Immotion Capital

Real estate advisor

In our guide, property sellers and property buyers will find valuable information on all aspects of property ownership. You would like to sell or buy a property and this involves a variety of questions. It is important to us to support you. Here you will find valuable tips that cannot replace individual advice. You can contact us personally with your questions at any time.

There is no all-encompassing answer to this question. The individual property value is the first thing that determines the price at which you sell your property. The value is also determined by the three main factors of location, condition of the property and facilities. The price also depends on the desirability of your home in the respective market. The value is determined by numerous other factors which we can explain to you free of charge.

More and more owners are relying on the services of an estate agent, since they are specialists in the process of selling property. The time needed to sell a property and the asking price are both significantly influenced by the skill that is demonstrated in the selling process. Professional estate agents work on property sales day in, day out. They know exactly which aspects are decisive in selling. Bear in mind that a good estate agent will support you down to the last detail. They consider the property as a whole and know the market. They can present the property in the most attractive way.

You may sell your property at any time. But you may have to pay taxes. This is due to the fact that property sales are counted as commercial property trading and private asset management. Income tax can be applied depending on the circumstances.

There are few additional costs for sellers. Notary fees for deletion will apply if you have entered a land charge in the land register. Bank charges may also apply. Speak to your bank for further information.

Selling property is a complex process. In order to avoid legal errors or the loss of time and/or money, it is essential to be well prepared. You can roughly divide the sale into these 10 steps:

You do not have to pay taxes when selling your house or apartment if you have owned the property for more than ten years or lived in it for at least three years. The tax office can charge a speculation tax if you sell your property before the aforementioned limits. These taxes are applied to the profit from your sale. If you do not profit from the sale, you do not pay speculation tax.

There are many good reasons for selling your property. Life circumstances often lead to selling your property. Perhaps you would like to upsize or downsize. A move may also be due to professional reasons. An inheritance can also be a reason to sell a property. Selling is often the best option if a property has been transferred to multiple heirs. The heirs may initially consider renting the house, but the majority eventually decide to sell.

The ideal time is when it is a seller’s market. This means there are more buyers than available properties, and the prices increase to reflect that. There has been a seller's market in all urban areas in Germany for years. You can see the market’s development in this graphic. Prices have risen throughout Germany – with only a few exceptions.

The running costs consist of the following:

  1. Your monthly financing rate. (Since the majority of people take out finance for at least 10 years, absolute planning security is required.)
  2. House costs. As a private user, this includes maintenance reserves and the administrator fee as well as utility costs. In a rented property, the utility payments are the responsibility of the tenant.
  3. Property tax.

Fundamentally, it is possible to purchase a home or apartment without little or no equity. However, financing is more expensive because the bank is taking a bigger risk. This route is therefore only for people with very good credit and a fixed, above-average income.

In Germany, the purchase of property is only legal if it has been certified by a notary. Usually, your estate agent will find a good notary who will clearly explain the purchase agreement to you. If there are no special circumstances, standard contracts can be used in which individual details of the property, the buyer and the seller are entered.

The property transfer tax is 6 %. Then there are 1 to 2 % notary and legal fees and a local estate agent commission.

If you are looking for a rental property, there are different criteria to consider than there are with a property for private use. First, you need to take a good look at the area. Think about factors such as the economic structure, traffic routes, vacancy levels in the area, the image of the district, the demographic structure, future plans for development and much more. Local knowledge is essential. Our work as a local estate agency is all the more important.

You can either rely on word of mouth recommendations or by posting advertisements on various property portals. Or we can deal with this task for you. An estate agent may seem superfluous in Berlin, given the current accommodation shortage.

A good estate agent will make your property purchase easier. The estate agent can find properties more quickly and will give you comprehensive advice. The estate agent can also alert you of dangerous pitfalls and costly mistakes.

In order to ensure that you are the first to be informed as soon as the perfect property is available, professional estate agents use a customer database. It holds all of your requirements and can directly compare them to new properties as they go online. This allows the estate agent to bring the buyer and seller together as quickly as possible. Your estate agent continually checks whether one of the properties in their pool is suitable for you. And the best part about this is: They are often properties which are not yet on the market.

Different considerations apply to a rental property than a property for private use. The main focus of a rental property will always be on profitability. The maintenance and administrative costs need to be as low as possible and the rent as high as possible. Good rentability is also important in order to protect yourself from an empty property and the associated loss of income. A well-versed estate agent has profitable investment properties at all price levels: from a small studio for students to apartment blocks and large commercial complexes. We can also deal with the renting of the property for you, or put you in contact with a reliable property manager.

Before you start the purchasing process, you should think about what you expect from purchasing property. Is it a rental property, or would you like to live there yourself? After your motivation, you consider your requirements. The next step is to balance your requirements with the market situation.

Properties are coveted investments. Some individuals decide to buy several properties in order to rent them out. There is no upper limit on how many you may purchase. However, it is advisable to discuss the purchase with an experienced estate agent. Your estate agent will provide you with valuable tips regarding profitable properties, the correct financing and much more.

Berlin is a global metropolis that attracts people from everywhere. The standard of living is high, and the job market is interesting. The interest in buying property exceeds the number of new build projects considerably. Building land has also become scarce. Berlin is growing and growing. Official estimates predict that the population will be 3.95 million in 2030. Living space is scarce. It’s obvious: Despite the rent cap imposed by the Berlin senate, buying an apartment or a commercial unit in the capital can demonstrate foresight. There is no more effective way of protecting yourself from increasing rents. We will gladly advise you on your wishes and needs regarding property buying in Berlin.

Unlike when you are making other purchasing decisions, there is no designated sale season for properties. You cannot expect seasonal price fluctuations. Whereas the time of year doesn’t matter, your personal and economic situation is of greater importance. You should ask yourself the following questions before making the investment:

  • Does the current interest rate policy make affordable financing possible?
  • Can I finance my dream property at the moment?
  • Am I looking for a stable, inflation-proof investment?
  • Do I want to make provisions for my old age?
  • Do I want to be free of the pressure of paying rent?

There are additional costs are incurred on top of the purchase price when you purchase a property. These are known as transaction costs. They include:

The interest payments for property loans can be set off against tax if the loan has been taken out for purchases from which you receive taxable income. In this case, it is possible to claim the interest payments for the loan in your tax return. These fall under income-related expenses. Loans which you have only taken out for private purposes are not normally taken into account in taxes. For example, if you live in the house yourself you can’t set off the interest on the loan. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. You can set off the interest if you have a second home for business purposes. The second home acts as your residence during the working week because your main residence would be too far from your workplace.

When we talk about interest rates in property financing, we mean the interest rate at which you take out a loan for a house or apartment. The interest is therefore extremely important for the loan, since it determines how high your total loan costs will be. The interest rates are currently at a historically low level, making a property purchase even more attractive.

You can calculate your property financing as follows:
Total loan x (debit interest + repayment rate) / 1200 = amount of monthly loan instalment

Yes, it’s possible, but banks will check the background of the applicant even more closely. They worry that the property loan won’t be paid off in the long term. The risk that a self-employed person will end up in financial difficulties is greater. Furthermore, fluctuations in the level of earnings are more likely than they are for employed persons. Regular income is essential as far as loan approvals are concerned. The bank will even check pension income. Nevertheless, self-employed people also have a good chance of obtaining financing if they have the right background.

Until the beginning of 2018, it was almost impossible for older people to obtain loans to but a property. This was because of the “European Housing Loan Directive (MCD)”. This came into effect in March 2016, and stipulated that a loan must be completely paid off within a person’s lifetime. It became impossible for many older people to obtain a property loan. Since the liability regulations were extremely strict, the banks would rather refuse too many customers rather than not enough.

The offer which is the most suitable for your individual situation. It is essential to carry out a financing comparison of the many options. Having an experienced financial adviser at your side can help you to choose the best offer.

In principle, numerous banks are prepared to offer credit for a property purchase without a deposit. However, the individual pre-requisites of the borrower determines whether the financing partner will agree to it. If you are interested in this, you should discuss it with your financial adviser. We can put you in touch with an experienced adviser.

To apply for property financing, you require numerous documents which the bank will examine in detail. They can be grouped into three categories:

  • Creditworthiness documents
  • Loan documents
  • Property documents

Due to the large number of documents, we have not listed them all here. Your financial adviser would be pleased to help you to put the documents together.