I'm thinking of buying a flat in Amsterdam or rather taking a mortgage out more specifically. Mortgage rates are pretty good and if I choose to I will have to invest little of my own money.

Pros:

• It's in a bustling major city
  The market seems to have bottomed and is in a small upswing
  Easy for me to get a good size mortgage
  Rates are very low
  Some tax benefits to owning
  Beats renting
  Can always rent it out fairly easily if I end up having to leave Amsterdam

Cons:

• The Netherlands has punitive yearly taxes on owning real estate
  Heavy deflation could turn the purchase sour
  If I have to rent it out the bank will likely crank my interest rate up (no point in trying to rent it on the sly, I just don't want that kind of headache)
  Somewhat hefty pricetag for intitial fees, survey ect..
  Some regime uncertainty since The Netherlands is very leftwing and has only recently liberalized parts of their property market in the past few years
  Could end up with a revalued mortgage if the single currency crumbles?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts guys, please point out any errors in my thinking or things I have overlooked... Thanks in advance!