buying vs renting

Buying vs. renting a house in Germany

by General
What do you think? Is it worthwhile to put the monthly rent rather into your own home? Does it make more sense to buy a property, build or rent something comparable? And if buying or building, how much house can you afford? I get many of these or similar questions at present, particularly because the interest rates are historically low right now while writing this article. To help you develop a feeling for which alternative is better in your case, let’s first look at the most important reasons when it comes down to the question of owning or renting a house or an apartment: Rational reasons and Emotional reasons.

Rational factors

From a financial point of view, there are a number of factors that need to be considered and compared in order for a comparison between renting or buying to yield reasonable results:

Ancillary or closing costs and other costs associated with the purchase of real estate in Germany

Consider land transfer tax, notary and court fees, and broker commissions if one is involved. These costs vary at the state level. This money is lost in the event of a resale.

Are there any costs for conversion, modernization and/or renovation?

Financing costs for the purchase of real estate

This factor is extremely important, since it can be a pro as well as a con for a purchase of real estate. Here, the term of the loan (in Germany typically 10 years) and the interest rate are crucial. As far as possible, you must calculate the total cost of financing in advance. Check with a good home loan consultant which rates apply, which term makes sense for you, which combination of own capital and loan suits your needs best. You will be able to save a lot of money across the term of financing. Also subsidized loans, such as the KfW 124 (home ownership scheme) can help reduce overall costs.

The amount of the monthly rent

What is the current monthly rent you are paying? Is it higher or lower than the proposed EMI by the mortgage consultant?

Rent increases

Do you expect rents to increase over the next few years? Landlords might increase rent over the couple of few years to increase his profit; so you need to take that into the equation as well!

Ongoing maintenance costs and other ongoing costs

As a property owner, maintenance costs will come your way on a regular basis. Things will break! Obviously exact amounts cannot be determined in advance, but the following rule of thumb can be used for the calculation: You set aside 1% of the purchase costs per annum. For example, if you have paid €500,000 as the purchase price, you set aside €5000 in maintenance & repair. I suggest to put this aside into a Tagesgeld account, which you have instant access to.

You will also have to pay property tax and insurance premiums (e.g. homeowners insurance).

Increase/decrease in value of the property

Consider the choice of location when it comes to the issue of appreciation or depreciation of the property. Popular areas might get more popular down the line and hence your property value might increase.

The equity capital used can no longer generate a return for you

In most cases, your equity is sensibly (see above) brought into the financing. This capital can no longer work elsewhere for and generate returns.

The difference between the EMI and the rent payment can also not generate income

If the financing rate is 900 € and the monthly rent 700 € , then theoretically the 200 € could be saved each month and generate profits (e.g. in a diversified portfolio). This factor is only relevant if the money saved is actually put aside and invested.

Emotional Factors

Good reasons for the own 4 walls are in addition emotional factors. Here, for example, the feel-good aspect, more space and freedom count. Freedom in the sense “I can do whatever I feel like within my own four walls”. On the other hand, own property will make it a bit more difficult to move across the country for another job opportunity – so it can be limiting as well.

For each con, there will be measures to mitigate, which we can discuss for your specific case.

Emotional factors can be measured badly in money.

Conclusion

When it comes to the question of buying or renting, there are couple of factors that need to be considered. Commercial as well as emotionals ones.

Your own home gives more personal freedom, whereas a rented apartment is more flexible if you’re still uncertain whether you want to settle or not.

Need an expert to guide you through pros & cons of buying your dream home in Germany?

Buying a property is one of the most important decisions in life for many people. After all, a lot of money is at stake and you will be settling down somewhere. You want to do everything right, right?

Do you also want to make your mortgage as efficient as possible, but simply do not know how to find the offer with the cheapest interest rate?

Besides, you don't feel like you neither have the time nor the network to go from bank to bank and to get suitable quotes?

Book a Meeting - Free of cost
old house

Buy an Old house or do I buy a new house

by General

Owning your own home is at the top of almost everyone’s wish list – no matter whether he’s lived his whole life here, or whether he just moved here from abroad. The purchase of your own home is one of the most important decisions in your life.

A fundamental question is of the type of property. Should it be a charming old building with a historical touch? Or are you rather looking for a modern design and have the desire for a new building? Old building or new construction – both property types have their respective pros and cons.

How to buy a house in Germany

8 Steps to buying a House in Germany

by General

Buying a house or an apartment can be daunting – even if you are born and brought up here in Germany. In this post, I’ll break down the buying procedure into 8 simple steps. Obviously there are many nuances and case-by-case basis, but the general process stays the same.

Step 1: How much do I need / how much can I afford

Many future owners have a clear idea of what their house should look like. It should be spacious, have a large garden to host friends and family and have enough room to have family from abroad sleep over. But before you already buy furniture: you need to have a look at: is this dream affordable or will it stay a dream.

A rough calculation based on your net household income (Nettohaushaltseinkommen) and expenses (Ausgaben) should be done before going to a bank or a home loan consultant. This will give you an initial overview of your financial situation. This will be the basis for checking EMI (Annuität) options. Apart from the EMI, you also need to pay ancillary costs like land registry (Grunderwerbsteuer) , realtor (Makler), etc. The ancillary cost (Nebenkosten) amount to about 8-15% of the buying price (depending upon location and whether there’s a realtor involved).

Banks tend to ask for ancillary cost to be paid by the buyer out of his/her own pocket. There are exceptions though!

Getting to know how much loan you can get from a bank can be done here: Knowing your eligibility

Step 2: Financing Commitment

After getting in touch with your bank or better – with a home loan consultant – you should ask him for a financing commitment (Finanzierungszusage) for you, to be able to present it to the builder / realtor. This will not only make a good impression, but in some cases, you are not invited to visit the house if you cannot present such a document.

Step 3. Search House

There are multiple ways to search for a house – on and off the web. Sites like immobilienscout24.de, immowelt.de and Kleinanzeigen.de (formerly ebay Kleinanzeigen) will cover 90-95% of available houses available on the web.

An important question is: do you want to buy a new house or do you prefer getting yourself an old house.

Better ways to get to a house are realtors in the region and direct contact with builders. Get yourself registered with the real estate agents in your area – what they usually do is pass on new properties to their existing database or clients. This way they can market themselves and also save a bit of money (on advertising)

Best though is word of mouth. Sellers who have not collated all documents or did not put in the effort of talking to a realtor are the best source, because you as a buyer will have less competition. Ask your friends and colleagues whether they know someone who is wanting to sell their house.

Get documents from the realtor / seller in order to see whether basic criteria are met: exact location, minutes of meetings of the home owner’s association (Eigentümerversammlungsprotokolle), land register (Grundbuch) and the economic plan (Wirtschaftsplan) are just a few which the realtor will have to hand out for you to make a sound decision.

While visiting the house, you will need to check a lot of things at the same time. Things to consider (amongst others) are:

  • Location
  • Infrastructure (public transport, internet speed, kindergarten, schooling, …)
  • Neighbors
  • Is it a rather loud apartment?
  • Shortcomings (heating, electricity, roof, windows, …)

The key question is: can you imagine yourself living there for the next decade (at least).

Step 4: Finalize With Realtor/Seller

If all is fine, you can finalize with the realtor/seller/builder. If you want to negotiate, please bear in mind to create a win-win situation and not just bargain on price. Don’t forget to factor in the renovation (painting, floor, etc.) or even the modernization (heating, roof, electricity), while finalizing your offer. This will also come into picture while speaking to the banks.

Some realtors might want you to sign a pre-agreement (Reservierungsbestätigung). This is not legally binding, but the realtor (most often) holds his word and does not market the property anymore. In Germany only contracts which are notarized are legally binding (for apartments, houses).

Step 5: Finalize Financing

Now that you know what you want to buy and know what it will cost as well, you can close the financing as well. Best is to have at least 2-3 banks make an offer – in order to get the best possible mix of low interest rate, flexibility, term and security. This task obviously can be outsourced to a home loan consultant who most often has access to hundreds of banks.

The better you prepare your documents, the faster the home loan consultant can get you an offer letter from the bank(s). This step is underestimated by a lot of first-time buyers and will consume a lot of time, if not done correctly.

Amongst others, following documents will be needed:

  • ID,
  • Last three payslips + payslip of Dec of last year,
  • Tax declaration,
  • Proof of own capital (for ancillary cost),
  • General overview of the property,
  • Land register,
  • Land map (Flurkarte) and
  • Layout (Grundriss)

Step 6: Notary

During the time the home loan consultant gets the bank offers, you can already choose a notary, get him to draft a contract and in alignment with the seller set a date for signing. You as the buyer chose the notary, as you will be paying him as well. If there are amendments to the draft, these need to be signed off by both sides before the signing date. At the notary meeting you will be walking through the contract (word by word – read by the notary) so that all parties have at least read through the contract once. The notary will inform authorities (Finanzamt, courts, etc.). Once you both sign the contract, you will be obliged to pay the buying price (once all prerequisites have been met).

Step 7: Payment

Once all authorities have given a go-ahead, the notary will inform you by letter that you may now pay the seller. Once you inform the bank and the fund is transferred, the house (is almost) yours. The moment you get the keys to your new home depends upon what you aligned in the contract and can range from „asap“ to „in x-amount of months“.

The time between first visit of the house and finally taking over the keys is a process which can take anywhere between four weeks and several months – depending upon how fast buyer & seller can come to an agreement, how fast you get financing in place and how long the court takes to change the land register.

Step 8: Paying Back The Loan

Depending on the loan contract you will now pay back the loan on a monthly basis. This, as well, depends upon what you negotiated with the bank. If you opted for a specific KfW loan, you can negotiate a 1-n years of not paying back the principal for that loan – but only pay interest. This would give you a bit of a breather – especially while you are still buying e.g. furniture for your new house.

If you fixed a 10-year contract, you will (most probably) need to re-finance (Anschlussfinanzierung) after that period and can start thinking about loan after about 9 years (either with a forward-loan or a regular home loan)

Problems that everyone knows who wants to finance

Financing a property is one of the most important decisions in life for many people. After all, a lot of money is at stake. You want to do everything right, right?

Do you also want to make your mortgage as efficient as possible, but simply do not know how to find the offer with the cheapest interest rate?

Besides, you don't feel like you neither have the time nor the network to go from bank to bank and to get suitable quotes?

Book a Meeting - Free of cost
schufa

How to get the Schufa Report free of charge?

by General

Sometimes it’s not easy to keep an eye on your personal finances. Especially if you are starting new in Germany or you just landed here. You will have multiple contracts, at least one current account, a credit card, perhaps a loan, an account at Amazon, your utility bills etc.

When you signed these contracts, you would have also signed a clause which said that the data will be transmitted to a company called SCHUFA. SCHUFA is one of two major companies in Germany which check credit worthiness of individuals and companies. According to article 15 GDPR, you are allowed to retrieve a copy of your personal data each company stores of you, including SCHUFA.

Who is Schufa and which kind of data do they store?

Schufa is a company which earns its money by providing interested parties /affiliates with information about the creditworthiness and credit scores of business partners. This can be private people but also commercial entities / businesses. Let’s say you are applying for a loan from a bank, the bank would check your data at Schufa to see whether you have already defaulted a couple of loans or are behind your payments. If true for holding only has positive information about you, then the loan would be granted. Apart from loans, Schufa is checked as soon as you pay anything on installments, or are trying to get into a contract e.g.with the phone company.

Based on your payment performance for past contracts and unknown algorithms to the public Schufa calculates a credit worthiness score- the credit score.

Request SCHUFA information for free

Although SCHUFA stores a lot of data only a few data points are passed on to the business partners if they request them. Schufa will hand out data based on the requirement. For everyone who asks, Schufa provides a copy according to article 15 GDPR, they will provide a free Schufa report where you can check which banks score you in which manner and which data is stored at Schufa

If you are planning to buy a home or in apartment you should check the Schufa report in order to see if they have correct data off you because the home loan will be granted / interest rates might change depending upon schufa score.

you can also get data changed there for the good if you see any wrong data points in the report.

Free SCHUFA information will have following information

All personal data stored at SCHUFA (e.g name, current address, date of birth, previous addresses, etc.)

The base score (assessment of the risk of default)

All transmitted score values (industry scores) of the last twelve months (each bank, might have a different score, which should not worry you – they just have different experience with you as a client and also have different algorithms to calculate the score)

Free report vs. paid SCHUFA report

There are multiple options to get data which is stored at shufa all depending upon the occasion which you need it for.

Free report according to article 15 GDPR

The free report is primarily intended for personal use. It is not recommended to pass this report to others as the data might be misused. You can obtain the report annually which will be sent by post to your current address (which is stored at SCHUFA as well).

SCHUFA-Credit Information

There is a report available which is meant to be shown to potential landlords. If there is only positive information stored about you at SCHUFA he knows that you are at least somebody who does not default on payments.

SCHUFA-Credit Check

Another option to check your school SCHUFA score is to opt for a subscription service in which you will have online access to your data at all points of time. currently Schufa asks you to sign a one year subscription with them. Which has a one-time activation charge and a monthly fee.

Request SCHUFA free of charge – how do you get the free report?

To request a copy of your free Schufa report you need to go to the website www.schufa.de and click on the “Produkte” tab. You’ll see a point called “Datenkopie nach Art. 15 DS-GVO”. That’s the one you are looking for. Don’t fall for the trap to get the paid one. Choose “Datenkopie nach Art. 15 DS-GVO” here as well and “order”

They will then ask you to fill a form with couple of info, so they can identify you:

  • First name, last name
  • Date of birth
  • Street and house number
  • Zip code and city
  • country

These are the mandatory fields. Others are optional.

You will then need to upload a copy of your ID or passport and your . The upload is mandatory because otherwise you could ask for a report for someone else. Please ensure that your passport is readable in the digital copy because otherwise SCHUFA will not be sending you the report. After uploading it is going to take about 7 to 10 days for sure to send you the report to your postal address.

Need an expert to guide you through?

Getting your credit score straightened out is of utmost importance before financing your dream home.

Let an expert guide you through the full process of financing - incl. getting Schufa straight

Book a Meeting - Free of cost
partner banks

Partner Banks

by General

Each home loan is unique, because you as a client are unique. Hence there’s no answer to the question: “Which is the best bank”. While there is a different answer for all my clients, we will find out together what’s important for you and go through couple of questions, before we can down-select a few banks which might be a good choice.

Hannoversche
hanseatic
ing
lbs
muenchenerhyp
oyak anker
psd
Sparkasse
stadtsparkasse münchen
volksbank
volkswohl
Allianz
axa
bhw
commerzbank
deutschebank
dkb
dsl
ergo
gladbacher

While looking for the best possible option for each specific home loan, we will be checking following banks  (in alphabetical order) (as of 04.09.2021)

  • Aachener Bank eG
  • Allgäuer Volksbank
  • Allianz Lebensversicherung AG
  • ALTE LEIPZIGER Bauspar AG
  • AXA Konzern AG
  • Barmenia
  • Bausparkasse Wüstenrot AG
  • Berliner Sparkasse
  • Berliner Volksbank eG
  • BHW Bausparkasse
  • BKM – Bausparkasse Mainz AG
  • Bordesholmer Sparkasse
  • Braunschweigische Landessparkasse
  • Bremische Volksbank eG
  • Commerzbank AG
  • Degussa Bank AG
  • Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank
  • Deutsche Bank Privat- und Geschäftskunden AG
  • Deutsche Kreditbank AG
  • Deutscher Ring
  • DEVK
  • DSL Bank – eine Niederlassung der DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank AG
  • ERGO Lebensversicherung AG
  • Erzgebirgssparkasse
  • Förde Sparkasse
  • Frankenberger Bank eG
  • Frankfurter Sparkasse 1822
  • Frankfurter Volksbank eG
  • Gladbacher Bank AG
  • Hamburger Sparkasse
  • Hannoversche Lebensversicherung AG
  • Hannoversche Volksbank eG
  • Hanseatic Bank GmbH & Co. KG
  • Harzsparkasse
  • Hausbank München
  • Herner Sparkasse
  • HypoVereinsbank
  • ING AG
  • Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein AdöR
  • Kasseler Bank
  • Kasseler Sparkasse
  • KfW Bankengruppe
  • Kölner Bank
  • Kreissparkasse Ahrweiler
  • Kreissparkasse Anhalt-Bitterfeld
  • Kreissparkasse Anhalt-Bitterfeld
  • Kreissparkasse Aue Schwarzenberg
  • Kreissparkasse Bautzen
  • Kreissparkasse Bersenbrück
  • Kreissparkasse Biberach
  • Kreissparkasse Börde
  • Kreissparkasse Diepholz
  • Kreissparkasse Döbeln
  • Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf
  • Kreissparkasse Eichsfeld
  • Kreissparkasse Esslingen-Nürtingen
  • Kreissparkasse Euskirchen
  • Kreissparkasse Göppingen
  • Kreissparkasse Groß-Gerau
  • Kreissparkasse Heilbronn
  • Kreissparkasse Heinsberg
  • Kreissparkasse Herzogtum Lauenburg
  • Kreissparkasse Kaiserslautern
  • Kreissparkasse Köln
  • Kreissparkasse Limburg
  • Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg
  • Kreissparkasse Mayen
  • Kreissparkasse Melle
  • Kreissparkasse München Starnberg Ebersberg
  • Kreissparkasse Nordhausen
  • Kreissparkasse Osterholz
  • Kreissparkasse Ratzeburg
  • Kreissparkasse Ravensburg
  • Kreissparkasse Saale Orla
  • Kreissparkasse Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
  • Kreissparkasse Schwalm-Eder
  • Kreissparkasse Sigmaringen
  • Kreissparkasse Soltau
  • Kreissparkasse St Wendel
  • Kreissparkasse Stade
  • Kreissparkasse Stendal
  • Kreissparkasse Syke
  • Kreissparkasse Traunstein-Trostberg
  • Kreissparkasse Tübingen
  • Kreissparkasse Verden
  • Kreissparkasse Waiblingen
  • Kreissparkasse Walsrode
  • Kyffhäusersparkasse Artern-Sondershausen
  • Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg
  • LBS Ostdeutsche Landesbausparkasse AG
  • Leipziger Volksbank eG
  • Liga Bank eG
  • Mainzer Volksbank eG
  • Märkische Bank eG
  • Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse
  • Münchener Hypothekenbank eG
  • Müritz-Sparkasse
  • Nassauische Sparkasse
  • neue leben Lebensversicherung AG
  • Niederrheinische Sparkasse RheinLippe
  • Nord-Ostsee Sparkasse
  • Nordthüringer Volksbank eG
  • Ostfriesische Volksbank eG
  • Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden
  • OstseeSparkasse Rostock
  • Pommersche Volksbank eG
  • Provinzial Rheinland
  • PSD Bank Braunschweig eG
  • PSD Bank Hannover eG
  • PSD Bank Hessen-Thüringen eG
  • PSD Bank Kiel eG
  • PSD Bank Köln eG
  • PSD Bank München eG
  • PSD Bank Nord eG
  • PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr eG
  • PSD Bank Westfalen-Lippe eG
  • R+V Versicherungsgruppe
  • Raiffeisenbank Altdorf-Feucht eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Biberach eG
  • Raiffeisenbank eG Baunatal
  • Raiffeisenbank eG Lauenburg/Elbe
  • Raiffeisenbank eG, Ratzeburg
  • Raiffeisenbank Geiselhöring-Pfaffenberg eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Graefenberg
  • Raiffeisenbank Griesstätt – Halfing eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Heilsbronn-Windsbach eG
  • Raiffeisenbank HessenNord eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Kissing-Mering eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Loisachtal
  • Raiffeisenbank Meinebank
  • Raiffeisenbank Plankstetten AG
  • Raiffeisenbank Ravensburg
  • Raiffeisenbank Ried eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Schwaben Mitte
  • Raiffeisenbank Thannhausen eG
  • Raiffeisenbank Weissenburg
  • Raiffeisenbank Werratal-Landeck eG
  • RB Augsburger Land West eG
  • Rheingauer Volksbank eG
  • Rhön-Rennsteig Sparkasse
  • Rostocker Volks- und Raiffeisenbank eG
  • Rüsselsheimer Volksbank eG
  • RV Aurich
  • Saalesparkasse
  • Salzlandsparkasse
  • Spar- und Kreditbank Rheinstetten eG
  • Sparda Augsburg
  • Sparda Bank Hamburg
  • Sparda Bank Nürnberg eG
  • Sparda Bank Südwest eG
  • Sparda-Bank Berlin eG
  • Sparda-Bank Hannover eG
  • Sparda-Bank West eG
  • Sparkasse Aachen
  • Sparkasse Altenburger Land
  • Sparkasse Altmark West
  • Sparkasse am Niederrhein
  • Sparkasse Amberg-Sulzbach
  • Sparkasse Aurich Norden
  • Sparkasse Baden Baden
  • Sparkasse Barnim
  • Sparkasse Bayreuth
  • Sparkasse Bielefeld
  • Sparkasse Bodensee
  • Sparkasse Bremen
  • Sparkasse Burgenlandkreis
  • Sparkasse Celle
  • Sparkasse Chemnitz
  • Sparkasse Deggendorf
  • Sparkasse Dillenburg
  • Sparkasse Dillingen
  • Sparkasse Direkt
  • Sparkasse Donnersberg
  • Sparkasse Duisburg
  • Sparkasse Düren
  • Sparkasse Elbe-Elster
  • Sparkasse Elmshorn
  • Sparkasse Emsland
  • Sparkasse Essen
  • Sparkasse Forchheim
  • Sparkasse Frankfurt
  • Sparkasse Freiburg
  • Sparkasse Fulda
  • Sparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck
  • Sparkasse Fürth
  • Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen
  • Sparkasse Gera-Greiz
  • Sparkasse Germersheim-Kandel
  • Sparkasse Gießen
  • Sparkasse Gifhorn-Wolfsburg
  • Sparkasse Hagen
  • Sparkasse HagenHerdecke
  • Sparkasse Hamelnweserberg
  • Sparkasse Harburg-Buxtehude
  • Sparkasse Hegau-Bodensee
  • Sparkasse Heilbronn
  • Sparkasse Hilden-Ratingen-Velbert
  • Sparkasse Hildesheim
  • Sparkasse Hildesheim Goslar Peine
  • Sparkasse Hochfranken
  • Sparkasse Hochrhein
  • Sparkasse Hochschwarzwald
  • Sparkasse Holstein
  • Sparkasse Jerichower Land
  • Sparkasse Karlsruhe Ettlingen
  • Sparkasse Kleve
  • Sparkasse Köln Bonn
  • Sparkasse Kraichgau
  • Sparkasse Krefeld
  • Sparkasse Kulmbach-Kronach
  • Sparkasse Landkreis Cham
  • Sparkasse Landkreis Schwandorf
  • Sparkasse Landsberg-Dießen
  • Sparkasse Landshut
  • Sparkasse Langen-Seligenstadt
  • Sparkasse Leipzig
  • Sparkasse Leverkusen
  • Sparkasse Lörrach-Rheinfelden
  • Sparkasse Lübeck
  • Sparkasse Lüdenscheid
  • Sparkasse Lüneburg
  • Sparkasse Mainfranken-Würzburg
  • Sparkasse Mansfeld-Südharz
  • Sparkasse Markgräflerland
  • Sparkasse Märkisch-Oderland
  • Sparkasse Mecklenburg-Nordwest
  • Sparkasse Mecklenburg-Schwerin
  • Sparkasse Mecklenburg-Strelitz
  • Sparkasse Meißen
  • Sparkasse Meißen
  • Sparkasse Mittelholstein
  • Sparkasse Mittelsachsen
  • Sparkasse Mittelthüringen
  • Sparkasse Mueritz
  • Sparkasse Muldental
  • Sparkasse Mülheim an der Ruhr
  • Sparkasse Naspa
  • Sparkasse Neckartal-Odenwald
  • Sparkasse Neubrandenburg-Demmin
  • Sparkasse Neumarkt i.d.OPf.-Parsberg
  • Sparkasse Neuss
  • Sparkasse Neu-Ulm – Illertissen
  • Sparkasse Neuwied
  • Sparkasse Niederlausitz
  • Sparkasse Nienburg
  • Sparkasse Nürnberg
  • Sparkasse Oberhessen
  • Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien
  • Sparkasse Oberpfalz Nord
  • Sparkasse Oder-Spree
  • Sparkasse Offenburg-Ortenau
  • Sparkasse Oldenburg
  • Sparkasse Osnabrück
  • Sparkasse Ostprignitz-Ruppin
  • Sparkasse Parchim-Lübz
  • Sparkasse Passau
  • Sparkasse Pforzheim-Calw
  • Sparkasse Rhein-Neckar-Nord
  • Sparkasse Rosenheim Bad Aibling
  • Sparkasse Rotenburg Osterholz
  • Sparkasse Rottal-Inn
  • Sparkasse Saarbruecken
  • Sparkasse Salem-Heiligenberg
  • Sparkasse Salzland
  • Sparkasse Schaumburg
  • Sparkasse Scheeßel
  • Sparkasse Soest
  • Sparkasse St. Blasien
  • Sparkasse Stade-Altes Land
  • Sparkasse Südholstein
  • Sparkasse Südliche Weinstraße
  • Sparkasse Taunus
  • Sparkasse Uckermark
  • Sparkasse Uecker-Randow
  • Sparkasse Ulm
  • Sparkasse Unstrut-Hainich
  • Sparkasse Vest-Recklinghausen
  • Sparkasse Vogtland
  • Sparkasse Vorderpfalz
  • Sparkasse Vorpommern
  • Sparkasse Waldeck-Frankenberg
  • Sparkasse Walsrode
  • Sparkasse Werra-Meißner
  • Sparkasse Westholstein
  • Sparkasse Wittenberg
  • Sparkasse Worms-Alzey-Ried
  • Sparkasse zu Lübeck AG
  • Sparkasse Zwickau
  • SPK Hildesheim Goslar Peine
  • Spk Kulmbach-Kronach
  • SPK Mittelthüringen
  • Spreewaldbank eG
  • Stadtsparkasse Cuxhaven
  • Stadtsparkasse Dessau
  • Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf
  • Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg
  • Stadtsparkasse München
  • Stadtsparkasse Oberhausen
  • Stadtsparkasse Rahden
  • Stadtsparkasse Remscheid
  • Stadt-Sparkasse Solingen
  • Stadtsparkasse Wedel
  • Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal
  • Steyler Bank GmbH
  • Taunus Sparkasse
  • Vereinige Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Rheinheim
  • Vereinigte Volksbank Brakel
  • Vereinigte Volksbank eG Böblingen
  • Vereinigte Volksbank Münster
  • Vereinigte Volksbank Raiffeisenbank eG Reinheim
  • Vereinigte Volksbank Sulzbach Saar
  • VoBa Baden Baden Rastatt eG
  • VoBa Bigge-Lenne eG
  • VoBa Bruchsal Bretten eG
  • VoBa in der Ortenau (Offenburg)
  • VoBa Mittlerer Schwarzwald eG
  • VoBa Ulm-Biberach eG
  • Volksbank Allgäu Oberschwab
  • Volksbank Altshausen eG
  • Volksbank Alzey Worms eG
  • Volksbank Apobank
  • Volksbank Beckum-Lippstadt eG
  • Volksbank Berlin
  • Volksbank Bielefeld-Gütersloh eG
  • Volksbank Börde-Bernburg eG
  • Volksbank Breisgau Nord eG
  • Volksbank Breisgau Süd
  • Volksbank Breisgau-Markgräflerland eG
  • Volksbank Bremen-Nord eG
  • Volksbank Bruhrain-Kraich-Hardt eG
  • Volksbank Chemnitz eG
  • Volksbank Delmenhorst Schierbrok eG
  • Volksbank Dill
  • Volksbank Dortmund Nordwest eG
  • Volksbank Dreieich eG
  • Volksbank Dreiländereck
  • Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss
  • Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss eG
  • Volksbank eG Bremerhaven-Cuxland
  • Volksbank eG Schwarzwald Baar Hegau
  • Volksbank eG, Seesen
  • Volksbank Elsen-Wewer-Borchen eG
  • Volksbank Esslingen eG
  • Volksbank Ettlingen eG
  • Volksbank Filder eG
  • Volksbank Freiburg eG
  • Volksbank Göppingen eG
  • Volksbank Gronau-Ahaus eG
  • Volksbank Gütersloh eG
  • Volksbank Hameln-Stadthagen eG
  • Volksbank Hannover
  • Volksbank Heinsberg eG
  • Volksbank Hellweg eG
  • Volksbank Hildesheim eG
  • Volksbank Hildesheimer Börde eG
  • Volksbank im Harz eG
  • Volksbank im Unterland eG
  • Volksbank in der Ortenau eG
  • Volksbank in Schaumburg eG
  • Volksbank in Südwestfalen eG
  • Volksbank Kaiserslautern eG
  • Volksbank Karlsruhe eG
  • Volksbank Kassel Göttingen eG
  • Volksbank Konstanz eG
  • Volksbank Kraichgau eG
  • Volksbank Kur- und Rheinpfalz eG
  • Volksbank Lahr eG
  • Volksbank Laupheim-Illertal eG
  • Volksbank Lauterbach-Schlitz eG
  • Volksbank Lippstadt eG
  • Volksbank Mainspitze eG
  • Volksbank Main-Tauber eG
  • Volksbank Märkische Bank
  • Volksbank Märkischer Kreis
  • Volksbank Memmingen West
  • Volksbank Mindener Land eG
  • Volksbank Mittelhessen
  • Volksbank Mittelhessen eG
  • Volksbank Mittelschwarzwald
  • Volksbank Mittweida
  • Volksbank Mittweida eG
  • Volksbank Mittweida Mitte
  • Volksbank Mosbach
  • Volksbank Muenster
  • Volksbank Neckartal eG
  • Volksbank Oberberg eG
  • Volksbank Offenburg eG
  • Volksbank Oldenburg eG
  • Volksbank Pforzheim eG
  • Volksbank Pinneberg-Elmshorn eG
  • Volksbank Pommern
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank eG, Rhein-Erft
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Fürstenfeldbruck eG
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Geiselhöring
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Hunsrück Mosel
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank im Enzkreis
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Isar Vils
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Itzehoe
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Kitzingen
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Laupheim-Illertal eG
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Meißen Großenhain eG
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Oberfranken Mitte
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Rosenheim
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Saale Orla
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Starnberg-Herrsching-Landsberg eG
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Steinlach-Wiesaz-Härten
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Südthüringen
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Südwestpfalz
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Torgau
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Werra-Meißner eG
  • Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Würzburg eG
  • Volksbank Remscheid Solingen
  • Volksbank Rhein-Ruhr eG
  • Volksbank Rhein-Wehra eG
  • Volksbank Riesa eG
  • Volksbank Ruhr-Mitte eG
  • Volksbank Rüsselsheim
  • Volksbank Stendal eG
  • Volksbank Stuttgart eG
  • Volksbank Südheide eG
  • Volksbank Trier eG
  • Volksbank Überlingen eG
  • Volksbank Ulm Biberach
  • Volksbank Viersen
  • Volksbank Villingen
  • Volksbank Vogtland eG
  • Volksbank Weinheim eG
  • Volksbank Wilhelmshaven eG
  • Volksbank Zuffenhausen eG
  • Volkswohl Bund Lebensversicherung a.G.
  • Von Essen Bank GmbH
  • VR Bank Enz plus eG
  • VR Bank Hessenland eG
  • VR Bank Main-Kinzig-Büdingen eG
  • VR Bank Mittelsachsen eG
  • VR Bank Niederbayern-Oberpfalz eG
  • VR Bank Nürnberg eG
  • VR Bank Rhein-Neckar eG, Mannheim
  • VR Bank Schwäbisch Hall-Crailsheim eG
  • VR Bank Schweinfurt
  • VR Bank Tübingen eG
  • VR Bank Westküste eG
  • VR Bank Westmünsterland eG
  • VR Bank Westthüringen eG
  • VR Genossenschaftsbank Fulda eG
  • VR PartnerBank eG Chattengau-Schwalm-Eder
  • VR-Bank Donau-Mindel eG
  • VR-Bank Dornstetten-Horb eG
  • VR-Bank eG, Schwerin
  • VR-Bank Erlangen-Höchstadt-Herzogenaurach eG
  • VR-Bank Feuchtwangen-Dinkelsbühl eG
  • VR-Bank Fläming eG
  • VR-Bank Mittelfranken West eG
  • VR-Bank Nordeifel eG
  • VR-Bank Spangenberg-Morschen eG
  • Weser-Elbe Sparkasse
  • Westerwald Bank eG
  • Wiesbadener Volksbank eG
  • Wüstenrot

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Financing a property is one of the most important decisions in life for many people. After all, a lot of money is at stake. You want to do everything right, right?


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How to determine the value of a newly built or an old property? Or What’s a good price for my house?

by General

This is a question everyone asks as soon as it comes down to buying a house or just looking at house and apartment adverts. What is the house “really” worth? The answer is as simple as it sounds: whatever you or another buyer is willing to pay. Unless the price is regulated that’s the way it works: demand and supply. The real question though is: how can you determine a fair price so that you are not ripped off.

 

Real value (Sachwert) and capitalized earning value (Ertragswert)

Real value

For both, a new house as well as an old property the basis of the valuation is the price of the property including the price of the land it is built on.

capitalized earning value

This type of valuation is based on the net earnings minus the total expenditure – all multiplied by factor (based on the region, between 12 and 40). This is most often applied with rental properties.

Market value appraisal (Verkehrswertgutachten)

The market value of a property (or just a piece of land) is the current, and also the future achievable selling price of the real estate. Most often a certified expert creates the appraisal. He needs to be independent in order to be believable for all interested parties. These could be a buyer, a seller or a bank who might be giving you a loan based on that appraisal.

The market value does not necessarily reflect the resale value but definitely can be used as an indication.

Other Options

Other options to determine a fair price of the house is to check what houses sold for in the recent past – in that particular region. You can check the committee of valuation experts (Gutachterausschuss) of your region to check the prices of houses sold in the past. They are independent and will have several categories (single homes, apartments, multi-apartment buildings, etc). Just looking at adverts of the past only makes 80% sense, as the prices advertised are not necessarily the prices paid by the buyer. But this could be a first indication.

Resale value: main driver is Performance (Wertentwicklung)

The appreciation of the property is the real driver of a resale value over time. You can differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic factors for the performance.

Intrinsic: especially modernization effort like new bathroom, insulation, additional balconies etc. will increase the value of the property.

Extrinsic: External factors like infrastructure can increase or even decrease the value of the real estate. Optical fibre, public transport can increase the value, while a chemical plant being built next door obviously will decrease it.

What does it mean for you as a buyer: Look at local politics, if you’re buying… ask neighbors on what’s being planned over the next couple of months and years.

Want to know the fair value of the house you want to buy?

Knowing the evaluation of the house you want to view will give you two major advantages:
1. A point to start (or finish) your negotiation
2. Knowing what the bank will give you as a loan
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Ancillary Cost while buying a house in Germany

by General

A common question I get is: How high are ancillary cost while buying a house in Germany?

Buying a house is a big financial as well as emotional investment. Therefore, you as a buyer first check whether you can afford the asking price of the house or apartment. The (negotiated) asking price is (most of the times) covered by a home loan supported by a bank.

There are other costs involved while buying property in Germany. These ancillary costs (Kaufnebenkosten) like land transfer tax, realtor, notary, and court charges can easily add up to 15% of the negotiated price of the real estate for the buyer.

Let’s break it down:

Land transfer tax

The land transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) is a percentage of the buying price of the property. The % depends upon in which state the property is located and can range between 3.5% (Berlin) to 6.5% (NRW): e.g. If the house cost 500.000EUR ; land transfer tax in Berlin would amount to 17.500EUR and the same house (3.5%), if purchased in Cologne (which is in NRW) you would owe 32.500EUR (6.5%) land transfer tax. After the notary has sent the signed purchase contract to the Finanzamt, they will (most of the times,) within 2-4 weeks send you a letter with an invoice and kindly ask you to pay the tax. Only if you pay, your name will be registered as the owner of the property.

 

Real estate agent fees / realtor charges

If a real estate agent / realtor (Makler) was involved in selling you the house, he is allowed to charge you for that service – even if it just was to send you the advert (!). Charges are a percentage based on the negotiated and agreed upon price. It can vary from region to region and can go upto 7.14%. The brokerage commission is – in most cases – equally split between the buyer and the seller – whereas you do not get to see the contract which the seller has aligned with the realtor. These fees are negotiable (but in the current market situation, most often accepted as is by the buyer.

Notary & court charges

The purchase of real estate needs to be documented and notarized in Germany by law. As long is the agreement has not been processed by a notary, it has no validity. Even if there’s a written agreement between the realtor, the seller and the buyer – it has no meaning at all, as long as it has not been processed by a notary (Notar).

Fees of the notary can be close to 1% of the documented purchase price – to be borne by the buyer. This can be negotiated by the parties, though. On top of this, court charges are also part of the ancillary cost. These are levied to adapt the land register. These amount to about 0.5% of the purchase price.

Optional

For a newly built property or a property which is being built for you, you might want to consider a surveyor (Baugutachter), which will be charged on effort basis. You can also negotiate a fixed price if you like. Charges vary from region to region.

For an older property you might want to consider a building appraiser who might come in handy to evaluate the building, its structure and ensure that you know the risks from a building perspective.

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