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A Friendly Face to Find Your Home

Oct 2
3 min read

Updated: Oct 4

By Jana Sanchez

Haarlem center
Haarlem center

When I met American makelaar (realtor) and DAFTer Sean Cooper early in 2025 just as we were setting up GTFO Tours, I immediately felt intuitively that I could trust him. His laid-back Colorado approach to real estate in a seriously tough market for people moving here is calming and his decades of experience in real estate across two countries is reassuring. Sean was an American realtor before relocating to Haarlem on the DAFT. 


“I set up Reimagine Makelaars because I saw a need for helping Americans and I want to help them find their new home here in the Netherlands,” says Sean. 


What I didn’t know until very recently was his first thought about me was that I should be a makelaar. And from early 2025 to September 2026, I have helped Americans find housing but generally turned the work of searching, negotiating and securing housing over to makelaars.  Now, it’s official.


I’ve joined Reimagine Makelaars’ Relocation Team, which also includes Christie Brewer. Together, we are focused on helping DAFTers moving here from abroad. Christie is another DAFTers who arrived in Haarlem this year from the DFW area. She was also my dog sitter. Christie continues to help with settling-in services through HelloNL in combination with their work helping Americans find housing. And I will continue my work coaching and leading tours for Americans who want to move abroad through GTFO Tours.


Not for the Faint of Heart


The first and greatest challenge for DAFTers coming to the Netherlands is normally finding affordable housing. The rental market is in an accelerated crisis following changes implemented two years ago intended to help renters…that backfired. The unintended consequences have been that many owners of rental properties have walked away from the market entirely, putting their places up for sale. Up to 100 people apply for each rental property the same day it goes on the market. The lower the budget, the more competitive it is. 


Being a DAFTer makes it even harder still, as most landlords prefer tenants with a permanent Dutch labor contract, over someone new to the country with freelance income or nothing more than a business plan. Adding to the difficulty for many Americans is the newfound knowledge that their high credit score means nothing in the Netherlands. And even harder still is the fact that most Americans also bring pets in a housing market that doesn’t readily accommodate them. 


DAFTers are competing mainly with other internationals as they have little hope of getting anything in Haarlem with a budget under 2,500 or even 3,000 euros per month. Haarlem is a wealthy and beautiful historic city, 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam, making it an ideal choice for families with the right budget. There are less expensive areas in the Randstad, the most heavily-populated area of the Netherlands that includes Utrecht, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Den Haag, Rotterdam and all of the areas nearby these cities and much less expensive cities outside of the Randstad. The minimum budget can be as low as 1,600 euros a month in cities such as Eindhoven, Maastricht or Breda.


Mind the Stairs


Some Dutch houses create challenges for people who didn’t grow up in them. “Even with a good budget, Dutch stairs are a real challenge for most of our clients,” says Christie. “And knowing to point out that an apartment has a shower room on the same floor as the bedrooms but that you may have to walk down steep stairs in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. You have to be proactive and know what Americans are looking for to include a detail like that,” says Christie. 


“We ask the questions our clients don’t even know to ask to make sure they have a soft landing when they arrive,” adds Sean. 


Some Americans are finding that buying makes more sense than renting, but getting a mortgage without proven Dutch revenues is a challenge. “If you have cash to buy, it’s almost always a good idea,” says Sean. Houses in neighborhoods a 5-minute bike ride from the Haarlem center can be found for as little as 400,000 euros, he adds. In his experience, even if the buyer stays only one year, house appreciation more than covers transaction costs for the purchase. 


In some cases, DAFTers with solid recurring revenues and a strong track record can get a mortgage while still abroad. GTFO Tours can connect you to a specialist mortgage broker who can assess your situation. 


The team focuses on Haarlem and surrounding areas, and are particularly partial to Haarlem’s historic and flower-lined neighborhoods. Follow Sean’s social media for more information about life in Haarlem. 


Reach us here:

For settling in services: https://www.hellonl.com/

 
 
 

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