Berlin Investment

How much will I be taxed for an investment property?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:09:32 +0000

This is a very complex question! Depending on the country you reside in and how long you owned the property is very important. We would like to talk to you individually to give you a better understanding of the taxation.

Please contact us and we can discuss this by email or on the phone.

Who would help me to sell my investment property?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:07:12 +0000

When you decide to sell the house or apartment, you can work with a Real Estate broker or also offer it freely on the market. There are no rules or regulations mandating that you must use a broker.

If you choose, we can help you sell the property. At any given time we have several investors who look for investment properties and we have sold many properties within a matter of a few weeks.

A good broker will provide you with an estimated market value and create a “property exposee”, basically the marketing material for your property.
Some brokers go as far as hiring professional photographers, creating floor plans and even dedicated websites for a property.

Who takes care of the property when I am not in Germany?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:04:47 +0000

Any investment property can be given into the care of a property management company.
This is a very comon practice, even for investors living in the same city.
It is even mandatory when the property belongs to a partitioned apartment house.

Cost for property management is about 25,- to 35,- Euro per month for an apartment. Rental management is separate from general house management and can be transferred to an agency for a fee that is agreed upon by both parties.

We usually help our clients to find a property management and rental management company. We even stop by the properties frequently to check if things are ok.

How much does owning property in Germany cost?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:03:14 +0000

The costs that are to be paid are property tax - this is different from town to town but very small (between 150 Euro and 300 Euro usually for an apartment per year, a bit more for a single-house; it depends on the size of the property ground).

The maintenance reserve fund, which is mandatory when owning an apartments as part of a community, is usually about 0.75 to 1.5 Euro per square meter living area per month.

Garbage pickup, water, common house electricity, housekeeping, maintenance of the heating system etc. are additional costs which sum up to about 0.5-2 Euro per square meter per month. All of these have to be paid by the tenant if apartment or house is rented out. Even the property owning tax normally needs to be refunded by the tenant to the owner or should be made part of the normal utilities prepayments.

What are the costs of buying property in Germany?

admin — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:00:11 +0000

The total fees on top of the purchase price are about 10-12%.

Purchase Tax (”Grunderwerbsteuer”): 3.5% (4.5% in Berlin) of the buying price. Due about four weeks after the notary deed has been signed by buyer and seller.
Notary fees. These are about 1.2 – 1.5% of the buying price, plus any fees for a needed translation of the deed. As they can vary strongly we recommend to check especially the translation fees in advance. We have seen differences from 300 EUR to 3000 EUR for the same type of work.
Agent fee. The buying fee for agents in Germany varies from Federal country to Federal country slightly. In most federal countries it is 6% plus the VAT.
Registration fees, these add up to about 0.8-1.2%.
If financing is needed, there might also be fees from the bank side for the mortgage, plus any additional notary and registration fees for that mortgage. Any mortgage needs to be secured in the land registry (Grundbuch) and that can only be done by a notary public.

Keywords: cost, registration, tax, vat,

Can I live in Gemany when I own property there?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:54:33 +0000

Owning a property in Germany does not give one a right to immigrate to the country.
Immigration is a different matter and you need to check you eligability before buying property if you plan to live in Germany.

Keywords: live in germany, visa for germany, buy property to immigrate to germany

Do I have to be German resident in order to buy in Germany?

thomask — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:50:40 +0000

No. Anybody can buy in Germany who has a valid passport and the purchase funds that will be needed.

Why is Berlin a good place to invest in real-estate?

thomask — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:06:53 +0000

Berlin is Germany’s political capital, and for a lot of young people artist and student as well as for intellectuals one of the hottest cities in the world. Just a few people are aware of the fact that the prices for real estate in the capital of one of the worlds leading economies are undervalued. Just recently I got an offer to buy a prewar-condo in one of the hottest areas in western Berlin Kreuzberg 61, so called Bergmann Kiez for 130.000 €/$ for a 2 Bedroom, 1 Living room, Bath and Kitchen (Space in total: 94m²)

Berlin used to be a divided city during the cold war. After the reunification the East-side of the side was more or less completely damaged. A special tax-deduction on real estate investments in the east part of germany trigger money into the wrong place but helped to get the market up and running. But still today you can find underdeveloped area downtown. Due to a capital bubble and a lot of “stupid-money” from tax-deduction seeker cased a lot of mis-investments, that is the reason why germany them self often are afraid about real estate investments in the East part of Germany.>

Can foreign citizens purchase real-estate in Germany?

thomask — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:05:43 +0000

YES, you do not have to be German to buy, own, rent or sell properties in Germany. The legal situation is very stable and you do not have to worry about changes in the law.

Apartments for sale in Berlin

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:37:04 +0000

The vast majority of Berlin residents rent their apartments. Therefore there is a very active investing market for rental properties. Sales of apartments in Berlin are - compared to other European cities - very inexpensive. A single apartment cost as little as $US 30 000 (Updated 24.04.2007).
Many investors prefer to buy and sell apartments in “Apartment blocks” e.g. an entire house (multi-family-house) or several apartments in one house (package).

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