Hi Homeowners,

I will be moving from US to Germany soon and planning to buy a town home. Before going into further, need your valuable suggestions.

Say if a home value is Eur's 150K, and buying thru an Agent, What are the extra costs am i gonna have, any hidden costs, how much Title agency gonna charge, property taxes etc. I am gonna move to Bayern. Can someone give me a rough calculation 150K + x+y+z= Total ?

Also would like to know, What do i need to look in if i got a Apartment, if i go for a town home or if go for a single family house? what need to be checked inside and outside of the house etc.

Regarding Financing, How flexible now-a-days banks are they? any suggentions or online site where i can aply for a homeloan? Any site where i can see which banks comparision regarding their APR etc? What is loan period? can i refinance the home loan?

All your informations and experiences are welcome.

Deepak

hi deepak,
there would be Grunderwerbsteuer(property tax) of about 4%, Notar cost about 2%, realtor cost about 7.14% approx.
I assume ur 150k is just an example.. coz u would only get an appartment for that sum in big cities.
I would prefer big cities over small towns because of safety reason. I would want my family to live peacefully and safely. people in small towns in Germany are still hostile to foreigners.
my 10cent thoughts on this topic..
all the best...
bz

Hi Deepak

Sorry, not owner (yet) but still working for doing that. First I´d need my NE!

Well, about the questions you made, you will hardly find something more complete and concrete than the post of the friend Rajeshspg in the FAQ section

http://www.trust7.com/en/foren/faq_and_important_links/buying_a_flat_in_germany_formalities_baukindergeld

He took a lot of time compiling his experiences and there is a lot of valuable information inside.

Some things maybe changed (for example I think there is no Eigenheimzulage nowadays) because the post has almost two years, but 99% of the things remains the same.

Good luck and please post your experiences once you bought something!

Apart from a thorough analysis regarding the location of the object(public transport, school, easy motorway access, neighbours, residential or partly residential area, recreational facilities, etc) much attention ought to be given to the actual state of the property.

Here it is even adviseable to enlist the help of an expert building surveyor. Although the law provides for remedies in case of defectiveness of the sold property, usually the purchase contract will contain a waiver in favour of the seller. This means that the seller can only be hold accountable if the buyer succeeds in showing and proving that the seller acted in bad faith.

When inspecting the building there are certain markers that point to some irregularities that can be spotted even without an expert. For example dark spots to be found at the inner window frame, indicating insufficient air circulation; fissures in the ceiling, moist spots in the roof top, water markings in the basement. Particular attention should be given to the roof, the heating system and the overall energy efficiency.


Ravinder Jain,
Rechtsanwalt
rechtsanwalt_jain@yahoo.de

Hi,
I wanted to buy a flat which has a electric heating system ( night saving). In fact the whole apartment has the same heating system. I would like to know what would be the approximate heating cost for a year? Any one has exp? Is that good idea to buy a flat with electric heating system?.Pls share your experiences.

Thanks

Hi Deepak,

I think, you should come first and try to understand the society/situation and so on. Take 6 month time after coming here then you will have lot of information to make your decision to buy appartment/house. If you dont like this place then it does not make sense to buy something here. This is not easy to take care of your property if you dont like to stay in Germany in future.