The BBI guides

The process in five steps, what costs arise, which documents you need and when an estate agent is worth the cost.

62 questions from owners on seven topics, each with the short answer and a link to the page that answers it in detail.

Five details must appear in every listing. What § 87 GModG (Building Modernisation Act) requires, how demand-based and consumption-based certificates differ and what a breach costs.

Who has paid the agent's commission since the end of 2020, which properties the rule applies to and when the buyer's share actually becomes due.

Licence, commission, valuation, marketing and term: what you can look for when choosing, with eight questions for the first meeting.

The loan is still running and the flat is to be sold: when you may terminate early and when the bank asks for compensation.

Who bears the service charge and special levies in the year of sale, and what happens to the maintenance reserve.

Which papers you need for the sale, where to get each one and what it costs.

Where to obtain information from the contaminated land register (Bodenbelastungskataster), what it costs and what an entry means when you sell.

How long a flat may stand empty, why holiday-let permits do not pass to the buyer and what office use and demolition cost.

What may be built there, what the standard land value tells you, which documents you need and how the sale works in five steps.

Power of attorney, certification at a consulate, documents by post and vacancy: what you can arrange remotely and what the notary appointment requires.

What a market price estimate does for a flat, a house or an apartment building, how it differs from a formal valuation report and how to get a rental value estimate.

Where to look up the standard land value, how to read it and where its limits lie.

The three valuation methods, with Berlin key figures from the valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss) and a worked example you can check yourself.

A right of residence or usufruct registered in the land register: what it means for buyers, price and cancellation.

Process, pricing by price-to-rent multiplier and capitalised earnings value, tenants, right of first refusal and documents for multi-family buildings.

Seasonality per Google Trends, ten-year holding period (Spekulationsfrist), interest rates and lead time: what decides the timing of a sale.

Life annuity, partial sale, sale and rent-back and reverse mortgage compared: costs, risks and when a sale is the better choice.