How to find a Property

There are several avenues to find a property in Germany

  1. Online portals
  2. Real estate agents ( Immobilienmakler )
  3. Word of mouth

Houses and apartments are mostly sold by agents. No matter where an offer is listed, the property is very likely to be tied to a real-estate agency. If you want to avoid buying property in Germany via a real-estate agency, you should look for the keyword “Privatverkauf”, where the brokerfee can be avoided.

Websites to find house

Immowelt
Kalaydo
Verivox

Steps to buy a Property

Buying a property in a foreign land by navigating the legal steps is a challenging task

  1. Decide which mortgages suits you the best and get an offer in principle 
  2. Find the property you want to buy
  3. Make an offer to the seller agrees
  4. Get a notary (*notar*) to draw up the sale contract
  5. Finalise the mortgage in the bank
  6. Sign the contract and have the notary register the sale
  7. Within a month, you then have to pay the property sale tax (3.5–6.5% of the purchase price)

The key word is "Be Quick". Once you find a convincing apartment, confirm the house as early as possible as the competition is very fierce for the home hunt nowadays

Taxes & fees

Almost 10% of the property cost comes up as an addition to the actual property cost

  1. Property transfer tax (grunderwerbssteuer) of 3.5–6.5 percent;
  2. Notary's fees 1.2–1.5 percent;
  3. Registration fees 0.8–1.2 percent;
  4. Estate agent's fees, if shared, of 1.5–3 percent, plus VAT at 19 percent.