Buying a House in Germany?

[litelfun]

Originally Posted by aksy

I am a citizen from a non-EU country and living outside Germany. I wanted to invest in a property in Europe, and was thinking of Germany. Is it possible for a non-resident/non-citizen to buy a property in Germany?

I am currently not eligible for visa on arrival in Germany. Once I buy a property in Germany (if possible), how would I come to administer the property(rent it out etc). Would I get some sort of residence permit that allows me to come in and out of Germany to do this?

Thanks

I own my own hause in germany I bought as rented with a 4 year contacht left on it so i got it cheep but I payed throu the nose for 4 years I only got the tenant aut buy parking my caravan in the garden and 2 monthes before started renovating the hause and threaten the windows come aut on the 1 st day of the monthe if some one wonts to life for free espacly if they have kids you wont get them aut if they pay rent or not then their is the uther thing up keep of the property ! if you dont live their in the hause dont bother !
I hope that answers your quistion

[fido]

Originally Posted by litelfun

I own my own hause in germany I bought as rented with a 4 year contacht left on it so i got it cheep but I payed throu the nose for 4 years I only got the tenant aut buy parking my caravan in the garden and 2 monthes before started renovating the hause and threaten the windows come aut on the 1 st day of the monthe if some one wonts to life for free espacly if they have kids you wont get them aut if they pay rent or not then their is the uther thing up keep of the property ! if you dont live their in the hause dont bother !
I hope that answers your quistion

Sounds like you were unlucky with your tenant. Was the tenant paying the rent?

[James3214]

Sounds like you were lucky it was only four years Litelfun. It's not an uncommon story. You are just lucky you got away with what you did to get them out. As mentioned earlier, tenants have lots of rights here, so its only really worth buying a place if you are going to live in it for a while.

[fido]

I know in this case there was a sitting tenant but in cases where you are offering an empty property to let is it worth asking for references from a previous landlord? My current plan does involve renovating a house in Germany and renting it out to get an income, so it is a bit worrying if so many tenants abuse the system. I had heard that the majority of people in Germany rent rather than buy. Perhaps it is nearer the truth to say that most people in Germany live in rented accommodation? Whether they pay the rent or not is another matter.

[James3214]

I think the rental market is around 70% which is about the same percentage as house owners in the UK.
Normally, before you get tenants and sign the rental contract you can ask for a 'Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung' from a previous landlord which proves that the rent was paid in the previous property. You can also ask for bank statements,pay slips and refs from employers before deciding to let. It's best to get it marketed through an agency as normally it's the renter that pays the 'provision' that is up to 2 months rent as the fee to the agency for finding the property (unlike the UK where the owner normally pays via commission).
Despite the owner occupation rights I still think you can reclaim the property if it is your only property and you (or your family) wish to live in their yourself, but you have to give a notice that depends on the length of the time the tenants have been in the property.
You can also decide on fixed length contracts if you wish, but in any case if they don't pay it will normally take a while to get them out.

[litelfun]

Originally Posted by fido

Sounds like you were unlucky with your tenant. Was the tenant paying the rent?

jeh he paide all his rent a masive 400 euro a month the gas was 140 water 25 and counsil tax and wastage removal around a nother 50 so it was a none profetibel but 5 years down the line I have a lovely hause it took me and freinds one year to totally renovate its now good for a nother 30 years I was realy lucky because he left peice fully things did eskulate the last day and he could of got me put in prison its not licke the uk when you use a bit of force force they class as atemt of murder !

[fishooX]

Well i have read that the red tape is a pain in the ass. And the amount of tax that you are required to pay is quite big !!

[Rellie]

@ James3214 ...Thanks for the useful link.

[Schweizer]

Originally Posted by aksy

I am a citizen from a non-EU country and living outside Germany. I wanted to invest in a property in Europe, and was thinking of Germany. Is it possible for a non-resident/non-citizen to buy a property in Germany?

I am currently not eligible for visa on arrival in Germany. Once I buy a property in Germany (if possible), how would I come to administer the property(rent it out etc). Would I get some sort of residence permit that allows me to come in and out of Germany to do this?

Thanks

You could buy a property in St.Kitts and & Nevis (in the Caribbean), it the value is greather then 200,000 USD you can apply for local Passport, This Passport will give you visa free travel to Europe (British Commonwealth), but NOT a residence allowance. Same goes for Panama. Invest 300,000 there in Forrest busines and you'll get your passport.

All legal, but check before any move in chnages of law