# Buying a House in Germany?



## aksy

I am a citizen from a non-EU country and living outside Germany. I wanted to invest in a property in Europe, and was thinking of Germany. Is it possible for a non-resident/non-citizen to buy a property in Germany?

I am currently not eligible for visa on arrival in Germany. Once I buy a property in Germany (if possible), how would I come to administer the property(rent it out etc). Would I get some sort of residence permit that allows me to come in and out of Germany to do this?

Thanks


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## Bevdeforges

The quick answer is that there aren't normally any restrictions on foreigners owning property in most of the EU. However, owning property does not make you eligible for any visa you don't already have or aren't already eligible for.

To administer your property, you'd probably have to engage a Makler (in Germany) - basically a rental agent or estate agent. They would then, for a fee, handle the property maintenance and administration and send you the relevant documents and reports.
Cheers,
Bev


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## James3214

Aksy, there are no restrictions on foreign ownership of property in Germany, but if you think that by buying a property you will automatically get a residence permit then think again.
If you are thinking of buying in Europe, then I would consider Germany to be at the bottom of my list of a place to buy a home. Germans tend to buy for life and the rental sector is one of the highest in Europe. This means that there aren't generally changes to house prices. I had a friend who bought a property here about 6 years ago and after moving abroad regrets buying it. There are a lot of costs involved, taxes, etc after buying and selling as well. 
For further info take a look at the following :
How To Germany - Buying a House or Apartment in Germany

But basically my advice is to buy somewhere else!


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## Forres

James3214, I am from the UK and currently live in Lithuania. We have been thinking of buying an apartment or home in Germany for some time or may even consider a move there permenantly in the future. 

are the legal costs and closing cost etc in Germany expensive? We are not looking to buy as an investment but more of a second home.

Regards

Willie


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## James3214

Hi Willie, 
Personally, I wouldn't really recommend buying a home here in Germany unless you actually come and live here or intend being here for a long time (> 5 years). Property prices don't suffer from speculation like in other Anglo-American countries and remain pretty stable and if you do sell short term and make a profit it is likely to be taxed. If you intend to buy a property and rent it then fine, but the financial returns and the fact that tenants are more protected here, might end up with you regretting the decision. 
As regards legal costs, closing (?), etc I would estimate that you budget 10 per cent of the property price. 
Hope this helps, but my real advice is only to buy a property here if you come and live here and intend doing so for a longer period.


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## fido

I have read this thread with interest as I'm considering buying a home in Germany with a view to eventual retirement there. One idea is to buy a "zweifamilienhaus", something like a pair of maisonettes we would have in UK. I would rent out one flat to local people and keep the other as a holiday home until ready to retire. I saw one such place advertised that already has a sitting tenant in one flat, paying 250 Euros a month rent. The whole building was on sale for 49,000 Euros which, on the face of it, sounds like a 6.1 percent return with a spare flat thrown in ! In reality I've no doubt the building will need some money spent on it so the investment would actually be higher but it's not in a bad enough state for the tenant to have moved elsewhere.
I read the article cited by James. I notice there is no mention of surveys or valuations. I won't be wanting a mortgage but may choose to have a structural survey if such services are available in Germany.


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## James3214

fido said:


> I have read this thread with interest as I'm considering buying a home in Germany with a view to eventual retirement there. One idea is to buy a "zweifamilienhaus", something like a pair of maisonettes we would have in UK. I would rent out one flat to local people and keep the other as a holiday home until ready to retire. I saw one such place advertised that already has a sitting tenant in one flat, paying 250 Euros a month rent. The whole building was on sale for 49,000 Euros which, on the face of it, sounds like a 6.1 percent return with a spare flat thrown in ! In reality I've no doubt the building will need some money spent on it so the investment would actually be higher but it's not in a bad enough state for the tenant to have moved elsewhere.
> I read the article cited by James. I notice there is no mention of surveys or valuations. I won't be wanting a mortgage but may choose to have a structural survey if such services are available in Germany.


Fido, I think you should get a structural survey (Baugutachten) done on any place you are buying especially the older it is. Although, as you probably know most German properties have been built to very high standards.
Be careful with sitting tenants, they have a lot of rights and you will have great difficulty getting them out, even if they don't pay their rent!


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## Nignoy

we are coming over from australia, in april next year ,and we are hoping to buy property in the minden, schaumberger wald area ,as a holiday hire for visiting overseas hunters and falconers, we thought it would be be a sound investment,can anyone think of any problems we might have??


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## James3214

Nignoy, sounds good, but the biggest problem with renting out 'ferienwohnungen' (and I know from personal experience!) is being around or even in the country when the problems with property happen, so with you being in Oz and a completely different time zone it is important that you get someone local (and that can communicate with everyone) to do it for you. That obviously adds a lot to your costs. Don't forget that there are now environmental laws that must be adherred to when you buy a property with such things as insulation, thickness of walls, impact on local environment, fire risk, etc. This again could add hidden costs to the purchase, especially as you will need to implement them before renters can move in. 
By the way, I have never bought a holiday property here in Germany, but it sounds like you have already done a lot of research about it and having lived here before, know the area and are aware of the way Germans approach buying property (i.e for life!)
Hopefully, there might be others on here who have done it and can also give any advice, but obviously always get independent advice before you commit to anything. 
Good luck with the project. I hope it all works out for you.


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## Nignoy

I am definitely no stranger to germany, I still have mein Daueraufenthaltserlaubnis,stashed a way somewhere, I am aiming at a specific group of people as potential holiday guests, and the property will be set up purely for them with a permanent caretaker, ideally it would be a converted farm or smallholding , so that kennels and mews can be built for hunting dogs and hawks it is hopefully going to be a rather exciting venture


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## litelfun

aksy said:


> I am a citizen from a non-EU country and living outside Germany. I wanted to invest in a property in Europe, and was thinking of Germany. Is it possible for a non-resident/non-citizen to buy a property in Germany?
> 
> I am currently not eligible for visa on arrival in Germany. Once I buy a property in Germany (if possible), how would I come to administer the property(rent it out etc). Would I get some sort of residence permit that allows me to come in and out of Germany to do this?
> 
> Thanks


I own my own hause in germany I bought as rented with a 4 year contacht left on it so i got it cheep but I payed throu the nose for 4 years I only got the tenant aut buy parking my caravan in the garden and 2 monthes before started renovating the hause and threaten the windows come aut on the 1 st day of the monthe if some one wonts to life for free espacly if they have kids you wont get them aut if they pay rent or not then their is the uther thing up keep of the property ! if you dont live their in the hause dont bother !
I hope that answers your quistion


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## fido

litelfun said:


> I own my own hause in germany I bought as rented with a 4 year contacht left on it so i got it cheep but I payed throu the nose for 4 years I only got the tenant aut buy parking my caravan in the garden and 2 monthes before started renovating the hause and threaten the windows come aut on the 1 st day of the monthe if some one wonts to life for free espacly if they have kids you wont get them aut if they pay rent or not then their is the uther thing up keep of the property ! if you dont live their in the hause dont bother !
> I hope that answers your quistion


Sounds like you were unlucky with your tenant. Was the tenant paying the rent?


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## James3214

Sounds like you were lucky it was only four years Litelfun. It's not an uncommon story. You are just lucky you got away with what you did to get them out. As mentioned earlier, tenants have lots of rights here, so its only really worth buying a place if you are going to live in it for a while.


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## fido

I know in this case there was a sitting tenant but in cases where you are offering an empty property to let is it worth asking for references from a previous landlord? My current plan does involve renovating a house in Germany and renting it out to get an income, so it is a bit worrying if so many tenants abuse the system. I had heard that the majority of people in Germany rent rather than buy. Perhaps it is nearer the truth to say that most people in Germany live in rented accommodation? Whether they pay the rent or not is another matter.


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## James3214

I think the rental market is around 70% which is about the same percentage as house owners in the UK. 
Normally, before you get tenants and sign the rental contract you can ask for a 'Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung' from a previous landlord which proves that the rent was paid in the previous property. You can also ask for bank statements,pay slips and refs from employers before deciding to let. It's best to get it marketed through an agency as normally it's the renter that pays the 'provision' that is up to 2 months rent as the fee to the agency for finding the property (unlike the UK where the owner normally pays via commission).
Despite the owner occupation rights I still think you can reclaim the property if it is your only property and you (or your family) wish to live in their yourself, but you have to give a notice that depends on the length of the time the tenants have been in the property.
You can also decide on fixed length contracts if you wish, but in any case if they don't pay it will normally take a while to get them out.


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## litelfun

fido said:


> Sounds like you were unlucky with your tenant. Was the tenant paying the rent?


jeh he paide all his rent a masive 400 euro a month the gas was 140 water 25 and counsil tax and wastage removal around a nother 50 so it was a none profetibel but 5 years down the line I have a lovely hause it took me and freinds one year to totally renovate its now good for a nother 30 years I was realy lucky because he left peice fully things did eskulate the last day and he could of got me put in prison its not licke the uk when you use a bit of force force they class as atemt of murder !


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## fishooX

Well i have read that the red tape is a pain in the ass. And the amount of tax that you are required to pay is quite big !!


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## Rellie

@ James3214 ...Thanks for the useful link.


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## Schweizer

aksy said:


> I am a citizen from a non-EU country and living outside Germany. I wanted to invest in a property in Europe, and was thinking of Germany. Is it possible for a non-resident/non-citizen to buy a property in Germany?
> 
> I am currently not eligible for visa on arrival in Germany. Once I buy a property in Germany (if possible), how would I come to administer the property(rent it out etc). Would I get some sort of residence permit that allows me to come in and out of Germany to do this?
> 
> Thanks


You could buy a property in St.Kitts and & Nevis (in the Caribbean), it the value is greather then 200,000 USD you can apply for local Passport, This Passport will give you visa free travel to Europe (British Commonwealth), but NOT a residence allowance. Same goes for Panama. Invest 300,000 there in Forrest busines and you'll get your passport.

All legal, but check before any move in chnages of law


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