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A: No. Anybody can buy in Germany who has a valid passport and the purchase funds that will be needed. Owning a property in Germany does not give one a right to immigrate to the country. This point is vital to know. We had the case of a person who already owned an apartment in Berlin and had a deposit of about half a million USD at a german bank in Germany, and wanted to buy from that money another apartment in Frankfurt. She asked for a visitors visa for that reason – and got her application declined. The german embassy in her country (somewhere in Asia) said: "The risk is you buy an apartment and then stay in Germany and we do not want that." All her assertions that she wanted to buy this apartment for investment only – and the apartment was already rented out which we told the embassy – were fruitless. So if you intend to buy property in Germany in order to live here, make sure first to get a Visa for being a permanent resident in the country.
Q: What are the costs accompanying buying property in Germany?
A: In Germany, the buyer has to carry the following costs and fees: 1. Purchase Tax ("Grunderwerbsteuer"): 3.5% of the buying price. Due about four weeks after the notary deed has been signed by buyer and seller. 2. 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. 3. Agent fee. The buying fee for agents in Germany varies from Federal country to Federal country slightly. In most federal countries it is 5% plus the VAT. 4. Registration fees, these add up to about 0.8-1.2%. 5. 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. So the total fees on top of the purchase price are about 10-12%.
Q: How long will it take until I own the house?
A: From the moment of signing the notary deed until receiving the land title register confirmation several weeks can pass. This however has no bearing on when you can take over the house as your own: this is usually the moment when the buying price is paid in full to the seller. That date is agreed upon in the purchase deed.
Q: What are the costs accompanying owning property in Germany?
A: 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). Then the building reserve fund which is mandatory when owning an apartments as part of a community; it is usually about 0.75 to 1.5 Euro per sqm living area per month; Garbage disposal, water, common house electricity, housekeeping, maintenance of the heating system etc. are additional costs which sum up to about 0.5-2 Euro per sqm and 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.
Q: Who takes care of the property when I am not in Germany?
A: Any house can be given into the care of a property management. On apartments this is mandatory as of today when these belong 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.
Q: Who would assist in selling the property once I want to do this?
A: At any given point, when you decide to sell the house or apartment again, you can give it to a Real Estate broker or also offer it freely on the market. There are no rules or laws saying that you must go via a broker. There are no shared listings in Germany where all brokers would offer their houses, this is a pretty individual market! It has the advantage that anyone has the chance to get his house on the market. Usually you put the house into local newspapers on the weekends and also would offer it on related websites.
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Bulgaria 
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Italy 
Spain 
Dominican Republic 
Brazil 
Germany 
Panama 
Egypt 
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