The purchase process: from reservation to the keys

The timeline in weeks

The table shows a typical process for a financed owner-occupied flat bought from a private seller. Week 0 is the first viewing. If you buy without a loan, it is quicker. If the flat is let and the tenant has a right of first refusal, it takes longer.

Figures based on experience of completions, not statutory deadlines. The law fixes the 14 days before notarisation for a purchase from a developer, the two months for the district's right of first refusal and the one month for the real estate transfer tax.

From viewing to reservation

After the first appointment you decide whether a second is worthwhile. For that you need the documents: land register (Grundbuch) extract, declaration of division (Teilungserklärung), minutes, financial plan and energy performance certificate. What to look at during the second viewing is set out in the viewing checklist.

If you want to buy, you give the agent a written purchase commitment at the stated price, or an offer. If the seller accepts, the flat is usually reserved for a limited time. There are two things you should know. A reservation does not oblige anyone to buy, because a contract for the sale of land only becomes effective at the notary (§ 311b BGB, German Civil Code). And you should first check whether the reservation costs anything and what happens to a payment if the purchase falls through.

Financing approval

For the loan commitment the bank wants to see two sets of documents. The first is about you: payslips, tax assessments if you are self-employed, bank statements, a statement of your equity and current loans. The second is about the property: land register (Grundbuch) extract, declaration of division (Teilungserklärung), floor plan, living space calculation, energy performance certificate, photos and brochure.

The bank then arrives at its own value for the property. If it is well below the purchase price, the bank asks for more equity or a higher interest rate. This is the most common reason a reservation period becomes tight. That is why it is worth having your figures checked before you start searching, as described in the article Mortgage financing in Berlin.

At BBI, Maximilian Vigansky takes care of this, a mortgage intermediary licensed under § 34i German Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung). He submits the documents to several banks. Only the bank states terms, after its own review. The article How much property can I afford? shows what amount suits your income.

Notary draft and 14-day period

The buyer usually chooses the notary, because the buyer bears the costs. You send the notary's office the key details: parties, property, purchase price, handover date, furnishings sold with the property. The draft is prepared from these.

If you buy as a consumer from a business, such as a developer, the notary must generally make the draft available to you two weeks before the appointment (§ 17 para. 2a German Notarisation Act (Beurkundungsgesetz)). For a purchase from a private seller the period is not mandatory. Allow for the two weeks anyway, because your bank needs the draft too. The contract usually contains a power of attorney to encumber the property. With it, the land charge for your loan can be registered before you are the owner. Without it, the bank does not pay out.

What to look for in the draft is covered in the article Buying a property: what to look out for

The day of notarisation

Bring a valid ID card or passport and your tax identification number, which the notary needs for the report to the tax office. The notary reads the contract aloud, explains it and answers questions. Then everyone signs. The land charge for your bank is often certified at the same appointment or shortly afterwards.

With the signatures the contract is effective. That does not yet make the flat yours. How the appointment works and what happens afterwards in the land register is described in the guide Notary appointment and land register.

Priority notice and right of first refusal

Right after the appointment, the notary applies for the priority notice of conveyance (Auflassungsvormerkung; § 883 BGB, German Civil Code). Once it is registered, the seller can no longer validly transfer the flat to anyone else or encumber it further. How quickly the Berlin land registry registers it varies. You should allow for a few weeks.

In parallel, the notary asks the district whether it will exercise a right of first refusal under the Baugesetzbuch (Federal Building Code). The district has at most two months from notification of the contract for this (§ 28 para. 2 BauGB). For a converted, let flat the tenant may have an additional right of first refusal. What applies then is explained in the guide Tenant's right of first refusal.

Purchase price and real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer)

Once the priority notice, the deletion documents and the district's reply are in, the notary sends the payment due notice. The contract states a period, usually one to two weeks. Only now do you draw down the loan. Separately, the notary reports the purchase to the tax office. In our experience the tax assessment arrives six to ten weeks after the appointment, and you must pay one month after it is issued (§ 15 GrEStG, Real Estate Transfer Tax Act). The size of the items is explained in the guide Additional purchase costs in Berlin.

For planning your account it matters when which amount leaves it. Using the example of a flat for €400,000 with an agent:

Example, rounded. Notary and land registry together come to about 1.8 per cent, so around €7,200, spread over several invoices. The commission is earned with the notarised purchase contract. For a flat or a detached house, however, you only pay your share once the seller has proved that they have paid their share (§ 656d BGB, German Civil Code).

What you can do in the meantime

While the notary and the authorities are working, you have quite a lot to do yourself. The order depends on the notary appointment.

Give notice on your rented flat. As a tenant you usually have three months' notice (§ 573c BGB, German Civil Code). Do not give notice until the purchase contract has been notarised and the handover date is fixed. Before that the purchase is not certain, and paying rent twice for a month is cheaper than a flat that does not exist.

Insurance. For a house, the seller's buildings insurance passes to you with the change of ownership (§ 95 VVG, German Insurance Contract Act). You may cancel it within one month afterwards. Ask to see the policy and compare before the period expires. For an owner-occupied flat, the owners' association insures the building. You transfer your own contents insurance yourself.

Tradespeople. Work you want done before moving in, such as floors or the bathroom, can only start after handover. Appointments for the weeks afterwards can be arranged beforehand, though. In Berlin, good tradespeople are often booked up months in advance.

Handover and keys

Once the purchase price has reached the seller, they confirm this to the notary and you get the keys. Walk through the flat together at handover and record it in a protocol. It should include the meter readings for electricity, water and heating, the number of keys for the flat, house, cellar and letterbox, visible damage that was not there at purchase, and the furnishings sold with the flat.

From handover you bear the running costs, if the contract provides for this (§ 446 BGB, German Civil Code). The property manager often keeps claiming the service charge (Hausgeld) from the seller until the transfer is registered. You reimburse the seller for what they pay for the period after that. If you move in yourself, register with the residents' registration office within two weeks (§ 17 Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz)).

The last stop is the land register (Grundbuch). Once the tax office has confirmed payment of the real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer), the notary applies for the transfer to be registered. With the entry you are the owner (§ 873 BGB, German Civil Code). You receive a copy of the registration notice from the notary. Keep it with your other purchase documents.

Sources

• § 17 para. 2a Beurkundungsgesetz (German Notarisation Act), draft two weeks before certification
• § 28 para. 2 Federal Building Code (Baugesetzbuch), time limit for the municipal right of first refusal
• § 15 Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (Grunderwerbsteuergesetz), tax due date
• § 311b BGB, § 446 BGB, § 873 BGB, § 883 BGB
• § 17 Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz), registration within two weeks
• § 34i Gewerbeordnung (German Trade Regulation Act), mortgage loan intermediary
• Figures based on experience for the tax assessment, land register timing and cost rates: BBI guides Additional purchase costs and Notary appointment and land register