What ancillary costs will I incur when purchasing a property?
A small little house of one’s one, with a nice garden – this is a dream that many people wish to make a reality. However, when working out the cost of this dream, it isn’t enough to simply look at the price of the property. Regardless of whether you are buying a house, apartment or plot of land – in addition to the purchase price, you will also have to pay so-called ancillary purchase costs.
The ancillary purchase costs include various fees and taxes. You will have to pay fees for a notary and for the entry in the Land Register, for example. There will also be a land tax for you to pay. And if the seller isn’t fully covering the estate agent’s commission, the buyer will have to cover half of this. These four ancillary costs are each based on a certain percentage of the property’s purchase price.
How high are the ancillary purchase costs?
The extent of the ancillary purchase costs varies. You will be charged approximately 2 per cent of the purchase price for the notarial certification of the purchase agreement and for the entry in the Land Register.
The amount of land tax levied varies depending on the federal state and is between 3.5 and 6.5 per cent of the purchase price. Saxony and Bavaria offer the lowest rate at 3.5 per cent. Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia charge the highest rate at 6.5 per cent.
Estate agents and customers are free to negotiate the rate of the agency commission between them. The maximum is 3.57 per cent of the purchase price – for the seller and buyer, respectively.
The cost of modernisation, refurbishment, renovation and moving can also be classed as ancillary costs.
How do you calculate the ancillary purchase costs?
Given that the ancillary purchase costs depend on several factors, they cannot be calculated as a fixed sum. For example, if a property costs EUR 200,000, the notary and Land Register fees stand at EUR 4,000. A land-tax rate of 6.5 per cent results in an additional cost of EUR 13,000. At 3.57 per cent, agency commission comes to EUR 7,140. The ancillary purchase costs thus amount to EUR 24,140. This represents 12.07 per cent of the purchase price.
Factoring the ancillary purchase costs into your financing
The ancillary purchase costs must be factored into the financing for your property purchase. If you include the cost of renovation or similar work, the ancillary costs can run to 20 per cent of the purchase price, if not more. In general, banks will demand that you pay for ancillary purchase costs with your own capital. In our example of a property costing EUR 200,000, the ancillary costs can thus be up to EUR 40,000. So it is important to calculate as accurately as possible before agreeing to the purchase.
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Note
In this text, the generic masculine is used for better readability. Feminine and other gender identities are explicitly included to the extent necessary for the statement.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice in individual cases. Please consult a solicitor and/or accountant to clarify the circumstances of your specific case.
