In times of low interest rates, many families will want their own property. Low interest rates are tempting, but are currently associated with a significant shortage of supply and high and sometimes inflated sales prices are being called for the few available properties. How do I proceed when purchasing real estate, what must be observed, which pitfalls must be avoided?
Before you start your specific search ...
First seek a conversation with your house bank, because they usually know your personal financial situation exactly. Ask for a quote for a funding framework. If this is available, you have at least a rough idea of how far you can go in terms of price. If you can bring in equity - which is necessary in many cases - please note that the ancillary purchase costs must be covered from the equity. Example: if the financial framework is € 400.000, the ancillary costs are over € 40.000 (example NRW: property tax, notary fees, entry in the land register, possibly broker's fee). As a rule, the bank does not finance these costs.
Where can I find suitable offers?
Certainly in the common real estate portals, but another way is more promising: Write to the large and renowned brokerage firms in your city / region and ask for them to be included in the internal databases. If a new property is posted, most brokers first offer it to their searching customers. For you, this has the advantage that the number of your competitors drops significantly.
Frustration is a bad advisor ...
Since the demand clearly exceeds the supply, potential buyers are often frustrated if they have already received rejections for their "dream property" several times. In some cases, neglecting all precautionary rules, this leads to "striking" at the next opportunity. A reputable real estate agent can answer all your open questions, as he has already checked the property in detail in advance, viewed construction documents and obtained information. Since he takes on an intermediary position between seller and buyer, he will answer all open questions truthfully. He can even be held liable if he hides damage or defects.
Sales from private to private
Unfortunately, it is often found that a sale from private to private violates duties of care. Buyers often rely on information provided by the seller. It remains to be seen whether he really took the trouble to check whether the 50-year-old extension built by the previous owner was actually approved. This does not have to happen out of bad will, but simply out of negligence or ignorance. Therefore, before you potentially suffer major financial damage, have the property carefully inspected by an expert before buying. That costs money and there is also a great risk that someone else will snatch your house or apartment away from you. Nevertheless, it is better to do without and continue to search, rather than years of financial burdens and trouble!
Bernd Viebach