A survey has shown that more than half of all Dutch mortgage advisors recommend their clients to take out a mortgage which is beyond their means. The poll was carried out by a group which lobbies for regulation of the mortgage advice sector.  Its code of conduct stipulates that mortgaged loans should be smaller than 4.5 times the annual income of the debtor.

People who borrow money to buy a home are often advised to take out higher mortgages, often on the grounds of their career perspectives and predicted rises in income. The advisors' group says that the economic crisis has made it unlikely that oversize mortgages will continue to be recommended.

Recent changes in the law limit the possibilities of taking outsize mortgages to finance other purchases such as luxury yachts or rebuilding work. Mortgages were more popular than regular loans for this, because mortgage instalments are tax-deductible as "necessary expenses". Loan repayments, on the other hand, are not.

Defaulting on mortgage payments for a house will not make its residents homeless immediately, but in many cases ownership of the house will revert to the bank, which will attempt to sell the house in order to recover the money due.