What all costs do you have to pay attention to when buying real estate?
-Notary costs 1% – 2% of the property value.
-Broker (makler) fees usually 3.57% (if involved in the process)
-Grunderwerbsteuer (property transfer tax) 3.5% – 6.5% depending on which federal state the property is located in.
-Registration in the land registry 0.5% – 1% of the property value.
The total cost of buying real estate in Germany typically ranges between 8.57% and 13.07% of the property price.
A frequently asked question is, do I need to have a down payment when buying real estate?
It's not necessary, however, if you don't have at least 10% down payment, then banks talk about 110% financing and then the entire financing of the property is usually much more expensive. Anything over 10% positively affects the interest rate and makes financing cheaper.
Our people who come from non-EU countries, to buy real estate in Germany, must have a permanent visa (so-called Niederlassungserlaubnis) or citizenship. There are rare cases when this is possible with a temporary visa, but then you must have a significant portion of your own capital and meet some other strict conditions.
As you can see, the process of buying real estate in Germany can be quite challenging, especially if you don't speak German very well. Therefore, I advise you to include a trusted expert (financial advisor) in the process, who will make the entire process easier for you, and arm yourself with patience in your search.”
