Dear All,


I want to inform you and possibly give some tricks for buying a flat in Germany. I recently purchased a flat and I want to share some useful Information

First Step!! Make a decision if you want the buy the same property where you currently live. I have a very good flat but i simply hesitated to ask my houseowner if he would sell that and i ended up searching with Immobilien firms..

Then go to bank.. I think it is very easy with banks nowadays. Sparkasse gave me a loan for 105% as i had no Eigenkapital and the interest was 3.9% for all 15 years.

After so many offers, we decided to buy a flat and i signed up with the immobilien firm and they fixed up a Notar termin. I went to the bank and gave all the documents (normally, a plan of the apartment with some pictures in it and description of the rooms with exact size). The bank gives up a guarantee which i need to show it to the notar, when i sign the flat. For the flat what we intend to buy, there was some renovation work that need to be done and the bank accepted even to pay that amount(strange!!). The flat was without provision (that means there is some trouble or that flat is not been sold for a long time). Normally you would expect a provision of 4 to 5 % of the total cost. I bargained a bit and reduced the price up to 5,000€ but later i realized that I had to reduce more than 10,000€ but the new turn in my case was that my house owner decided to sell his house so i suddenly made up my mind to buy the same house where we live in as it is a a new flat, it has a big kitchen and i have all my furniture already in that flat. I immediately cancelled my old flat ( i had to pay 300€ for cancellation) but it was worth to do that but the immobilien firm tried to convince me telling bla bla bla!!!! I shut my ears and kept the phone down..

Then the bank had to cancel my Darlehens vertrag and make a new one for the new flat. The price was identical the difference in age between the 2 flats were 22 years ( so obviously! the immobilien company was cheating me).

Now the important steps for you all to note down before you buy a flat or house.

-Ask the neighbors, about the condition of the flat and ask how long the flat is empty!!. If it empty for several years that means no one wants to buy that.

- Ask about the Rucklage kosten( The money which each property owner needs to invest in case the building needs a repair)

- check for any renovation work.( it is very expensive to renovate a toilet or a kitchen)
- if you buy through a immobilien, bargain much. They might sell you at a very high price
- Check all windows , doors and entrance( They are very expensive to repair)
- Check if you the garage is included with the price of the flat
- -check if the building will do any serious work in the near future( painting or new heating system)
- be sure with your Rucklage kosten( as a owner of the flat, you will not pay Nebenkosten, you will pay Haus geld. It is obviously more than the NB. You need to pay for the maintenance company a specific sum per month, they will take this amount, if they repair some thing in the building, you also need to pay insurance, and lot of other minor stuff)
- I payed 120 neben kosten before, now, I pay 225€ so It is a considerable sum

After all these formalities, if you are very satisfied, then show your interest to buy but again don’t be desperate because the Immobilien company are always looking for desperate customers..

Now, When you have all documents for your flat, you look for a Notar (You can also ask the immobilien company or your house owner). The notar will give you a draft contract and if you agree, then he will fix a date. Just check 100 times with your names and some tricky issue like condition of flat.. You can hire a translator ( it is worth to spend 300€). The bank will also go check all documents and they will give a confirmation that you will be given a credit. You need to take this paper for the Notar termin. The notar will do all work with a fee( It is 1.5% of your total apartment cost). You normally need a Grundschuld for the bank. This can also be applied in the Notar. This costs around 300€ for 100,000€ . The notar will read the contract in front of the house owner and it is his duty to make you understand all the formalities and you are allowed to hire a translator on this occasion. When you seem to understand all, he will allow you to sign the document. Then you need to wait for 3-4 weeks, till all documents are ready and then the bank has 10 days time to pay. The bank will do this immediately. Then the house owner will call all tell the notar that he has received the payment and from that day you are the owner of this flat.

Then automatically you get so many bills from different amts( so don’t be panicked :-)

Typical costs

Grund buch amt : 400-600€
Grund schuld: 300€
Justicekasse: 300
Notar: 1.5%
Grundwerbstuer: 3.5%

When you have paid all these bills, your flat will be registered in to the Grund Buch of your city and then you legally start to reside.

Normally, the party doesn’t end here; you will need now to apply for your Eigenheimzulage and Baukindergeld. But it is very simple. just 2 sheets to complete and then please don’t forget to add all your bills for Eigenheimzulage. .

If you buy a flat for 100,000€, you will normally get 1000 per year but you can add all your bills paid for notar and Grundwerbstuer, renovation and increase it so that you get every year more money.

There are many ways for getting a loan. I managed to get without a eigenkapitel, but it is very important that you have atleast 10% to buy. Because Sparkasse is the only bank which could give you more than 100%. I got a loan of 105% to add all the extra costs. There are 2 types of credits.

-hypotheken
-bausspar vertrag

If I had time , I could have explained, but in brief, I took the Bausparvertrag, where I just pay in to 2 accounts, one account is just my interest account and one account I pay the same rate for saving. After 8 years, the bank will take the saving account and en cash it in to your main account( it is a complex story!! Better ask your financial consultant)

Beware, the bank will charge you bearbeitungs gebuhr and sometimes it is expensive. I paid 1000€  .


If you go for building your own house, it is a good option but maintenance is much more expensive but I also made a try but my salary is not that good to buy a house..

The most critical things when you get a credit. You need to have a stable job and then NE 

I did all on my own so I think it is pretty easy for all without any Makler!! You will save more than 5000€if you hire a immobilien so please invest some time to read before you buy

Happy buying!!!

Regards
Rajesh

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks a lot for a detailed reply.

once again thanx buddy.

cheers

Hi Rajesh !
Thanks for the detail reply. I am also planning to buy a flat . Could you share with us some info like
- how much was the cost of your flat, size and baujahr ?
- did you negotiate regarding the interest rate with the bank ?
- is hausgeld and Rucklage cost the same thing ?
- what is the bearbeitung gebuhr ? Did u also pay this ? I myself have never heard of it ?

Hi Rajesh.

This information and Your effort is very much appreciated.

Just a few questions:

A. Assuming one's German skills are not soo good, could it be a problem during the entire process ?

B. How much is Eigenheimzulage per year ? Does it depend on anything ?

C. How much is Baukindergeld per year ? Does it depend on anything ?

I have been looking into the idea of buying an apartment here in Germany, but I always got the impression that property prices in Germany havent rissen much since past 10 years. This is good and bad. Good because the prices arent as high as UK, bad because buying property in Germany is not a good investment option. It would only make sense if You plan to live in there for another 7-8 years.

On the other side, property prices have been sky rocketting in India. With multinational companies coming into the picture, there are excellent investment opportunities there.

So I guess it depends on the intention of buying the apartment. Whether it is for living in there Yourself or for investment purposes.

Any thoughts before You made up Your mind on buying the apartment ?


Cheers,
Nitin.

Hi,

this site is interesting for all of you who are thinking of buying property in Germany. There are not only offers, there are also some tips regarding this topic.

http://www.zwangsversteigerung.de/

Good luck
Detlef

Hi Rajesh and all others,

Recently i got an offer from my landlord if i am intrested to buy the flat(presently i am living in this appartment) for a reasonable price. I am on 10th floor(out of 11 floor building). I dont have any idea, what are the things to be noticed while buying this flat, flat from inside is fine. This building was constructed in 1970, very well maintained.

Can anyone of you guys put your valuable comments to be checked regarding this issue.

Regards
Deepak

Dear All,

I have also one question regarding buying a property in Germany. I am interested to buy an appartment, it is a new build but I want to have islamic mortgages. I know there are lot of offers you can get in UK and other islamic countries but i dont know any in Germany. Any one knows if there is any bank or agency offering islamic mortgages in germany? That will be realy helpful.

Thanks and regards

Hi,

I have some questions for those which know the real-estate market in Germany.

1. What will happen, if one wants to sell an apartment while are still rates to be paid to the bank?
Are changes in the interest rates or other issues?

2. Is there any difference between the price of the apartments at the ground floor and the rest of the floors? If yes, how big is that difference(percentage) ?

Regards,
Marius

Hello

I am on a work permit in Germany since the last two years.And I do intend to settle in germany as I have a permanent contract.Now

1.Am I eligble for buying a property (house) in germany

2.Secondly,am i eligle for financing from the banks.

Would be great if anybody could provide insight.

Regards

Sandeep

1.Am I eligble for buying a property (house) in germany

I think yes.

2.Secondly,am i eligle for financing from the banks

yes but bank will give you kredit only as long as your visa (3 years) and for flat that is useless.

I am presently on a Work & Residence Permit in Germany and have recently signed the Contract for buying an appartment in Frankfurt. I have taken a loan from the Bank and money is due in this month.

1. Can anyone confirm if such benefits (as mentioned by rajesh above) are stioll available since I have heard some of these benefits have been taken away since 01-Jan-2006.
- Baukindergeld
- Eigenheimzulage
- ANSpZ
- AVWL
- WoP etc.

2. I am unable to understand how do you benefit from 'Bausparvertrag'. Can someone explain me if it really helps instead of a normal loan (Mortgage).

Hi All,

Last year i did buy an Apartment(3 zimmer wohnung,1971,71 qm at friedrichshafen,bodensee).it costs me
around 125000 euro+ nebenkosten 12000 euro

actually,makler wants to have 147000 ,but i bargained and got it for 125000 euro.

(parkplatz,garage auch dabei and wohnung is in excellent condition.


anyway my advice is you can always bargain 15k to 20k.

i my self working as immobilien makler as my neben job.

please contact me ,if anybody interested to buy wohungs in bodensee raum.

Vielen dank

Grüsse
Raja

Dear Raja and Rajesh,
Thank you very much for all this info.
Can I contact you on the phone/email to clarify some minor details?
Yes, I am interested in purchasing an apartment.
Thanks & Best Regards,
Hemant

Hi Members,

can someone share the difference between Rucklage Kosten and Hausgeld ?

Is this right ?
Hausgeld= Wohnungkauf preis (z.b 100T€) + Rucklage (100 X Nebenkosten)

Is it normal that Rucklage kost not included at in the Wohnung Kaufpreis at the time of Buying?

would be thankful for any updates or suggestions on buying an appartment.

Thank you once again

can someone share the difference between Rucklage Kosten and Hausgeld ?

Is this right ?
Hausgeld= Wohnungkauf preis (z.b 100T€) + Rucklage (100 X Nebenkosten)


Hausgeld is the monthly payment

Hausgeld = Monthly payment = heating + water + warm water + TV connection charges + building insurance + maintenance charge

If you rent the appartment instead of buying. you will only pay heating + water + warm water + TV connection charges other than insurance + maintenance charge


The extra money from the maintenance charge in hausgeld will move to rucklage cost


Is it normal that Rucklage kost not included at in the Wohnung Kaufpreis at the time of Buying?


backup cost (Rucklage) is not included in purchase price but if the appartment has more money in backup then it will reflect in the price.

For example if the appartment has 10K in backup cost(Rucklage), then for next 2-3 years the repair cost is already in backup


would be thankful for any updates or suggestions on buying an appartment.


interesting why you are interested in German Real estate. Prices are moving down ...
If you are indian, most of them are investing in india. If you don't mind could you tell us why you are interested in German real estate......


Thank you once again

Thank you for that Mathematical explanation !

True, the prices of Real estate here is not North bound like in India.

I decided to Buy a Wohnung here because I feel there is no other better capital investment option than this. So my intention is to Park the Capital safe and certainly won't expect abnormal high returns.

I am also of the opinion, that the dependency on Bank Credit is to be kept to a minimum level by making the right choice in terms of Eigenkapital to the Kaufpreis and most importantly Location of the Wohnung.

Would like to know, If there are any suggestions or any other Investment avenues in Germany.

I have another question:

How realistic it is to buy a property in Germany if I dont decided to stay here after 2-3 years ?

Are there any company who will take care of it, renting that house, maintenance ?

Can I buy property in London even I am working and living in Germany ?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

I have another question:

How realistic it is to buy a property in Germany if I dont decided to stay here after 2-3 years ?

It is waste of money and 10% money on tax , brokerage, notar are lost. Appreciation I have not yet seen in Germany

Location Location Location .....

If you are in wrong location price depreciate.



Are there any company who will take care of it, renting that house, maintenance ?

There are many companies but you need to be very careful with the contract (not the rent contract) but the busines contract with the company

Can I buy property in London even I am working and living in Germany ?

if you have GC should not be problem

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Hi,
I wanted to buy a flat which has a electric heating system ( Nachtspeicherheizung). 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 ( 5 person with 100 squaremeter area)? Any one has exp? Is that good idea to buy a flat with electric heating system?.Pls share your experiences.

Thanks

for sure heating cost will be more but maintanence will be less. If there are only few people living in the appartment you can consider electric heating. In future electric cost will be more ....

First preference goes to location. if the place is a good one you can consider.

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Actually we like that apartment and it is very convenient in all aspects expect this heating system.

Is it possible to change this electrical heating system to a gas? if possible ..any idea how much will be the investment for changing the heating system?

And more over it have heard that the electrical heating system is health wise more hazardous than gas/ oil. Any idea?

Thanks.

@Somebody,

I would not advice buying/renting a flat with electrical heating system.

The reasons are below.

The heating works like this, the electric oven gets charged over night and blows out hot air during the day.

One needs to switch on at least one day earlier to see or feel the heating. The weather conditions are unpredictable in Germany, which makes it hard to cope up when to switch on in advance.

Another problem is for e.g. if the oven gets discharged due to more cold outside during the day time, then you have to wait until night time to get it recharged again. These ovens can only be charged at night.

I myself lived in a rented apartment with Electric heating for about one year and then moved (only because of electric heating)to another apartment with central heating, which is much much better than electric heating.

I heard the same that it is more hazardous, but no experience though.

Hope it helps.