# US citizens living part-time in Vienna and buying an apartment + bringing car to EU



## RaspberryLatte (Jul 3, 2020)

Hi,
My husband and I would like to buy an apartment in Vienna to spend summers there. Maybe 3 months per year or so. Both of us are US citizens. I have a few questions and will really appreciate any information.

1. We are not EU residents and don't plant to become EU residents. We can spend 90 days every 180 days in the EU without a visa, and that's good enough for us. Will we be allowed to buy an apartment in Vienna, Austria if we don't plan to become EU residents? 

2. If we can buy an apartment, we would like to bring one of our cars to Vienna to be able to use it in Europe while there. Can we do that? Can we leave it in Vienna while we go back to the US? Ideally, we wouldn't want to buy a car in Europe as we own a spare car already. But I'm more concerned if we can leave the car in Austria for the time we're absent. The apartment we're looking for comes with a space in the underground parking garage. It's just easier to leave it there than ship it back and forth to/from the US.

3. If you own an apartment in Vienna, is it mandatory to keep the minimum heating in winter so that the pipes wouldn't freeze? 

4. Can we open a bank account in Austria in order to pay the utility bills? Can non-residents do that? Or is it possible to arrange utility payments through our US bank? If we must heat our condo in winter to some degree, then there will be bills, which we will have to pay. And I don't know how that can be done if we're physically in the US in winters.

I have many more questions.  But these are the ones that I'd like to get the answers to. Just to know our chances... Thank you so much in advance for any help!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I know of one forum member currently living in Austria, who I hope will see this and chime in. But until then I can perhaps give you some general comments.



> 1. We are not EU residents and don't plant to become EU residents. We can spend 90 days every 180 days in the EU without a visa, and that's good enough for us. Will we be allowed to buy an apartment in Vienna, Austria if we don't plan to become EU residents?


As far as I know, there are no prohibitions to buying property in most of the EU states, even if you are a non-EU resident. 



> 2. If we can buy an apartment, we would like to bring one of our cars to Vienna to be able to use it in Europe while there. Can we do that? Can we leave it in Vienna while we go back to the US? Ideally, we wouldn't want to buy a car in Europe as we own a spare car already. But I'm more concerned if we can leave the car in Austria for the time we're absent. The apartment we're looking for comes with a space in the underground parking garage. It's just easier to leave it there than ship it back and forth to/from the US.


This may not be such a great idea. It definitely depends on the make and model of your "spare car" - even if it is a European manufacturer, they often don't make the same models or even build to the same standards for vehicles to be sold in the US market. 

You'll need to register the car in Austria - and that will require that the car meet Austrian/European safety standards. If you bought the car in the US, chances are you may have to change out quite a few parts and systems, and that can get very expensive. Then, there is always the issue of finding spare parts if it is a model not found in Europe. In any event, I wouldn't even consider shipping it back and forth - far more expense and trouble than it's worth.



> 3. If you own an apartment in Vienna, is it mandatory to keep the minimum heating in winter so that the pipes wouldn't freeze?


Depends on the source of the heating in the building. Some buildings have a single, common heating source. The expenses for heating the building are split up among the owners of the individual units, usually based on the size of the apartments - though in some buildings there may be meters in each unit. It's a complex area and well worth asking about before you purchase.



> 4. Can we open a bank account in Austria in order to pay the utility bills? Can non-residents do that? Or is it possible to arrange utility payments through our US bank? If we must heat our condo in winter to some degree, then there will be bills, which we will have to pay. And I don't know how that can be done if we're physically in the US in winters.


In most European countries you can open a "non-resident" bank account. It may have different limitations on the account than a full-blown resident account would have. But utilities are very often paid via a direct debit from your bank account which should work out fine in your case.

Anyhow, let's see who we can flag down with a bit more experience of Austria and maybe even Vienna.


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## RaspberryLatte (Jul 3, 2020)

Thank you so much, Bevdeforges! It's good to know that there are no prohibitions to buying property in EU. We'll have to work on all the detail and read more about the process of buying. 

I've never heard about a common heating source for an apartment building, but yeah, it's good to check it out! We're interested in a new build but I don't know if they have individual meters there. I'll have to check that with the real estate agent. Thanks for pointing that one out.

It's also good to know that it's possible to open a non-resident bank account and pay utilities with deposited money. 

The car is something that worries me the most right now. We want to take to Europe our 8-year old Land Rover LR2 that we bought here in the US. I'm not sure if it's a very common car in mainland Europe. I don't really know if it is identical to the European version... It's a left hand drive, and it's the only obvious difference that I know of. Even though it is 8 years old, it only has around 50K miles and is in very good condition + it has new tires. 

I have been looking for other options with the car. One is to actually ship it back and forth. I just did a small research and read on one website that it costs $1,800 round trip from a port righ near our town to Bremerhaven, Germany. If we could use our car for 3 months in Europe, it would save us a lot of money because renting a car can be expensive. Two years ago we rented a medium-size car (nothing fancy) in England and it ended up costing us $1,600 for 17 days. And if you bring your own car and use it for under 6 months, you don't have to pay the import fees or worry about getting the local license plate and registration + potentially change a bunch of parts. Maybe just shipping the car back and forth once a year could be easier. It's like a round trip ticket to fly to Vienna! While living in Vienna, we also want to travel a lot to various places in and around Austria, maybe for half the time of our 3-month stay in Austria. We love to travel but would like to have a "home base" in a central location from which we could take short trips. And Vienna is one of our favorite cities.

We used to travel with Eurail passes for 20 years and while they're great, they are still quite pricey at $2,700 for 3 months + they are limiting. You can't get everywere by train, especially to those little picturesque villages in the mountains. With your own car you're free to go anywhere you like and you don't depend on a schedule, and also don't have to deal with the railway strikes that we have experienced several times in some countries. After renting a car in England and in Iceland, we now lean towards having our own car if we stay in Europe for 3 months straight. Right now I'm just trying to figure out all the costs and it looks like shipping the car round trip once a year doesn't look that bad. And you don't have to worry about every tiny scratch like you do with a rental car. I'm still researching all cons and pros though and am open to all possibilities!


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## RaspberryLatte (Jul 3, 2020)

I was also wondering about the annual property tax in Vienna. I've googled it but I got various answers, the most common one being 2% of the assessed property value. And this is what I read on one website:

"The federal rate is typically 2% of the registered value of the property. The local government can increase this by up to 500% (i.e. if the federal rate is 2%, the local government rate can be up to an additional 10%, making 12% in total."

Could anyone please tell me what the annual property tax in Vienna is? Thanks!


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

If you're living in Vienna or most other mid/large sized European cities a car is a luxury you'll rarely use. You'd likely save money renting a car only when you need it. Remember your own car needs insurance. Maintenance. Do you really want to take time off your vacation to change the oil? Also a car parked for months isn't the best thing. Parts dry out just sitting there.

Don't forget the difference in fuel prices. What sort of mileage do you get?

No reason to look at rail passes. No offense but passes are aimed at tourists with more money than knowledge. 

Look at the Austrian rail website. Look at the German one if you're planning on heading that way. Or the Italian one if you're heading south. 

In theory you can drive your car abroad for 12 months. Of course I can't find a reference at the moment. But you would need the right insurance etc.

If you must have a car for three months look at the French lease offers. Cheaper if you pick up and return in France but they do offer other countries.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I don't know about property taxes in Austria or Vienna, but just be aware that in Europe the notion of "property taxes" may be somewhat different from what you're used to in the US. 

I only mention it because here in France, property taxes are based on a calculated "rental value" of a property, not on the actual market price. The rental value is then based on the number of square meters of "livable surface" in the place with "adjustments" for the various amenities or local "nuisances." In any event, it's a complicated calculation and generally has nothing to do with the price at which a property would change hands in an "arms length" transaction.

In Germany, for example, many buildings have common utilities for the building (heat, water, sewer, trash collection, etc.) and there is much ceremony made of the annual allocation of the shared expenses to each unit in the building. (Somewhat like how a condo or homeowners' association works in the US.) Definitely something to ask about.


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## dpdapper (Apr 18, 2013)

RaspberryLatte said:


> . The car is something that worries me the most right now. We want to take to Europe our 8-year old Land Rover LR2 that we bought here in the US. I'm not sure if it's a very common car in mainland Europe. I don't really know if it is identical to the European version. It's a left hand drive, and it's the only obvious difference that I know of.


If delivered in the US, your car will NOT conform to European standards. I looked into bringing a US-delivered German car into France and it would have cost €5,000 in parts alone to get it to conform, plus the hassle of registering it. Not worth it.

That said, you COULD ship it over and use it for a year on US plates (at least that’s the rule in France—no idea about Austria). But you’d still need to insure it and I don’t know if that’s even possible.

As others have said, in a city you won’t want or need a car most of the time. Better to rent when you need one, or get one of the French manufacturers’ short term leases (up to six months) of a brand new car, which are free of VAT and fully insured with no deductible.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Vienna has good tram services from what I recall and good rail services to get you about the country 

The following websites offer useful information:
https://www.visitingvienna.com/tran...s and buses.&text=You do need to buy a ticket.
https://www.oebb.at/en/
https://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/help.exe/en?tpl=showmap_external
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/austri...tion/transport/getting-around/local-transport
https://welcomm-europe.eu/austria/public-transport/

The last one even gives info about car sharing


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

RaspberryLatte said:


> Thank you so much, Bevdeforges! It's good to know that there are no prohibitions to buying property in EU. We'll have to work on all the detail and read more about the process of buying.


Austria is a bit peculiar in this regard - I think it goes back to their pre-EU times, when Germans were buying up the Alps and then let their holiday apartments sit empty most of the year, not only pricing out young local families but also letting villages die a slow summer death.

Nowadays, third country (non-Austrian, non-other EU) nationals need to obtain official permission to purchase property. Rules vary a little bit between the different states.

https://www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/163/Seite.1630000.html#Approval


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## RaspberryLatte (Jul 3, 2020)

Thank you ALKB for the link.


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## Personakindagrata (Dec 29, 2020)

RaspberryLatte said:


> Hi,
> My husband and I would like to buy an apartment in Vienna to spend summers there. Maybe 3 months per year or so. Both of us are US citizens. I have a few questions and will really appreciate any information.
> 
> 1. We are not EU residents and don't plant to become EU residents. We can spend 90 days every 180 days in the EU without a visa, and that's good enough for us. Will we be allowed to buy an apartment in Vienna, Austria if we don't plan to become EU residents?
> ...


1. EU persons have natural rights to property ownership in Vienna, just as Austrians do. 3rd country nationals DO NOT, without permission. Your notary can help apply for approval. 

2. Since you are operating a car on a long-term basis, it will need to be insured and registered in Austria, which requires homologation and import to Austria. In 98% of instances it is north worth it. Buy a local car. I’m not sure you’ll actually be able to register a car given no ties to the country.

3. If you are in an apartment, the buildings are extremely well insulated (mason construction) and with lots of common plumbing. Chances of pipes freezing are next to none.

4. Doubtful banks will open you an account, particularly as compliance with Americans are more difficult. It can probably be done in exemptional arrangements. Direct bill payments are done through SEPA network, which is pan EU but not compatible with US banks.

Everything you are trying to do is very unusual and with the bureaucracy in the country, you will run into lots of roadblocks.

Perpetual property tax is extremely low. We own a house and annual tax is almost nothing. Most of the taxation occurs on purchase with a 3.5% land transfer tax and other incidentals (agents, notary/lawyer, title, etc). With an apartment, you will have common building costs.


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## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

IMO- If you had smartcar, bring it. Else rent a car or scooters as needed. Learn the transit system online, this may save you money.

Leave the car at home with a trusted person, garage or put in storage.

Buying a property, for 3-month stays a year. Instead use AirBNB or similar, and invest your money.

Keep it simple. 


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