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 German notary (not a notary public).
Keywords: cost, registration, tax, vat,