands, I would have been living in a garage. A friend who had an account with ABN AMRO suggested I try there, which I did. This was in October last year. It was a difficult time. I was on a tight deadline to finalise my divorce and have a mortgage approved before I could secure my new house.

I had a couple of issues trying to open a current account online and was initially refused. Thankfully, I was able to speak to an advisor and have it sorted out quickly. It was a bit frustrating at first as I needed to have an ABN AMRO account before I could apply for a mortgage. But everybody I dealt with was very nice and kind, so it wasn’t a problem. I was able to secure my mortgage within two days of the deadline. The advice I had was practical and clear. It’s very important for me to have that personal touch. It’s especially important when dealing with enormous life changes.

I felt a bit desperate when my new mortgage application was rejected by my original lender, and ABN AMRO helped get me through that. It was very easy to contact people when needed and they were extremely helpful. My personal advisor, in particular, was very friendly and competent, always available to answer my questions. It was a good experience.”