Buying
As a buyer, you know with us who we work for.
We are engaged by the family that sells. A buyer is therefore not our client — and precisely for that reason we tell them where they stand: the same documents as everyone else, no reservation fee. What we do not do is set out here just as plainly as what we do.
Who we work for — and what that means for you
The engagement comes from the selling side: from a community of heirs, from a family giving up a parental home, from someone moving to something smaller. Our task there is first order within the family and only then the sale.
For you as a buyer two things follow. What we do not do: we do not advise you on price, we do not negotiate for you, and we do not examine your financing in your interest but in the interest of the sale. Anyone who wants representation on the buying side needs someone else for that — this is not a rebuff but a clarification of roles.
What we do indeed do: we treat you as a person making a large decision. The same documents reach all interested parties at the same time in the same wording. We tell you what we know about the house — the uncomfortable parts too.
How it runs, from your side
First: the search request. Through the Confidential enquiry you write to us what you are looking for — area, type of house, time frame, how far the financing has progressed. We need no more than that, and we want no more.
Second: the documents. If a house fits, you receive the documents before the viewing, not after. Anyone who sees at home that the roof dates from 1978 saves us both an appointment.
Third: the viewing. Individually, not as a group tour. In many of our cases someone still lives in the house, or the house has stood empty since a death; neither tolerates a crowd.
Fourth: the offer. In writing, with the basis of your financing. We put it to the family together with the others — in full, not pre-sorted.
Fifth: the notary. The draft contract should be with you before anyone books an appointment. We watch for fourteen days, even where the statute does not require them; why that is a difference is set out on The notary appointment.
What you may expect
- No reservation fee. Reservation fees in pre-formulated agency contracts have been held ineffective by the Federal Court of Justice — we charge none as a matter of principle. Anyone who asks you for one so that you "stay in the running" is selling you nothing but time.
- The same information for everyone — within the stage. No interested party gets a head start for asking more loudly or for having known us longer. What the family does decide is the reach — how widely a house is offered at all. That is described on Sell a home discreetly: a house may be offered within our own circle for weeks before it becomes public. That is a decision about the circle, not about the ranking inside it — and we tell you which stage you are in.
- No commission without an agreement. Where a consumer buying a single-family house or a flat does owe a commission, the statute sets two limits — set out on The costs on top of the price, together with land transfer tax, notary and land registry.
The pre-check of the house
Before a house is offered through us we check whether it can be sold at all. That sounds obvious and after a death it is not: the land register often still names the deceased, succession is not evidenced, a power of attorney is missing, or one co-heir knows nothing about it.
So we look first at ownership and succession (who is entered in the land register, is there a certificate of inheritance or a notarial will with a record of its opening), at powers of attorney and consents (does everyone who must sign actually sign), at the energy certificate, and at whatever encumbrances stand in parts II and III of the land register — a right of residence or a usufruct changes everything.
What the pre-check is not: it is no building surveyor’s report and no assurance about condition. We check saleability, not the fabric of the building. If you need a structural judgement, obtain it independently — and we tell you so rather than offering you something else.
The search request — by message today, not by form
A search request with us is neither a subscription nor an account. You write us four things: where you are looking, what you are looking for, by when, and how far the financing has come. We get in touch when something fits — and otherwise not.
Why no form of its own? Because a new kind of enquiry has to pass two approval lists here — one on this website, one in the software behind it — and the second has to be dealt with first. Until that is set up, a dedicated buyer form would be a shell writing your details into a field nobody reads. The route is therefore the Confidential enquiry: a first name and an e-mail address are enough, and the text field there carries your four details in full. Not the contact form — that is a call-back form with name, telephone number and time slot, and it has no text field at all; whatever you wrote into it would not arrive.
What we do with your search request is set out on Search requests: only what you expressly release is published, and never with your name.
Read on
The costs on top of the price
Land transfer tax, notary and land registry, sometimes a commission — with the calculator.
View →Search requests
Who is looking right now — no names, no addresses. Today it shows a marked example and no real request.
View →KfW support for old homes
KfW programme 308 for families buying an unrenovated existing home.
View →The notary appointment
Who does what, when the draft should arrive — and for whom the two-week rule applies.
View →Frequent questions from buyers
- Do you represent me as a buyer?
- No. Our engagement comes from the selling family. We give you the same information as everyone else — but we do not negotiate for you and we do not advise you on price.
- Do I pay a commission?
- Only where it has been agreed. Where a consumer buys a single-family house or a flat, the statute sets two limits; both are set out on the page about the costs on top of the price. We charge no reservation fees as a matter of principle.
- Can I have a house reserved in advance?
- No. A claim arises only with the notarised contract of sale; everything before that is non-binding — for you and for the sellers. A payment meant to buy you priority is one we would not accept.
Search request
Tell us what you are looking for.
Four details are enough: area, type of house, time frame, state of financing. We reply within two working days.