Real estate sale: What does a notarized purchase agreement include?

As your partner in real estate sales, we would like to provide you with some information and essential details regarding the notarized purchase agreement.

Basically, everything permanently installed on the property is included in the sale, such as a garage or carport. Likewise, all items permanently connected to the building are included in the purchase contract. These would be the fitted kitchen, the heating system, floor coverings, sanitary facilities, or awnings.

Movable items, such as furniture, lamps, garden tools, etc., are normally not sold with the property unless special agreements have been made with the buyer and this has been stated in the purchase agreement. Accessories that are not explicitly excluded in the purchase agreement are considered sold as well. This applies to heating fuel reserves, the sauna, and even the satellite dish. To accommodate the buyer, accessories and movable items can be listed separately in the purchase agreement. This allows the buyer to save on the real estate transfer tax, and you as the seller incur no disadvantages whatsoever as a result.
The purchase agreement precisely specifies which conditions must be met in order to receive the purchase price from the buyer. The notary must ensure that the contractual transfer of ownership of the property to the buyer is also sufficiently secured. The purchase price is only paid once the prerequisites for the due date of the purchase price have been met.

Since the notary also has to secure the receipt of the purchase price, it can happen that an escrow account is set up and the purchase price is first transferred to it. Provided all requirements for the transfer of ownership in the land register are met, the purchase price is transferred to the seller.

In most cases, direct payment takes place from the buyer to the seller. Since the buyer generally wants to acquire a property free of encumbrances, the clearance of encumbrances and thus the deletion of these burdens in the land register, such as mortgages (loans usually in favor of banks), is an important prerequisite for the fulfillment of the purchase contract. Decades-old environmental contamination and rights of way for other properties must be assumed. If a mortgage or loan has not yet been paid off, the bank will only agree to a deletion if the remaining debt has been settled.

The notary takes care of all necessary documents and then asks the bank for the deletion consent. For the smooth processing of the purchase agreement, it is therefore important that you are clear in advance about the remaining debt with which your property is encumbered and whether or how you can repay it. In this context, early repayment penalties often have to be paid to the bank, which must also be considered. Once the loan has been paid off, you should notify the notary immediately so that they can apply for the deletion.

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There is also the possibility that the buyer pays off the remaining debt. The notary then transfers this amount to the bank, and the seller receives the remaining amount of the purchase price agreed upon in the purchase contract into their account.

Most buyers also have to finance the purchase price. To accommodate them, it is usually provided that the seller grants a power of attorney that gives the buyer the right to mortgage the property prematurely. Through appropriate notarization of the purchase contract, the seller takes no risk in doing so. For all these processes, we are naturally at your side as your real estate agency to help you.

If the seller does not provide a corresponding guarantee, or if no specific condition regarding quality is agreed upon in the purchase contract and no material defect is fraudulently concealed from the buyer, the seller is not liable for material defects. To prevent disputes in this regard, we as real estate agents take action in advance. We take the time to thoroughly inspect the property in order to identify any potential issues. The costs of the purchase contract, such as notarization and land registry entry, are borne by the buyer. This is German law and is non-negotiable.

However, you should attend the notarization appointment in person. If this is not possible, a representative can be appointed. The additional costs incurred as a result of a subsequent notarized approval of the purchase agreement shall be borne by the party not in attendance. All costs associated with the encumbrances to be removed shall be borne by the seller.

Upon full payment of the purchase price agreed upon in the purchase contract (including into a notary escrow account), the seller is obligated to hand over the keys to the sold property. This transfers all rights and obligations to the buyer.

However, since the buyer is not considered the owner until entry in the land register, invoices such as property taxes or building insurance will still go to the seller. However, the seller can assert these claims against the buyer.