When we buy our own home, very few people in Switzerland can cover the costs out of our own savings - we need a mortgage. Mortgage creditors grant up to 80% of the purchase price as a mortgage, 20% must be borne from your own funds. Two-thirds of the purchase price is considered a so-called first mortgage, for which there is no obligation of repayment. The difference between this first mortgage and the equity is called the second mortgage, which must be repaid within 15 years, or by retirement at the latest. There are two alternatives to repay this part of the mortgage:

Due to the high and stubborn inflation, the Swiss National Bank has raised the key interest rates in three steps from -0.75 to 1 percent. There is currently a high probability that it will raise key rates again in 2023. The forecasts of the various banks and financial institutions anticipate further increases of +0.5 to + 1 percent, which could take the key interest rate up to 2 percent. It should be noted that interest rates at the short end have risen more sharply than interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages and that the spread between SARON and fixed-rate mortgage rates has therefore narrowed. The question now arises again as to how to proceed when taking out a new mortgage or renewing one. What are the options?

Impact-Immobilien AG creates affordable living, working and living space for socially disadvantaged people in Switzerland. Four projects have just been completed. We present them in a short overview:

On 26 April 2021 the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" published an article with the title: "Thousands of mortgage borrowers affected: Ruling with explosive force on Libor mortgages". The article deals with the question of whether Libor mortgage interest can be reclaimed from the bank since the introduction of negative interest rates. Reclaiming the interest may not be that easy. We tell you which requirements have to be met in Switzerland.

There is often a large gap between the pensions of men and women in Switzerland. This happens, for example, when mothers maternity leave take a break in their employment to take care of their families. This is more often the case in the generation that is now thinking about retirement.