Notary fees when buying a house - Table of applicable fees

• Realistic calculation
• General information
  • House purchase without notary costs
  • Important tips
• List of costs
• Advantages - notary account
• Deduct fees

Notary fees are one of the additional costs incurred when buying a house or land. They are to be paid in principle by the buyer of the house. The notary's job is to certify the purchase and negotiate the exact terms with the buyer and seller. In addition to the purchase price, this also includes the appointment for the handover of the finished house. The notary administers the payments, takes over the registration of land charges and the payment of the purchase price to the seller, if all components of the contract are fulfilled. The purchase or sale of property is tied to the services of the notary, because a transcription must be documented in the land register due to the legal requirements.

Realistic calculation

... when buying real estate

The purchase of a house or apartment is associated with high costs. But you save the payment of a rent, which can pay off after a period of ten years. When considering the purchase or construction of a home, you should choose if two important conditions are met: you can imagine living in one place for a long time, ideally for a lifetime. And you are able to finance the house or apartment. With the purchase of a property, the construction costs for the home or the purchase of a finished house, it is not enough. You must bear additional costs, which include, among other things, the land transfer tax and the notary fees. It is advisable to calculate these items in your financing real. However, you need to know which posts the notary calculates and what extra charges you will receive.

Not infrequently, financing is very tight. Young couples or buyers who do not have such a high income, take care of financing the purchase price and forget about the additional costs. They can make a very high position. As a rule, several thousand euros come together, which are due immediately after the purchase of the house or within a short period of time.

Tip: Get a realistic calculation from an independent expert. Quite a few banks want to earn a home loan and get involved in concise calculations. Payment difficulties can be avoided if you know before concluding the contract financially what to expect when you buy a house.

General information

Only in very rare cases can you do without a notary when buying a house or building a new one. Basically, you enter into a legally binding contract if you decide to buy property. Such a contract must be certified by a notary. Who you sign this contract with is very different. When buying from private, the previous owner is your contractual partner. If you buy a new house or a condo, the developer can also act as a contractor. This is the case if the developer has acquired the land from the previous owner and resells it to the buyers. In semi-detached houses, terraced houses or condominiums, you sometimes acquire a co-ownership share of the property. You can also conclude the sales contract with an agency or buy the land from a public agency.

Together with the seller or his legal representative, you must appear in person at the notary. An appointment is made which can last for several hours.

As a rule, the notary has already prepared the contract. This is the case if you buy a completed house from a developer who is managing several projects at the same time. You may experience the notary appointment with other buyers at the same time. Individual items that only affect your personal contract will be negotiated with you alone. Such a notary appointment has the advantage that the costs are more favorable because you share some items with other buyers. Such appointments are possible with the purchase of new condominiums and single-family homes that are in a construction project where a developer completes and sells multiple units at the same time.

If you want to buy a property and build the house individually according to your ideas together with a company, make an emergency appointment with the seller. The cost of this option is then a bit higher, because you bear the entire financial burden of the notary alone.

Tip: The notary calculates his remuneration on the basis of a table, which can be found in the lawyer's fees. This means that the calculated items are consistent regardless of the chosen notary.

House purchase without notary costs

The purchase of property without notary fees is usually not possible. If you want to become the owner of a property or acquire a co-ownership share, you must be entered in the land register. Only in this way will your share of the property be securitized.

An example:

They agree on the purchase of a small house worth 50, 000 EUR and conclude a private contract. The rate is 500 EUR over 120 months. You agree with the settlement, the buyer too. The buyer moves out of the house, you live in it and pay your installments on time. Suddenly the buyer dies. The heirs will ask you to move out of the house because you are not registered in the land register. Therefore, the house passes to the heirs. The purchase contract you submit has no legal relevance. Maybe you can reclaim some of your money, but maybe you can not, because you lived in the house.

Important tips

How do you do it right ">

Good to know: There is a possibility to complete a home purchase without notary fees. This may succeed if you are already the sole owner of the property through inheritance or through an earlier purchase. Then you can conclude a contract for the construction of the house without having to seek a notary.

Notary fees depend on the scope of the services

A general statement about the amount of notary fees can not be made. The individual items are determined using a table and are based on different criteria. This includes:

• Purchase price for the property or the finished house
• Use of a notary's account
• Type of certification of the mortgage
• Fees for the description of the owner
• Fees for the completion of the purchase and the certification

When calculating the fees, keep in mind that the notary only initiates the entry in the land register. The fees for the transfer pay directly to the Land Registry. Some notaries offer the transfer of the fees for the land registry as a service. In this case they are listed in the invoice.

Tip: Avoiding some services can lower your fees. However, remember your own protection. The notary's account and signature signing costs money, but you should invest it if you want to protect yourself from negative surprises during the sale.

List of costs

The fees for the services of the notary are to be exemplified using a sample calculation. All costs that can be incurred when commissioning the notary are taken as a basis. Fees may differ from your calculation if you do not use some of the services.

Sample data:

• Purchase price for house and property is 250, 000 EUR
• EUR 200, 000 will be financed and registered as a mortgage
• Description in the land register must be made
• Notarial confirmation of signatures is required
• Notary advances fees for the land registry
• Notary account is used

Fee bill of the notary:

This is how your notary's billing bill might look if all of the example criteria are met.

Post	costs
Certification for the preparation of the purchase contract	1, 070.00 €
Certification for the order of the mortgage	435, 00 €
Registration of the land charge in the land register	435, 00 € (to the Land Registry Office)
Registration of the change of ownership into the land register	535, 00 € (to the Land Registry Office)
Fees for completing the purchase	267, 50 €
Fee for keeping a notary account	267, 50 €
Notarial confirmation of the purchase contract	130.50 €
Supervision fee for suspension of the contract	268, 00 €
Fee for the certification of signatures	268, 00 €

This calculation results in a total cost of EUR 3, 676.50. This is a net amount. This means that you have to pay VAT, which is shown separately. In the example calculation the value added tax amounts to 689, 54 EUR. This is the current rate of 19 percent for stores that are not subject to the reduced VAT. Accordingly, you pay a total of 4, 375.04 EUR gross to the notary.

In this example calculation, the fees for entry in the land register are included. However, it may happen that the land register entry is delayed or that the notary for other reasons does not want to take over this item from the table and charge for it. In this case, you still plan the fees in your calculation and then pay after the entry directly to the land registry.

Good to know: The fee bill for the notary is also called a cost note. The legal basis can be found in § 19 Abs. 1 GNotKG.

Advantages - notary account

In connection with the composition of the fees for buying a house and the calculation of the notary costs, you might ask yourself why you should agree to a payment of the money to a notary's account. This solution is beneficial to both the buyer and the seller.

The notary's account is used when buying a home, but also when purchasing land or commercial buildings as an intermediate account for all payments that buyers and sellers agree with each other. You can agree on the payment of the purchase price in an amount in the notary contract or you agree on installments. Often, the seller wants a deposit that does not go through the notary's account. The balance will then be transferred to the intermediate account and will be paid out if the criteria in the purchase contract are met. This may be the transfer in the land register or the balance will be agreed after the departure of the seller.

A notary account gives you, as a buyer, the assurance that the seller will not receive the money until he has fulfilled all the contractual components. The seller can also handle the sale of his house safely, because the punctual payments by the notary are guaranteed.

Tip: Let us explain the advantages of the Notaranderkontos in connection with the purchase of a house at the notary appointment and then decide whether you want to use the service.

Deduct fees

You may also have been wondering what fees you can deduct from the tax associated with buying a home or condominium. If you buy the house or apartment for private use, you will not be able to deduct the notary costs from the tax. The situation is different if the purchase of a house serves the purpose of letting and letting or if you want to use the property commercially. In these cases, you can deduct the notary fees directly related to the purchase of the house from the tax.

Good to know: If you use the new property partly privately and partly commercially, the additional commercial costs are tax deductible. Make a detailed calculation according to the table and submit the invoice for the commercial part to the tax office.